Someone asked me: “What, in your opinion are most common mistakes that most beginners make when producing electronic music?” The top two mistakes really boil down to: a lack of hearing the big audio picture, and an unbridled desire to make things louder. I explain everything in the post.
Blog
Netlabelism Interviewed Me About QED Records
Netlabelism, the (online) Netlabel magazine, contacted me a month ago to ask if I wanted to be interviewed regarding QED Records. Of course I said yes! They were impressed with the sheer number of releases that my humble netlabel seemed to have and wanted some tips on how to effectively curate so much content.
I was quite up front with them that the QED Records catalog number was deceiving since the very first release was qd-4200. So no, we did not have 4,200+ releases just a mere 72. Still, it was a chance for me to take a look at what I could’ve done better to promote and publicize QED Records music to the rest of the world.
Interview with Philippine National Artist Lucio San Pedro
In 1999, as editor of Channels, an entertainment magazine for a cable TV company, I had the privilege of interviewing Philippine national artist Lucio San Pedro. This was a year before he passed away. Little did I know how much impact that afternoon’s conversation would have on how I create music.
I Have 28 Days to Record a New Album
Back in 2010, I joined a month-long music challenge: to produce and record an album within the 28 days of February. The result was my third full-length album, Experimentum Crucis, which I am mighty proud of. I’ve decided to join the fray again this year and align myself with other crazed musicians squeezing their creativity out in a month of quick decisions and quick edits that we call the RPM Challenge 2013.
Album: Quattuor In Pavimentum (2012)
6 house tracks, w/ string melodies, ethnic vocal chants, robotic voices, & the electro boogaloo. Dance music for flying monkeys.
Creativity Lessons from a Nine-Year Old Boy and His Cardboard Arcade
Nine-year old Caine Monroy built an entire game arcade out of cardboard boxes, tape, brown paper bags, calculators and string — because he wanted to own and manage his very own arcade. And that goal pushed him toward a creative endeavour that fulfilled his artistic need.
Organizing Audio Files, Filenames and Templates
Booting up your computer and then starting up your recording software already takes time away from that idea you had for a killer tune. To make your songwriting and production process more efficient, you need to move away from choosing your instrument patches, effects settings, and mixer setups every time you boot your DAW. Here are three tips that might just allow the creativity to flow.
Setting Poetry to Electronic Music: Collaborating with Syke
The title of the poem is Pag-ibig Na Makapangyarihan, which literally translates to “Love So Powerful.” This was a spoken word piece originally performed and written by Filipino hiphop emcee and poet Syke Dolero, known for his machine-gun flow. I ended up composing some jazzy world music around his poetry.
A Season of Protest
This March is #BLACKMARCH. Join others who will STOP buying products from big media and instead, will purchase from independent producers, from netlabels offering creative commons music, from websites with open source materials, from the artists themselves.
Concept for a Prime Fallacy Cha Cha Video
I started composing this track in 2006 and put it together in its final sequence in 2010 for my Experimentum Crucis album. Then, sometime in November 2011 I happened to ask a friend if he wanted to collaborate on a music video for it using his photography skills and a day or two of shooting cityscapes. This was the concept I e-mailed to him.