OH SHIRT!!!

I woke up and read a bunch of texts that the host on a tv show was wearing a silverfilter shirt. Turns out true. My friends even tagged photos and videos of their tv screens to show it to me since I was asleep when it was on.

I was happy of course and congrats to Mash shirts. I'm sure they're very proud! It just makes me a bit worried or pressured (in a good way if there's such a thing) that I have to top that design for the next shirt. I'm up for the challenge but for now, let's all enjoy the current design. You can order it of course at www.silverfilter.com/buy

Hope you can get yours soon! It comes in 3 colors for men and womens sizes.

Cy

My Message.

Jesus Loves You.

It may be short but I hope it speaks to you on your level of need and searching that you realize that whenever you feel that things aren't going anywhere and you feel alone, God's always been there waiting and loving on you. All you have to do is open up your heart and let Him in. You'll be surprised at how much you were really missing all along.

Cy

A Nice Ring To A Name...

I like the name Republikha. I like what they do more...

I just came from doing a fund raiser for Republikha. The non-profit organization calls what they do empowering children through music. I remember their video earlier which wrote "education is our message. Music is our medium." Something to that effect in case I got it wrong. With how children learn and pick up, what better medium to use but the global language of music, right?

The theme for tonight was children's songs. All acts were asked to do a children's song to include in their sets. I did Sesame Street hehehe I really had fun doing it even if I was up to my neck with things to do and the pressure of finishing a set for tonight, it went well (Praise God!!). Shared the stage with tons of very talented artists Brigada, Coffee Break Island, Peryodiko, Abby Asistio, Carlos Castano,  and Tiny Cactus. 

It's great doing gigs for causes. There's no pay but I feel fulfilled knowing that I can be an instrument of change in my own little way through the music that God has blessed me with.

Find small ways you can get involved in anything to help others. 

You can show your support to the group by going to republikha.org :)

Cy

Convert Ops...

If you're like me who always has to do some audio file conversions, I'd strongly suggest getting Switch

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/mp3.html

They have paid as well as FREE versions... which we all love of course coz it's free. hehe

It can do multiple file format conversions, batch processing, and more. 

Applications...

like if you need wav to aif for pc and mac conversions and vice versa or if you want to "easily" convert your audio wav/aif/CD files into MP3. And your mp3 can be customized according to your chose bitrate :)

Enjoy!

See Ya This Friday at Magnet High Street!

Catch my set along with Brigada, Peryodiko, Julianne, Coffee Break Island and more!

P200 bucks gets you in and all of it goes to republikha. Support the cause!

We'll be doing children's songs. electronic children's songs for my set? This'll be interesting!

Cy

Adding To My Knowledge...

Some people are surprised that I play the bass. They're surprised I even have one. Yes. I do play the bass and I have a different attraction to how it contributes to a tune.

When I was younger, like waaaaay younger, I never thought much about the bass guitar until I really played music...

As silverfilter, I've always noticed my attraction to the bass lines that I do. I even remember one of my friends saying I put too much or play too much bass licks for my own good when I'm doing house. But I guess that's just how I am. I love making bass lines. 

Fast forward....

I'll keep this short first since I have to hit the sack early today for a project tom.

I attended the bass clinic of Billy Sheehan and boy, was I in for a great surprise and experience! I think it's pretty obvious in the photos. I ended up with a photo with him, a signed bass guitar, and a pick that actually came from him. I even got called during his QnA so it was all gooooood! My whole experience will be reserved for a blog within the week but for now, I'll focus on the title. 

I went to the clinic despite having no car to bring coz of coding because I wanted to learn more. I told my friend that it was just perfect timing coz I've been wanting to buy a new bass. Lo and behold I didn't expect to be attending a Sheehan clinic, right?

I just want to say, I learned a lot not just about playing bass but even in becoming a better musician as a whole. His advice was practical and sound. It was really something to listen to someone who's been there and who's done things I can only dream of 'til now. 

And same as his advice, I pass this on to you. Add to your knowledge. Try to expand your understanding on things so you know how it works. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to "be one" or "do it" just to have a reason to learn it. Just like his example on a bass player learning the basics of drums or even the understanding of beats on the drums just so he can communicate his idea clearly to the drummer. One thing I can share regarding this is how adding to my knowledge adds an understanding on a certain instrument or sound on how to correctly apply it in an arrangement and not just slap it in. I've heard non guitar player arrangers who simply use a guitar patch without even tryin to achieve that "played guitar" sound. That is my point. As a guitar player, there's an understanding on the nuances of the sounds, or how to properly "play" the guitar even if it's played thru the keyboard. I still sometimes commit this when tryin to do chords but knowing the correct way adds to the authenticity of your arrangement and the use of that particular instrument. I've a long way to go myself believe me. I often just throw in brass and some string combinations without understanding it's proper way of playing or the sound placements of each.

Just keep at it like the rest of the players...

Music is an endless journey. Walk tall and swing your hips.

Cy

2010

As this yr ALMOST comes to a close, I'd say it was pretty productive. The album finally got released and there's one more on the way hopefully before the yr ends.

