Electronica:
Know from Toti Dalmacion the origin and features of electronic music.
from: CHALK Magazine
December 2000
Playtime section, pp. 64-65

While the rest of the country just discovered raves, DJs, house, techno, downtempo, breakbeat, d&b, etc. recently, some people have already taken two steps forward by making the tracks themselves. Some are DJ's and some are musicians. For the DJ's, it's the next step to just playing other people's records and moving away from the DJ hype. For some of the musicians, this is an outlet for their creativity and art as opposed to their regular gigs as programmers, arrangers, etc. Then there are those who have been making music electronic-wise, from the day they acquired their first synth or drum machine. For the most part, the common goal is for the locals to get exposed to electronic music, both dance and experimental, and to have their music heard in the Western world, to show that we Filipinos have something to offer as well. Here are some examples of this new breed of music artist.

CLONE
Clone is an electronic collective currently composed of three musicians: Lionel Valdellon (keyboards, programming, vocals), Sheerin Castillo (lead vocals) and Karlo Samson (samplers, programming). The group has been sporadically gigging since its inception in January 1999, spreading its grooves to a more sophisticated audience. They cheekily describe their sound as "adult contemporary electronica"-- not exactly for the dance floor, and not just for chilling out, but something eclectic in between. Imagine the melodic nuances of Morcheeba, Hooverphonic, Bjork, Moloko, and latter-day EBTG, laced with classical themes of life, love and longing and sprinkled liberally with a subtle, biting humor. That's the music of Clone.

RUBBER INC.
The tandem of Noel de Brackinghe and Malek Lopez. This duo is probably the most popular among the stable of local electronic acts, although they haven't been around that long. Rubber Inc. was formed in late '98, and has since been gigging quite extensively and making music consistently. Originally their sound was more on the breakbeat/drum&bass tip, but lately, they've been dabbling with some four on the floor, and a lot of electro. Their influences are broad and diverse, as each individual brings in his own, so it ranges from Miles Davis to Photek to Squarepusher to Oram. As you can see, it's not just your usual Prodigy/Chemical Brothers reference points although they've been referred to as the local version of the latter for lack of a better description. One thing's for sure, they're very talented and dedicated to honing and perfecting their craft, from live performances to recordings. If you haven't seen them live, I suggest you do, but don't expect onstage gimmicks or rock-star posturing. These guys just perform their music that's both butt-shaking and mind-blowing... non-stop.
___ You can catch Rubber Inc. in various gigs all over town and at Kemistry, or listen to their tracks on PinoyCentral.com.

HOMINID
A simple guy by the name of Elmer San Juan who works as an engineer for an American electronic firm somewhere in the city and releases material on his own label Self Records. His sound is best described as "experimental sounds of different moods and themes made with electronic noises geared towards the more aggressive stuff." Quite understandable as he was into hardcore, thrash metal, and industrial for some time. Try to combine Dead Kenndys, Slayer, Entombed, Layback and Alec Empire... abrasive and sonic.
___ Check out his release "Inhabitation." You may avail of his CD by emailing or visiting http://www.mp3.com/hominid

ASCOLTO
Brian Cua,esteemed programmer/arranger/producaer, and yours truly. This is something that I should have done a long time ago, but never had the time to. Since the deejaying craft has gone to the dogs lately, I decided to focus on my original tracks and started to make some more. I collaborated with Brian (who was also a part of the RiverMaya Remix project that I was involved with a couple of years ago) for his expertise in the technical and programming aspect. I compose the tracks and the riffs, and Brian adds to them and polishes the tracks. Our sound could be best described as "deep house"-- head nodding with jazz and soul in it. Although we've done a downtempo track, the direction's really more on the deep-house end. Our influences vary individually, but as Ascolto, it's inspired by Charles Webster, Kevin Yost, At Jazz, Matthew Herbert, Paul Flynn, The Rurals, and other similar-sounding producers. Hopefully we get to release an album soon, and maybe get licensed by a respectable label abroad like Guidance or Compost.
___ Check out some of our tracks on the various MP3 sites on the Net.

SICK MAN OF ASIA
Christian Cabuay (sampling, programming, vocals) and Jessica Duque (vocals, keyboard). Christian has been making muisic via computers for 5 years now without any formal music training. He got into a little deejaying, but when he got back to the Philippines, he formed an eclectic hip hop group known as Xtrapoetic. From there he moved on to Calamity Jane, an electronic folk outfit. For her part, Jessica is a classically-trained pianist. Together, they combine to produce music that is hip-hop based with elements of ambient, dub, reggae, jazz and blues. Their influences range from Bill Laswell and the Wu-Tang Clan, to Mad Professor. You can check out their tracks on PinoyCentral.com and MP3.com.

E-TRINITY
The electronic artist known as e:trinity (aka 28-year-old LA-based musician/producer Elson Trinidad), combines electronic dance music with traditional and indigenous styles from Asia. The music of e:trinity carefully superimposes the music of the past on the sounds of the present to create the sound of the future. ___"It's an ethnotronic sound," e:trinity says. Even the more conventional-sounding tracks are veiled with references to this culture. Listen carefully and you'll hear sounds sampled from familiar (and obscure) Philippine pop, folk, and indigenous recordings. His drum&bass and 2-step experimentations are such a treat. e:trinity's music has gained airplay on radio stations in LA, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, and even Portugal. His muisic has also been featured in the soundtrack to the indie film "Much Adobo About Nothing", and the PBS documentary "Kababayan: Filipino-Americans in New York." e:trinity also performs around Los Angeles as a live electronic act, usually backed by MC Reg-I and other guest musicians. The act has also performed in San Francisco and plans are underway for performances in Manila and Hong Kong in 2001.
___ e:trinity's tunes can be heard and downloaded on his MP3.com website at www.mp3.com/etrinity and on his own label Pcific City, distributed independently. For more information on e:trinity, please contact etrinity@etrinity.org.

As you can see,most of them have their tracks out on Mp3 sites, but watch out for a future compilation coming out on Definition Records.

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