the neglected blog

So many things have happened since the last time i posted here and hopefully i’ll have the time to update this space regularly.Meanwhile here’s a visual, though incomplete timeline of past events,label nights and miscellaneous stuff the past year or so.  

Up Dharma Down pre-orders for the LIMITED EDITION ver of CAPACITIES…EXTENDED!

I have listened and after much deliberation, I’ve decided to EXTEND the #Capacities LTD ED.version package pre-ordering window to two last dates. This Wednesday the 3rd of October at Route 196 starting around 9pm. This should take care of the North side people…

…and again at Saguijo on October 20 at 9pm for the final and last chance.

As for Cebu and Davao I’m working on ways to have a pre-ordering on the 12th(Cebu) and 19th(Davao) since we will be there on those dates.

For the other provinces and international requests, i am studying the possibility of having you pay via Paypal or another way online to reserve your Ltd.Ed version cds or package if you intend to attend the actual launch on Nov. 28. Will announce when it’s to take effect.

TOE Live in Manila!

We are trying to see if we can accomodate more. Do check the Terno Recordings fan page on FB, subscribe to the mailing list here, follow @TernoRecordings on Twitter or check the Toe In Manila page on FB for updates. Thank You.

Next Friday!

 

a remarkable unique individual and bass player.

He was the one who really made me want to be a bassist. Unfortunately, I never learned and even if i did, i certainly couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to  play like him but if God gave me the talent, I would want to be a bass player in a really good band. It’s because of him.  He was my favorite bass player of all time. He still is.   Rest In Peace  Mick Karn.

goodbye to you

my co-host Myrene(Sandwich/Imago) at the old NU107 station for Groove Nation Sessions 94-96

I can’t say i’ve been an NU107 listener for years as i don’t really tune in to local radio, except for maybe once in a while when i monitor if a Terno band’s song is being played or on rotation. However, i did have a show on NU107 when i got back from the States called Groove Nation Sessions around 94. It didn’t last long, maybe a year or two as i was just a block timer on the station. My co-host then was  resident NU107 jock Myrene Academia of Not Radio.  It was my first foray into radio and it was fun while it lasted!

I’d like to think that i was able to play stuff you won’t normally hear on radio and not on NU107’s playlist and i thank the station for being open and allowing me to share the music i pushed.

A decade after, NU107 again opened its arms for me to share what Terno has to offer, most notably, Up Dharma Down whom i initially asked Zach and then after, Trish, to guest on their respective shows to be followed by tracks played on Francis’ In The Raw and eventually, the first single “maybe” on the station’s regular playlist. If i haven’t thanked them enough then here’s a big THANK YOU to you as individual jocks on the station.

Overall, i may not have that connection to NU107 as a listener but I’m very appreciative of having being given the nod for the awards given the past years and glad to have worked with the only decent “rock” station there ever was and the people behind it. To all the other jocks and Myrene, Emy, Celes, Glenn, Belle, Gelo…… Atom, Quark and Cris…THANK YOU.

the long weekend

A few weekends ago Up Dharma Down and Radioactive Sago Project did a couple of festivals and while it was memorable and fun, it was exhausting, especially for Radioactive Sago Project and myself with not much sleep from Cebu to HK, directly to the gig for Clockenflap. Radioactive Sago Project, by the way, stunned the mostly expat crowd and hip Hong Kong-ers.  Come to think of it, i’d do it all over again. It felt like i walked the Death March in WII but we had a great time at the gigs and afterwards. Thanks Justin!

Up Dharma Down wins plum awards during NU107Rock Awards’09

Vocalist of the Year(Armi Millare),Album of The Year(Bipolar) and Artist of The Year…much to the consternation of those who don’t “get” Up Dharma Down and are still stuck to the old sound of Pinoy Rock wherein it has to be typical or “rakrakan” template prompting one seemingly disappointed old hack to report “low key” band wins big at the rock awards and went on to enumerate others without much focus nor fanfare for the big winner.

Sorry to disappoint you but if you give it an open mind you will realize that Bipolar and future albums that break away from the mold help us move into the modern rock world where boundaries are gone and the rock stereotype has been shattered.

The majority though, seems to think it’s a well deserved win so i am a happy camper. Thank you to those who have moved on, you forward thinking music people who voted for the future, the fans and supporters, to the judges who stuck to their guns in recognizing change , embracing and appreciating it. Also to NU107 for having the guts to turn it around and make the Rock Awards, still, the only bonafide award giving body for excellence in music.

thanks to Sherwin De Guzman for the pics.

PARTICIPATE, HELP OUT and have FUN while you’re at it!

HOTTER THAN HELL

Chill House, Beach House, Sexy House, Rock House(WTF?)…Blog House.

HOUSE music has been around for 3 decades plus now and it has definitely given birth to more offshoots, sub-genres, comical misinterpretations and watered down versions.