As much as I'd like to say that I'll stop making music come 2010, the farthest I'd go is id stop making new material for a new album. I've got 3 more full albums PENDING release and I need to focus my efforts on releasing those first. And with that in mind, I'll be spending the first quarter of 2010 preparing for another album and the whole of the yr would be focused on ONLY promotions and playing out. I'd say I'd be pretty out there next yr taking the music from studio to stage. I've been preparing and listing down things as early as mid 2009 to have a plan and everything and I'm sure it'll push through with Gods help and your support.

It's gonna be an awesome 2010!!! Hope you could ride that wave with me.

Cy

Some Fun To Make Up For Lost Time....

Been away for the weekend. Wasn't on a trip but was really busy. 

Spent the day with Bernice last Friday and had drum recording for our album with Jaycie and Honey (my other band) last Saturday. 

Here's a funny image I saw way back and a friend reposted it so I'm sharing it this time :)

Enjoy!

God bless!

Cy

I answered a questionnaire on producing a CD and independent music production and here are some general answers...

I released my album independently. I'm still waiting for my big break to have some label sign me up but I didn't want to wait that long and I guess we all shouldn't. There are a ton of questions here so I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities. I released my first few EPs, albums by doing the CDs myself. I had hundreds of CDs burned and I did all the design, printing, and buying of blank CDs, picking the color of the jewel case and such. In the end, I ended up with a more than decent independent release that I could easily include in my proper discography. When I released my "proper" album, Devotion. It was still independent in the sense that I had no label but I had someone sponsor the whole thing that I finally got a professional CD made with the proper printing, replication, and it was in a professional facility and not just some guy burning discs off his CD writer. I had more than a thousand made and sold most of them. What I did was have 1200 made and had the 200 as promo copies to be given away. Digitally, everybody can go thru "middle men" companies like Tunecore, etc. I went with Reverbnation because I was happy with their package and the site as a whole. On a side note, I really feel that site is underrated. Their site is really something FOR musicians... Anyway, for a fee, you can get your music on tons of digital sites and you can get it back with only a few CDs sold so I don't see that as a problem. My usual advice is, don't see your first records sold as money making avenues. Instead, treat it as a calling card for you to get more gigs, projects that can earn you more than what you get from a single CD sale. In terms of recording live sets and such, I have a separate set for live than those which I release so I'm pretty more detailed on those I release with processing, editing and such. Well, style will end up with as much answers as there are questions. Some people think tagging tunes with "genres" doesn't help it either. But generally, if you want to do something along the lines of a certain style or are concerned in tagging yours, what I usually do for styles I'm unfamiliar with, is I simply download mixes regarding a certain style and see the pattern in it. I guess that's the most basic thing I can recommend. Of course a simple google search won't hurt either :) Approaching record companies is I guess best with doing your research. Just make sure you submit something that the label does or sounds like. Do listen to their catalog and see if you'll fit in their roster. It'll save you time and money. Regarding what you write on CDs, what I initially did was take out a bunch of artists CDs that I liked and just looked at what was common among them of if something stood out, I also included it in mine. I'm pretty hands on with my project as silverfilter so I usually write everything and even design my album covers. It doesn't mean that I don't welcome any help. If some guy offers to make the cover for me and does it really well, why not right? Hope I helped a bit there :)

_____________________

I hope you guys learned a bit from this. If you have questions, feel free to contact me!

God bless.

Cy

I like this poster for the workshop!

My friend had this made in the US for the upcoming Propellerhead workshop I'll be speaking at. I like it!

I'm Again Reminded of Why I Switched To Reason

Having gotten Logic 8, i'm now into looking at the millions of AU effects and instruments and I'm suddenly reminded why I stuck with Reason. 

The overwhelming possibilities of what's out there to expand your sound sometimes gets in the way of creativity. I spent a reasonable amount of time researching on what new synths or effects are out there instead of making music. With Reason, you're locked with the onboard synths. Thus, making me focus more on the sound I'm making than the hype of music software.

We can't deny the fact that there are tons of more awesome synths out there and fx. I recently did research on Camel Audio's Alchemy and was blown away by the synthesis on it and how it can breathe life to any sample. But as I mentioned, with the additional features, it can sometimes draw one away from the focus needed in writing music. 

Let's see if I get tired of Reason... I doubt that. But this is not to say that it's better. Logic can bring a lot to the table especially during mixdown of your tracks. 

It really boils down to preference and workflow. I just see myself led astray by too many possibilities.

Cy

The Silverfilter Online Radio Show

I'm planning to do my online radio show on a more regular basis and I was thinking of doing it on a Monday night around 9? I'm still open to time and day suggestions. I just can do Monday or Tues. I figured Monday night's the most relaxed time?

The show would be simply music music music. I'd also like to do some artists interviews from local electronic acts, and personally, I'd like to share some tidbits on promotions, etc. I hope to not just share music but a little knowledge as well from experience and the things I've read over the years. Suggestions for the radio show is definitely welcome of course!

So let me know!

Cy

More Reason to get Reason!

