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

Disappointed

I am very disappointed that I didn't make it to registration. I arrived around 4pm, hoping to get in line since they finish at 9pm. When I got there, they just said they're done for the day and for me to just come back tom. I was so disappointed not because of the hassle but because I really wanted to register and at this point, I can't go back because I'm flying out for work. I pleaded with them to put me in for the day. I pleaded and pleaded and explained my predicament but they couldn't care less. i asked to be put at the very last and make me wait for hours but they still didn't consider.

I dunno...

Last election, I wasn't like this at all. I didn't even bother knowing how to register but this time's different. I really wanted my vote to count. I admit that I'm one of those late registrants but early or not, we're still all in this. If only I could register where I'm going just to be counted. I don't mind waiting for hours at all because that's definitely what I get for not falling in line early on. 

I just feel bad at how it turned out. I arrived there willing to wait for hours and was prepared for the long haul but ended up with nothing. I even came prepared so I won't have to fall in line for any photocopy or anything. But it still wasn't enough. 

I thought that when COMELEC announced the extension till 9, people who came around 4 would be accommodated. Otherwise, they could've just said it's till 4pm. 

But NO. 

Cy

Bora Tayo?

Anybody flying to Boracay for Halloween? Do check us out for MTV's Screech at the Beach at Pearl of the Pacific this Halloween!

I'll be playing with lots of talented performers namely Tropical Depression, Lady I, Soulflowa, DJ Red-I, and my tandem partner, Funkavy. 

Tara!

I'll see you there. If not, I'll buzz you this November... so looking forward to November!

Till then. God bless!

Cy

Nice Lead and Then Some

Here's the lead, if you're on the lookout for some live effect plugin, checkout the latest promo of Sugarbytes' Artillery 2. They've slashed their price from 199 to 99 dollars til the end of the month :) A cheaper option is Native Instruments' The Finger. It requires the free Kore player to run which is a 400mb download. 

I just finished the remix I'm doing for a campaign to help housing in the Philippines. I'll just wait for word from the organizer if I can finally make the remix available. Spent the whole day yesterday til today working on it. I think I did 4 studies till I came and found THE ONE. It turned out to be a non-peak house tune. I realized that it doesn't matter if it's not one for the height of the night hours. It made me see that even the build up tunes are equally as important. 

Saw This Is It last night and I must say that it is AWESOME! As an MJ fan since I was a kid, it was really something. You couldn't talk to me during the movie and I had smiles all over. I'd like to see it again... along with 500 Days of Summer for one more screening. 

I'm up waiting to register for the coming elections. I wanna fall in line early to avoid waiting. I just hope it won't be as crowded as what I've read and heard. 

Anyway... I'll just do some chores today AFTER I get some sleep after registration. 

I'll close with, "God is good!" 

Stay blessed!

Cy

Short Review of the Korg Nanokey

I was able to borrow a Korg Nanokey from a DJ friend of mine for a gig. 

I have mixed feelings about this one as it really feels like a toy. I just like it coz it's so small. Other than that, I find nothing overly positive about it. 

The keys feel like rectangle pc computer keyboard keys! Seriously. I was SURPRISED to find out it was velocity sensitive but the computer keyboard feel makes it not as sensitive especially when I tried it with a nice piano patch. 

The controls are fine like octave up and down and there's a pitch up and down which I'm not sure if it serves as a bend. It also has a CC function which serves as an added functionality for the nanokey. If used as a CC trigger, the unit performs well and is decent for the money actually. For a small amount of money, you're provided with a 25 key controller and that's really bang for the buck!

To be fair though, seeing that this was made for portability, I believe it's awesome in that respect. For banging some notes live or triggering via control change, the NK is worth it. I could see myself rockin one o' these to save space and lessen the hassle of bringing the same 25 key controller which is 6x heavier and bigger than the NK. It indeed is a nano. 

I'm not sure if I'll ever get myself these Nano controllers. Maybe. Not now though. 

Cy

This Last Week of October's Nice...

Listening to Chris Lake and Deadmau5's track, I Thought Inside Out. One of my favorite tunes from the Mau5...

Let's get down to business...

Came from our rehearsal last night for the show on Saturday. I'll be playing with Funkavy and some "surprise" guests for MTV's Screech at the beach in Boracay. For anyone who's ever seen me, this one's gonna be different. I'll be playing something I've NEVER played live before. Something interesting if I may add. So catch us play at Pearl of the Pacific this halloween. 

God gave me a really good deal on software that I've always wanted to have. I installed it last night. That's one of the nice things about this week. I'm now a happy Logic User. Now to find time to learn it is another thing...

I've also started planning the tour for the upcoming album. I'm really excited about that. So far, my sound these days is something I'm thoroughly enjoying and at the same time not as alienating like when I do my 140bpm techno sets. So I'm pretty excited about this. I'll be doing some one off gigs prior to the release just to get the buzz out. 

I still have to work on the remix I mentioned in my previous blog so that's another thing about this week. 

After finding out the details for the gig in Bora, I'm more excited now than I was last week haha

So far, the week's looking goooood.

That's it for now. 

Take care everyone and God bless

Cy

Can't Wait For November

As October comes to a close, I could say it has been the busiest month of the year for me with it's ups and downs.

I worked on my biggest project for the year, finally launched my album, Devotion, and did a couple more work and other projects ,as well as preparing for the gig at the end of the month.

I'm really looking forward to November coz I'll have the freetime I need to finish a lot of pending stuff. My new album, Manila Electronica is still targetted for an end of Nov release so watch out for that. We'll also be finishing the recording of my band, Lovecore. I'll also be recording some tunes with Jaycie and Honey where I do drum duties. Toward the end of november, I'll also be launching (hopefully), my new live set format.

Can't wait.

Cy

Causes

I'll be spending my day today doin a remix. I'm pretty excited about it because it's primarily for a great cause. There's an awesome movement now in raising awareness globally but centered on the Philippines and the organizers (from what I understood) are pooling international talents to design a modern home that is strong but can be built with the given housing projects budget. This is to be able to create homes for our countrymen who were heavily displaced by the typhoons.

It really feels good to be part of something that I can help with from the music God has placed in me.

Do continue to pray for our "kababayans" who were hit hard and try to do what you can to help. Reliefs efforts are STILL ongoing all around so try to get involved. I'm telling you, packing em relief goods feels soooooooo rewarding knowing that you're there to help someone you don't know, knowing that in that little effort of yours, you're able to breathe a little life and comfort to their situation.

In other causes, If you can also join some organizations, please do. I joined greenpeace way back and with just a small monthly contribution, you're able to help out financially, the projects, that they do to fight those who continue to harm the environment. One reason why the effects of the floods were worse than it shouldve been.

Be proactive and take a stand. Live life for others as you do for yourself :)

Cy

I should stop blogging when soooo sleepy

I recently typed this:It's nice to know that there are still people  into the overall sound not just because your famous. 

It woke me up cuz I meant to say that it's nice to know there are still people dedicated to the craft and sound of the style they're into may it be house or whatever, regardless how obscure and not just because it's the most famous tune out there at the moment and someone keeps on requesting it in every club he goes to.

I was literally seein double when i typed my last entry that the thoughts sounded weird when I went over it after sending 

My apologies. 

Cy