You may have heard of Chicago House (the original-some more track based some song based), Acid House (coined by Chicago producer DJ Pierre of Phuture or hey, other early Chicago producers as well since many claim to have coined the term) after the squelchy bass sound emulating form the Roland TB303 which came to even describe a movement and not just a sound in Britain in the late 80s and the start of the Britain embracing house music originating from America) – “We call it Aciieed” as one anthem put it) Garage (a bit disco, part gospel,  diva vocal type), Funky House (which could originate from anywhere provided it is funky,duh), Ambient House (music originally meant for the “chill out” rooms in raves evolving into the 4/4th house template but with the obvious relaxed feel), Italo House (early Italian house offshoot that’s usually “piano” riffs led. At times instrumental but usually with wailing Diva vocals aka Piano Toons for the old skool ravers) Deep House(several kinds, some more moody and abstract,some more jazzy,some more soulful vocal type. I’m more on the track-y moody kind), Tribal House (which is self explanatory is, uh, very tribal drum brigade sounding , you get the point), Disco House (more sample based kind of House plundering rare and commercial disco material, usually chopped up or an adaptation with  blatant usage of a part or riff) Progressive House (British take on House music that’s more melodic and somewhat close to Trance in feel), in the late 90’s  the British came up with Speed Garage (combining Jungle with Garage) and 2Step (like r&b but with d&b 2step leanings hence the term which in turn gave birth to Broken Beat/NuJazz organic end of things). There’s also  Micro(glitch)House(a term you either take seriously or not but spot on in describing the like of Matthew HERBERT, Akufen etc. in their quirky, minimalist approach to House music), Tech House (another British take on House music literally combining the electronic feel of techno with house grooves now enjoying worldwide popularity and a new school of European producers), Electro House (again literally combining the 4/4 beats of House with electro (the new kind and not in the Afrika Bambaataa, PeechBoys sense) with that harsh sawtooth wave like patch and high synthy 80s lines and old school piano thrown in. Currently all over the place and you can blame electroclash, the precursor for it.-not my thing though. The more vocal kind usually described as Dirty House )

I might have left out Balearic House(which basically just means an odd and eclectic assortment of styles like world music, pop,indie etc all thrown in the mix . The concept originated in Ibiza and popularized by a -DJ Alfredo Fiorito whose concept was adopted again by the British) and others but pretty much these are some of the terms and descriptions to the many mutations and offshoots of music that’s truly and originally a progression of funk and disco and of  Afro-American origin.

Techno(originating from Detroit) on the other hand was influenced by House music from across the lake (Chicago) ,European electronic music(Kraftwerk, Can, Neu) and 80’s synthpop(British Electric Foundation,The Human League, Depeche Mode), but that’s another topic alltogether.

Again with House music, i’m amazed and amused at how some local djs and wannabes take marketing descriptions seriously that they actually think it’s a sub-genre. I’ve heard and have been told that there’s “Chill House”, “Beach House” (thanks all the commercial cd compilations for that) and the most idiotic one yet, “ROCK HOUSE” probably describing an indietronic track or the indierock remix culture also known as the equally funny,” Blog House”.

Uhm..."Beach" House anyone?

In my book ,it’s basically tracks by mostly American,current indierock or indie-dance type acts who dabble in electronic music and steal a lot from the 80’s synthpop sound which gets  further recycled or “remixed”(a process connected with House and techno from time immemorial) by the 1. band member  or the band themselves  2. Solo mysterious nerd or artist if you will. 3. by some amateur remixer off his or her laptop. 4.  By anyone who wants to have a go at tracks that are more often than not, distributed or leaked  by unknown acts  themselves who want their music spread via blogs, hence “blog house”.

recently i found this really FUNNY piece on the very subject. It’s  from Carles of HIPSTER RUNOFF. It’s quite spot on and i found myself  “LOL”. Here’s a sample…

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WTF is Blog House?

By Carles | July 10, 2008

Have yall heard of this genre called BLOG HOUSE? I can’t rlly explain it, but fortunately CurrentTV had a few moderately-alt bros in cryptic graphic tees explain what it is.

What does BLOG HOUSE mean to you? I don’t really know where blog house starts and stops. Here is a list of bands, and whether I consider them blog house or not.

Burning question: JUST BC U PARTICIPATE IN THE REMIX ECONOMY, ARE YOU BLOG HOUSE?