I use Propellerhead's Reason software for making all of my music and for everyone who also uses it, they've just released the Soul School Refill. It's a $99 refill that has tons of old school funk flavor with the warm drums and funky guitars. It's really something for everyone looking for a more organic sound. It can also be nice for hiphop sounds I suppose. I went thru the online demos and sound samples and it's something I want to get soon. I just can't get one right now coz I just got a copy of Record, which is also from the Props. 

More here http://www.propellerheads.se/products/refills/soulschool/index.cfm

Enjoy!

Cy

Cyril Sorongon has shared: The Teenager Audio Test - Can you hear this sound? - The Oatmeal

Test your hearing after all those years of clubbin... and rock shows heheThanks for the link Nono!
The Teenager Audio Test - Can you hear this sound? - The Oatmeal Source: theoatmeal.com
Cyril Sorongon sent this using ShareThis.

Finally have my personal work site up!

It's been a while and honestly a bit too late but as they say, better
late than no more hehe

Kidding aside, it's a very basic online portfolio and a basic site to
be straight to the point. No fuss. The collection of work is a work in
progress and I simply uploaded my not so old collection of works to
get the site up and running asap. The first batch of uploads will
definitely be more than enough to show what I can do including a link
to my silverfilter site which has even more music.

So click now and please help me spread the word. Thanks!

Http://www.cyrilsorongon.com

God bless

Cy

www.silverfilter.com
myspace.com/silverfilter
silverfilter.multiply.com
twitter.com/silverfilter
facebook.com/silverfilter

People's Production Techniques PT1

Ok... while I'm waitin for a video to download fully on Vimeo, I'll continue writing this..

Today I'll be looking at some production techniques you can use to jump start your creative mind in case you've been locked into certain ways in doing things. I actually just do one from the three, that we're going to go over. It's just because I have a certain way of working and I see it as somewhat an easier way but the other two can give you GREAT results that I can only imagine of doing but I'm too caught up in making music that I don't want to be bothered. And off we go.

Live Jam - This is one of the things I don't normally do especially since I work in Reason and I don't do direct recordings (yet). But this is one thing I'll share with you that you can do. Make a drum loop or a guide track that you can play while you let the whole sequence run. If you're working on a synth, just record the whole performance moving your knobs, sliders, adjusting lfo's and the like, so that after the whole recording, you can find a part where the tweak sounded great and find something you can use for your composition. This of course, is not limited with just a synth. You can be live tweaking a drum synth and still come up with great results from the selection you get in recording the whole performance.  

Sampling - This is one thing I'd like to do but I never get to. As I mentioned, I'm more of the here and now person so when I get inspiration, I'd rather strike while the iron is hot and sampling takes time. But still... A producer I saw was just recording bits of percussions as he went along writing his DnB tune. He used the sounds he sampled to replace other sounds or make it sound like something else. For example, he used a tambourine as a snare/cymbal effect. He even recorded himself ripping out gaffer tape and used the sound as a bass drum variation. There are a lot of things you can record to integrate into your pieces. Just make sure you have a nice mic.

Split your bass freqeuencies - This one I do. I sometimes can just end up using 2-3 synths for my bass doing the same thing but are split into the different frequencies' low, mid, and high. This way, you have a solid sounding bass that plays together but since they're in separate frequencies and tracks, you can further manipulate the sound of each. Like the low can stay as it is as a sub but then the mid or high can be filtered nicely or chopped or modulated and you still keep your low end intact. 

So that's it for now. Pretty short but I believe interesting ways to spice up your tune-making. 

Feel free to share what you come up with! Let me know!

God bless!!

Cy

TC Electronics for Free?

No. I'm not talking about any pirated software here. 

TC Electronics is giving away their M30 Reverb, a $79 value, for FREE!!!

Come visit now! It's only free for 3 days!

http://www.tcelectronic.com/freetcreverb.asp?utm_source=freetcreverb&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=m30

Enjoy!

Cy

Gaslamp Killer

Check out one of the RARE opportunities you can catch something different!!!

Gaslamp Killer flies in for the 1st anniversary of Dubplate!!!

Just check out the poster for more details!

If you can't see the poster, head on to http://silverfilter.blogspot.com

Minsan lang 'to! Let's grab the opportunity to open our ears to something out of this world!

Cy

My Online Radio Broadcast

Broadcasting now at http://112.203.70.253:8000/listen.m3u

It's the first ever online radio broadcast I've done and I must say I pretty much am enjoying it. 

Just a few things to sort out like how to integrate a mic so I can do some introductions or even greetings to my handful of listeners. Like handful... mga 5! hahaha

And another thing is sorting out how to prepare it next time for a live performace broadcast. Yup, you read that right. I'll do one soon once I figure this thing out.

At the moment, it's all just playing straight from my player into your speakers online. 

And to document this, I played Adam Freeland, Plump DJ's, Dave Spoon, Mauro Picotto, an exclusive silverfilter remix which nobody else has heard before since I just finished writing it the other day, and a few more. I'm limited for one hour shows now, which is not a bad thing. 

I'm really getting excited about this. I feel like making an intro and outro like radio stinger for this hahaha

We'll see! Thanks for everyone who tuned in! 

God bless

Cy

s i l v e r f i l t e r
http://www.silverfilter.com
http://www.myspace.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.multiply.com
http://www.facebook.com/silverfilter
http://www.twitter.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.tumblr.com
http://www.thesixtyone.com/silverfilter
http://www.reverbnation/silverfilter

Saying Grace and Ice Cream

Got this from my email and I know it's reserved for those tons of forwarded mails but it's a nice little story to share...

Saying Grace In A Restaurant 
Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.


My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. 

As we bowed our heads he said, 'God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for d essert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!'

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman 
remark, 'That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!'

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, 'Did I do it wrong? Is 
God mad at me?'

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my son and said, 'I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.' 

'Really?' my son asked.

'Cross my heart,' the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), 'Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.' 

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, 'Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already .' 

The End

Join My Mailing List!

Hey guys! 

I'm inviting anyone interested to join my mailing list to get up-to-date news and get more freebies just for being part of the list! Show your support as well in telling others whom you might know might be interested :)

As an advanced thank you to people who sign up, I've included a free full album giveaway for all who sign up!

Just scroll down to the lower left part and see the email box! :)

http://www.silverfilter.com/home.html

Thanks and hope to see you on the list!

Cy

Ever wanted to try to make electronic music but were afraid to try?

Hey everyone!

Just got these links from one of the communities I'm in. I've seen this before and it's nice to finally rediscover these. 

If you've wanted to try making electronic music but were afraid to try or just because you feel you need all the software or hardware for making 'em. Sink your teeth on these and enjoy! Who knows, maybe you'll take it a step further once you do. And I'll be there to help you out if you want to :)

http://inudge.net/index.en.html

http://www.hobnox.com/index.1056.en.html

Cy

Incredible Nosebleed

Was reading a nice article on Pacquaio and here goes a fellow pinoy with her comments. Grabe Nosebleed...

korina says:

i react to your article coz i he is not treated like god here in the philippines , dnt put us all the filipino stupid it sounds like we are stupid, uneducated the way usay that we treat manny like goddess! he dnt deserved all this treatment that the world have given to him coz there are a lot of people must be put in the news who makes good things to the world and contribute good in our society . why not imbistigate what really going on inside the manny pacquia games and know why he win it!!!!!!!

What do you need?

Let God know and everything will be alright :)

http://read.ly/Phil4.6.nkjv

For South peeps looking to get the new silverfilter shirt

You can check out the MASH booth over at the Cuenca bazaar today and avail of the "Love The Light" silverfilter shirt! For those who can't make it, simply visit http://www.silverfilter.com/buy to order :)

Cy

Devotion now available in 2 more locations North!

Just letting everyone know that if you're from the Northern part of Manila and are looking to get a copy of Devotion, you can visit the following:

Route 196 along Katipunan

and

Whitebox Studio in Cubao Expo

That's all for now. Hope you can grab a copy!

God bless

cy

Cyril Sorongon has shared: Acid Symphony Orchestra - Diamonds Of The Night on Vimeo

Here's some TB303 Lovin. The video's a bit trippy but the concept behind the whole composition is intense!
Acid Symphony Orchestra - Diamonds Of The Night on Vimeo Source: vimeo.com
Cyril Sorongon sent this using ShareThis.

Cyril Sorongon has shared: Video

How do you catch a Snipe?
Video Source: media.digisynd.com
Cyril Sorongon sent this using ShareThis.

Do You Plump?

Here's another lead to you guys following my blog or on my list :)

http://www.ministryofsound.com/NYE/NewsDetails.aspx?n=411

Interview of Plump DJ's with a smashing FREE download :)

Cy
 

s i l v e r f i l t e r
http://www.silverfilter.com
http://www.myspace.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.multiply.com
http://www.facebook.com/silverfilter
http://www.twitter.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.tumblr.com
http://www.thesixtyone.com/silverfilter
http://www.reverbnation/silverfilter

Still a Lot To Be Given Away!

If you're in the Cubao Expo area on Saturday and feel like you could spare time around 8pm, drop by Whitebox Studio for a small gig we're having.

I've got some more silverfilter pins to be given away and some free CDs to anyone who avails of my CD that night. 

I'll see ya then!

Cy

A Twitter Dot...

A little tip to those unaware.

If you reply to someone and you feel like what you typed can be beneficial to your followers, simply add a period (.) at the beginning of your tweet right before the @name. This can be very useful rather that retyping the whole thing or finding the need to Retweet your own post. 

That's all :)

Cy

Cyril Sorongon has shared: nonome test - Unusually Cold - piclae on Vimeo

Here's a cool reason to get the Novation Launchpad. It turns your LP into a Monome using Max for Live! I have yet to order one myself but it's not in the priority list at the moment. Enjoy!
nonome test - Unusually Cold - piclae on Vimeo Source: vimeo.com
Cyril Sorongon sent this using ShareThis.