• The Teenagers (yes)
• Justice (no. Too bangery, but maybe. I don’t rlly know abt them any more. We’ll have more answers after their 2nd album.)
• Cut Copy (pre-dated blogs)
• Ladyhawke (not sure yet)
• Feist (no)
• Feist (Boys Noize Remix) (deffs)
• Simian Mobile Disco (too intelligent, but they attract bloghouse fans)
• Klaxons (not usually electro-enough)
• Animal Collective (did u srsly just ask that? ur ghey and don’t know shit abt music)
• Valerie artists (kind of. I think they are trying to be more than ‘a hot trend’)
• Mediocre electro producers (kind of, but they probably don’t deserve to be lumped into the same category as tier-1 blog house track)
• Lifelike (POSSIBLY, but he’s pretty authentic)
• Fred Falke/Alan Braxe (Pre-dated blogs, but are getting a great bump from blog luv)
• Fake Blood (Have to listen to him soon. Who is he?)
• Bloody Beetroots (Maybe, I don’t know. Never heard them)
• The Black Kids/The Cool Kids (I still don’t know the difference between these two artists)
• Black Ghosts (POSSIBLY. Not really sure. Probably)
• MGMT (They could have been if people only listened to the song “Kids” and “Electric Feel”)
• Lil Wayne/Coldplay/Radiohead (They are always popular on hypem, does this mean they are blog house?)
• Santogold/M.I.A./Kid Sister (Are black females allowed to be considered blog-house? or can they only be marketed as rappers?)
• The Ting Tings (Haven’t bothered 2 listen to them)
• The Presets (not sure. Maybe. Probably)
• Van She (Yeah. I think they are tier 1 blog house)
• Lykki Li (MAYBE)
• Robyn (she should be working at a McDonalds. She doesn’t deserve a 2nd wind)
• PNAU (they are blog house-ish in this era of their careers)
• M83 (NO. Shoegazers are not BLOG HOUSE. They are just easy to blog about.)
• Girl Talk (Way too mainstream/has a floating audience)
• HEALTH (Are they they the only hardXcore bloghouse act in existence?)
• HEARTSREVOLUTION (I think they think any1 can be ‘blog house’ so they are just trying to match the aesthetic, but BLOG HOUSE is an honor, not a right.)
• Crystal Castles (I think they are kind of like
• INTERPOL (no way.)
• Junior Boys (I feel like there are bands that should try to be MORE bloghouse, and get involved a little bit more in the remix economy.)
• Gentlemen Drivers (I feel like their unauthorized remix of the Klaxon’s “Not Over Yet” is one of the blog-houseiest songs of all time)
• Midnight Juggernauts (maybe. Probably)
• Does it Offend You, Yeah? (Tough to tell with those British bands for British People)
• LFO song “Summer Girls” (yes)

• Ladytron (Isn’t it kind of interesting how some electro-ish bands predated the BLOG era, and don’t really NEED bloglove, but have still kind of made themselves available [via blogs] to make sure they stay connected with their target audiences?)
• Lo Fi Fnk (Probably)
• New Young Pony Club (probz, ya)
• The song “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John (It depends on ur definition of blog house)
• Sébastien Tellier (I don’t know about that weirdo guy)
• Shinichi Osawa (He makes remixes that are s0 good that they might be post-bloghouse-core)
• Thieves Like Us (After their epic remix contest of 2k7, they have to be BLOG HOUSE)
• THE HIPSTER RUNOFF (His first EP signaled the end of the blog house era, and the beginning of the post-bloghouse era [2009-2010.5])
• The Tough Alliance (Those guys are pretty authentic in a weird way that I like/feel awkward about)
• Breakbot (I don’t know anything about that guy but he seems weird based on his pictures)
• CSS (I would feel more comfortable if they were ‘only’ a blog house band that I semi-enjoyed as opposed to being an ‘international phenomenon in iTunes commercials’ that I have to not whole-heartedly enjoy)
• CFCF (ya. Pretty blog-housey)
• Chromatics (somewhat)
• Glass Candy (Somewhere between BLOG HOUSE and PITCHFORK-HOUSE, which is a good place to be)
• Chromeo (this is a brain teaser!)
• Daft Punk (n0 way)
• Digitalism (Maybe just the song “POGO”)
• Creed (no)
• David Matthews (yes)
• Rob Thomas solo (no)
• Santana (ft Rob Thomas/Michelle Branch) (yes)

Did I miss any 1? (besides the Postal Service)

I feel like as a general rule, if BIG STEREO or MISSING TOOF blogged about you in 2006 or the first half of 2007, you are a blog house band whether you like it or not. I never really read music blogs back then, but if I had to guess, I think that rule would apply. There’s just something very AMERICAN about the term ‘blog house’ as if some AMERICAN guy invented the term even though it didn’t make too much sense, so it makes sense that two of the top American Electroblogs would be responsible for accidentally blogging BLOG HOUSE into existence.

I am unsure if the definitive characteristic of BLOG HOUSE is that the artist gained steam thanks to blogs, or if it ‘just sounds a certain way.’ Theoretically, STEREOGUM is a launching pad for a lot of underwhelming, yet historically significant-sounding meaningful-core indie-rock. Like Vampire Weekend or something like that. Is BLOGHOUSE about sounding a certain way, or is it just like ‘a lot of ppl searched for it on hypemachine and downloaded it, and they got remixed since people wanted free versions of their songs so much.’

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So there you go hipsters, time to evaluate whether all of the stuff you downloaded off Discodust makes you a bonafide music head or just a trendoid but as far as i’m concerned, despite being an indie/indiepop aficionado, when it comes to electronic dance music  i’d still be playing REAL HOUSE music and Techno.

For more stories on HOUSE/TECHNO and its origins. Click on “The Collector’s Cinerama” on the links  within the page.