Sharing Stuff Online with Safari and Knowing If You're Reaching Anyone with Your Blog

In this installment of my blog, I shall be covering two useful sites that I stumbled upon tonight. This is useful if you're a blogger or one of those addicted to Facebook or Twitter, and to you who simply like to share things. Aren't you a generous bunch? :)

1. ShareThis.com - I found this quite useful since it encourages viral communication aka "sharing." I especially find this very useful for Safari since they have the sharethis bookmarklet, which I sorely miss in Firefox as a Facebook user. What the bookmarklet does is you have a shortcut on your bookmarks bar on your browser which you simply click on if you're on a site you want to share with the world. In firefox, Facebook had their own which you simply used to share on FB. Yesterday, I found out that it wasn't available for Safari so imagine how happy I was to discover this tonight. What Sharethis does is it takes it up a notch. Not only can you share on FB, you can share to tons of sites that you're on from Twitter to email. There are just too many to mention so I'll leave that to you to discover coz I know you can't wait to get it. So go!

http://www.sharethis.com

2. Statcounter.com - This is pretty basic. As with all bloggers, I wonder if my blog ever does reach any pair of eyes. I wish to help people with my posts but if nobody's reading, then what good am I doing the world, right? So I'm doing this experiment to see if people do actually visit my site. This ain't your cheesy "visitor site counter" types. It's a nice little counter that is reflected with your own account on their site which you can customize and install on any site that you have. Pretty handy :)

http://www.statcounter.com

Enjoy these two.

You have less than a day to avail of the www.macheist.com giveaway. Get the apps now!

Till then

God bless

Cy

Cubao X On Saturday

See ya this Saturday! 8pm. Whitebox Studio Cubao X. I'll be selling copies of Devotion there from now on:)

Cy

 

s i l v e r f i l t e r
http://www.silverfilter.com
http://www.myspace.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.multiply.com
http://www.facebook.com/silverfilter
http://www.twitter.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.tumblr.com
http://www.thesixtyone.com/silverfilter
http://www.reverbnation/silverfilter

I Surprise Myself Till Now

I just realized that I've written around 5 full tunes in the past week. I didn't think I'd be back to being this productive. 

I'm excited to share the tunes but I'll finish and polish them fully before putting it online. Besides, I need to submit some of them for consideration abroad. It's a long shot but nothing's impossible with God :) And I've got a good feeling about this so I'm really making the best tracks I can make these days. 

I took a break from mixing/mastering the album today. I needed a breather. Even my body is letting me know I need to take a break from all of it. 

I feel very positive these days and I can just feel creativity pouring out of me again. It's a great feeling and I'm grabbing it while it's here. 

With that said, I shall go back to writing hehe

God bless!

Cy

Getting Busier...

I was hoping to breathe a bit come end of November but things are pouring in. Sometimes I feel like I'm "making" myself busy to feel productive but I'm just finishing a lot of stuff. It's more of the passion duties than actual work and it's a big risk doing something you love when it doesn't pay out or get you to earn enough to make a living. Preparation is key I guess and this is what I've been doing the whole of 09 coz come 2010, I'll be promoting big time and getting out there. It's about time. Unfortunately, I've been years late. oh well. There's the perfect time I guess. 

I'm finishing the last mixes for the album and Ive started preparing the stems for remix for the remix album... Here's the concept. title of my new album is Manila Electronica. Now I got support from the electronica manila crew to do remixes of the songs on my album so title of the promo remix album is Electronica Manila does Manila Electronica. It's a play of words that somehow sounds funny hehe After that gets released, I'll be making the remix stems available for the world to play and make their own versions of the tracks. 

Other than that, I'm also starting some side remix projects that's more of promotion again than actual work. I'm hoping it would get my name out there by doing so. 

That's it for now. back to work.

Cy

I Think I'm In Love Remix... Kuh Ledesma

eto classic OPM hehe quickshare

http://www.mediafire.com/file/w3hko2zjouy/Ithinkiminlove dropclub mix 16.mp3

Silverfilter Online Promos

This is short... check me out on these sites 
 

s i l v e r f i l t e r
http://www.silverfilter.com
http://www.myspace.com/silverfilter
http://silverfilter.multiply.com
http://www.facebook.com/silverfilter
http://www.twitter.com/silverfilter

http://silverfilter.tumblr.com

http://www.thesixtyone.com/silverfilter

http://www.reverbnation/silverfilter

Make Your Own Robot Voice a la "satisfaction" in Mac

Everybody says that everything's simpler on a Mac.

I found one thing that isn't! Do I get a prize? hahaha

I wanted to record something internally like streaming audio or in my case, I wanted to record the robot text to speech sound and surprisingly, it's more difficult with a Mac...

All is done with a freeware software named Audacity on both platforms.

With a PC, all you have to do is select stereo within the program and voila!

With a Mac. you can't. So Macheads, here's how you do it coz it's not that simple with audacity. 

Download Soundflower.

Open Audacity.

In your mac system preferences, select soundflower as your output ch 2.

Then in Audacity, select soundflower as your input. 

Then open your text editor (assuming you've enabled text to speech already including the command to speak)

press record on Audacity and then let your mac read the text you typed in your text editor. 

Enjoy... till you get your... satisfaction hehehe

Cy

(I intentionally didn't include a tutorial on how to enable and configure text to speech because I'd like you to do some research also hehe)

A Productive Night Indeed... mixing and remixing!

I wonder if anybody ever reads my blog. I guess most bloggers think of the same thing. I hope there are but if there's only one reader who still learns something in the end, then I'm good with that...

Aaaanyway...

Spent my saturday at home. Whole day at  home. Focused on the last few songs for the album to be mixed and I'm happy to announce that I'm down to one last song for mixing. Woooohooo!!! After this, I'm off to the final stage. I've already finished the album cover the other week so that's done.  I'll post the album cover soon. Goin back, I finished mixing 3 songs. Not bad. I was able to throw in writing a whole remix in between. 

I'm going remix crazy (a bit) hoping to break out one way or another. I hope my remixes make it globally!!! I'm pretty excited actually. The remix I did tonight was tiring but rewarding. I thought I was done but the perfectionist in me won't allow that type of mix so I went back and redid the whole thing. It was a long process but when I finally got the sound I was looking for, it brought a smile to my face... So all in all I got to finish and mix 4 tunes including one remix not included in the album. It's all good!

Not much to report today but that. 

And to make your time worthwhile in reading this, here's a production tip...

During mixing, once you're done and you feel you're done and happy, STOP. That's my tip today... STOP.

We, myself included, often fall into the trap of ALWAYS tryin to improve a mix. As much as going for that perfect sound is admirable, it can also mean unreleased tunes. One day you might get tired coz you might feel that it still isn't sounding right (during your 6th mix!), that you totally abandon the track for another time and we all know that'll take a while. This is not just from me but even from professional sound engineers and producers. We will ALWAYS find something to tweak or improve and it will never end. If we do find ourselves happy with the mix early on, STOP. Move on. There are a lot of music to be written.

Till then...

God bless!

Cy

Mixing and Going Sample Crazy

Spent the whole night mixing some of the remaining tracks for the album. I'm more than halfway already but I'll be spending my saturday stuck at home working on the rest. Hopefully I finish all of 'em over the weekend. Please!!!

In between mixing tracks, I had to rest my ears so I surfed and I ended up listening to the catalog of Loopmasters. They're a company that releases sample CDs DVDs. These are sound sources we producers use to spice up our sound library so we can bring you the freshest sounds. Though I spent my time just listening and not buying haha A single download costs around P2k already. 

So there... I simply enjoyed listening haha

For the newbie producers out there, try to look at the sound libraries available. There are a lot of companies making 'em and Loopmasters is only one of the many. Check out eastwest, uberschall, vengeance, and many many more. These libraries can definitely inspire and bring your ideas out from your head. But don't fall into the trap of using just the sounds losing your own creative self. You know what I mean. continue to explore while being inspired. 

Cy

Additional Info on the Workshop! Preregister for a cheaper fee!

Visit http://silverfilter.com/electronicamanilaprops

For preregistration instructions and details. Avail of the 500 fee if you pre-register before Dec 19!

Cy

Some New Gear... and free software

I wish these were in my forever being renovated studio. (I really pray it gets finished soon).

Anyway, as promised, I shall not fill my blog with every story that happens to my life but also make it a resource for anyone into electronic music. I'll also post some thoughts after every write up I make 

And I'm off...

Yamaha just released their latest gadget, the Tenori-on Orange. This is an affordable version of the original. Slashing off 200 brit pounds (roughly), it aims to be more within reach for people who are very much into the music making concept behind the original. To cut costs of production, Yamaha removed the battery panel, the back part of the original which also lit up, as well as changed the material to plastic from the original magnesium. It's slated for release just in time for Christmas. 

- I've always wanted the original Tenori-on. It's just so expensive and with the way I make music, I know it's going to be more toy (to me) than actual tool. That's one reason I can hold off from getting it haha the main attraction for me is the lights and its potential for live use. Oh well...

Novation Launchpad's been around online creating its own buzz as the counterpart to Akai's APC. But this time, it has finally hit stores! The launchpad is built behind the workflow of the typical ableton user particularly those who work in session view or the "live" view. Like the APC, it has controls for mostly all of the parameters that are in front of you in your usual Ableton Live session. However, the big difference is with the APC having everything in front of you, the LP requires some page switching for certain parameters like Volume, panning, etc. Another big difference, which will definitely attract users is that the LP is half the price of the APC. The LP also is powered direct by USB unlike the APC which requires AC power. One nice thing about the LP is that it has more pads unlike the APC. It would be nice to pair the LP with the Remote SL. That would be a killer combination. One strength that I see that the LP has over the APC is the ability to control instrument racks off the bat. It's built into it. Whereas in the APC, you need to hack it with midi just for that functionality. Makes me want to get one...

- There's nothing huge for people to turn down the Launchpad. I honestly want one as well but that would be gear lust already. I'm happy with my APC but I can see the attraction in the price and the portability of the unit. For an easier workflow in Production, I can see the strength of the Launchpad. But for me, the APC wins more for the immediacy of the controls when I play out live. I really don't want to be bothered by page switching and such. But that's just me. 

For people who love freebies... here's something I got from some of my subscriptions...

A free Mellotron emulator. Windows only VST.

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2009/11/05/free-mellotron-m400-emulation/

Enjoy!

Cy

Few more freebies for the Workshop!

Hey everyone!

I'm inviting everyone who are aspiring producers to check out the workshop this December! This is open not only for electronic music enthusiasts but even indie bands and songwriters!

[img]http://silverfilter.com/pix/sf%20monthly/EM-Production-Workshop.gif[/img]

If you can't see the poster, click here http://www.silverfilter.com/electronicamanilaprops

Electronica Manila in cooperation with Propellerhead Software and Loopmasters Sample Boutique presents:

PROP YOUR HEAD

A Music Production Workshop using Propellerhead's Reason and Record

Coverage
Introduction to Record
Songwriting with Record
Indie bands and Record
Integrating Record with Reason
Producing with the Props
Remixing inside Reason and Record
Expanding your sound and more!

Speaker
silverfilter - Live PA, Remixer, Composer, Arranger, Founder: Electronica Manila

With Performances By
silverfilter
Flavours and Caffeine

Details
December 19, 2009
4PM Sharp
U-View  Fully Booked
Bonifacio High Street

Registration
Php500.00 inclusive of snacks

Win Reason & Record!
Make your own and come in your custom-designed Propellerhead shirt! Best design takes a full version of Reason home!

All participants have a chance to take home a full copy of Record!

Loopmasters Giveaway
Win sample CD's for more sounds!

*seats are limited to first 60 registrants

Cy

Anybody Care To Learn Music Production?

Electronica Manila in cooperation with Propellerhead Software and Loopmasters Sample Boutique presents:

PROP YOUR HEAD

A Music Production Workshop using Propellerhead's Reason and Record

Coverage
Introduction to Record
Songwriting with Record
Indie bands and Record
Integrating Record with Reason
Producing with the Props
Remixing inside Reason and Record
Expanding your sound and more!

Speaker
silverfilter - Live PA, Remixer, Composer, Arranger, Founder: Electronica Manila

With Performances By
silverfilter
Flavours and Caffeine

Details
December 19, 2009
4PM Sharp
U-View  Fully Booked
Bonifacio High Street

Registration
Php500.00 inclusive of snacks

Win Reason & Record!
Make your own and come in your custom-designed Propellerhead shirt! Best design takes a full version of Reason home!

All participants have a chance to take home a full copy of Record!

*seats are limited to first 60 registrants

Cy

A Free Tune For Everyone

As promised, I got clearance and I can share this with the world...

This is a remix of a song entitled Stand Up. It's originally used in a campaign for a global housing project in the Philippines where architects/designers from all over the world would be part in designing a home that fits the housing budget for people affected by typhoons. (this is from what I understood and remember hehe)

Anyway, enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/yty2j1gdjim/Stand Up - silverfilter Minimalife Mix.mp3

Cy

I loved the Moon Last Night

Driving to church, I saw the nicest view of the moon I've seen in my life. I dunno. The Full moon hidden behind a stretch of clouds was something else. 

I tried to catch it with my point and shoot but it didn't do the view justice. It was something to be seen in person. 

Cy

I Try...

I'd like my blogs/accounts to be a resource. It may have the occasional stories about my day and such but i'd like it to also be something people that people can take something from and learn so I'll try my best to put more of those in my coming blogs. 

At the same time, I'd also keep things as they were with some additions as mentioned. I'd like to keep the fun in. 

I actually hope people with the same interests as mine would check it out and learn. I'd really like to share a lot and be a resource for new things for them and to you who's reading this. 

Let's hope for a future of discovery!

God bless

Cy

Monday blues... literally

So I wake up for my flight, head out to the port. It was such a blessing that once again, MTV made the necessary arrangements for a smooth trip back even for our extension. 

Praise God it was on time (later this will bite me in the arse) and we had the bigger plane. The cushion on my seat wasn't connected to the actual seat though. Couldn't they have it repaired!?

Anyway, so I got to the airport in Manila right before 9am... I decided to wait for Bernice at the airport, on a chair,since her flight arrives at 12:30. That's roughly a 4-hour wait. I thought that I could just sit and maybe watch some movies on my Ipod...

Wrong move.

Her flight was delayed and I ended up waiting for 6 hours at the airport. Even the airport employees were looking at me funny already like "kawawa naman walang sumundo sa kanya..." It was that bad. I was so sleepy but i had to keep myself up and alert in a way, since I had all my gear with me. I did all the possible sitting positions you could think of in those 6 hours of waiting. I couldn't even leave to go to the restroom. 

When Bernice finally arrived, I headed home and slept for 24 hours and woke up thrice just for meals. My body had to make up for lost sleep.

And for my photo? well, that's me and the whole airport with nobody in sight but few airport employees. sheeesh....

Sunday, bloody Sunday

Ok. I didn't get any decent sleep last Sunday. probably why I slept for 24 hours last monday til tues with only 3 breaks to eat... but that's for another blog. 

It was because of the rebooking and all. We didn't just have to worry about our flight, but also our ticket. We also had to worry about being kicked out of Alta Vista since our stay was only till Sunday. After the weird morning, I had a nice final lunch at Alta Vista care of Perry (Thanks Perry!) and she also made sure we had a place to stay. We were transferred to Microtel and I must also say that it's a nice place! I love that it has its own little private beach area and pool. If I would go back to Bora for vacation, I'd probably stay there coz of the relaxing atmosphere. Boracay has (I'm sorry) lost its magic. I'd be bold enough to say it looks like it's been raped and the once nice little island has become a mall with sand. It has Yellowcab (with delivery!), Starbucks, and Pancake House! Wow... Goin back, we checked in to Microtel and after we settled down, I headed to the beach to meet with Berns and Claude. Time to swim. But it was too late in the afternoon that I only enjoyed swimming in the dark around 6-7pm. 

After swimming, we checked out an event at White House just to take a peek then headed to Hawaiian Barbecue. It was the only thing I made sure I'd do when I get to Boracay haha I know there's one in Tagaytay but I just had to eat there in Bora. Bernice even saw Derek Ramsay but that's a different story hehehe she'll kill me if I blogged about it. 

Anyway, After dinner, I went back to the hotel to freshen up since I came from the beach. headed down again to check out the anniversary party of Hey Jude. I was jumping from Hey Jude to Bombom's (tama ba?) though and ended up longer in Bombom's where Tropical Depression did an impromptu set. It was a fun set. 

Stayed till around 2am then headed back to the hotel to take a quick nap before the flight. 

For the pic, you just gotta love those ribs!!! Looking at it just makes me hungry!

Monday to follow since I slept most of the day anyway hehe

Cy

Bora Gig Day

I don't usually try to get up early for no reason but hotel breakfast is one of them so I got up around 9 to make it for breakfast deadline haha

After breakfast, we hung out and chatted with Funkavy, DJ Red-I, Soulflowa, and Wendell from MTV. We talked quite long that it was almost lunch when we finished so we headed down to Pearl of the Pacific for our lunch and soundcheck. 

Unfortunately, when we were about to go for soundcheck, it rained hard. Everyone was in that "scared" mood coz the event was just a few hours away. It was a blessing that it was only a quick but hard shower. Once everything was wiped down, we did soundcheck. Good thing the sound system was kinda slow in setting up that we hadn't set up anything at all before the rain poured. 

After soundcheck, we headed back to the hotel and I went back to sleep to prepare for the long night ahead. 

When I woke up, I took a quick shower then i was off for make up and costume since MTV provided for our costumes for the night. I didn't want to look scary since my costume was already that of a zombie so I went with a white masked zoro type of make up haha

After preparation, we all headed down to Pearl for the gig. It was around 11pm already and Soulflowa was spinning some serious dubstep. She was owning those dubstep beats. Made me a fan of the genre immediately! hehe Anyway, after her, Tropical took on the stage then my duo set with Funkavy. Mid-set, we had tropical Depression come up again for our jam with them as they sang over remixes I did of Bilog ang Buwan and some other reggae tunes. After our jam, We went back to our duo DJ-live set and I closed the night with a short live set. 

After pack-up, we took our gear back to the hotel and went down again to check out the party at Hey Jude which was pretty much still alive at that time. I didn't stay long though when I found out that my flight was not Monday but Sunday. I kinda lost my "good gig mood" and kinda felt bad that I had to get up early to arrange everything to rebook. 

Sunday to follow...

But before I end, the photo here is the money shot hahaha

I was silent because of Boracay...

A quick recap of my Boracay gig...

Friday AM : Flight was at 6:50am and we checked in at 6:30! The person at the check in counter "scolded" us lightly for coming in late. I was actually early but my ticket was with Funkavy so the rest is history...

Flight : Turns out, we were on a 19-seater plane with the whole crew of MTV so it was fun. It felt like a private plane trip that smelled like gas. Are Sea Air flights always like that? hehe

Arrival : I thought we were checked in at Pearl of The Pacific since our show was to be held there but was told that we're gonna be staying at Alta Vista. At first I wasn't excited to be staying somewhere else but I changed my mind when we got there. The place is gorgeous! I highly recommend the place! It's far from the beach, which can be seen as a plus so you can feel that you're in two places during the whole stay. Beach and mountain... Nice! Rooms are great and I loved the whole experience! I must say without any biases, MTV does take care of their talents. Seriously. I had a room all to myself with 2 huge beds and a 32" LCD TV!

We had a quick breakfast and we were off... to bed. seeing that we didn't sleep the night before coz of the early flight, we hit the sack. I Woke up early evening for the MTV welcoming party down by the pool. It was a nice pool party with good food and good vibes. I simply enjoyed the evening as DJ Red-I and Funkavy took on the decks that night. I tweeted some parts of the evening haha

We then Ended the evening early to prepare for the long day ahead, which was gig day. It was a nice closing though as we hung around the lobby showing funny youtube videos. We had a nice laugh before sleeping...

I attached only one photo of the pool in Alta. More pics when I upload the whole album of the trip!

Saturday to follow.

Cy