Pilipino Ka!! (2018 PTV4 Staton ID )

 

Exactly 8 years ago, this jingle aired on the state national TV station, Peoples TV4. And it aired every morning in full and every hour in part for over a year. It was nominated for best station ID in 2019 by the Catholic Mass Media Awards .  

Pilipino ka is my first composition to have an extensive nationwide airplay. This song was a commissioned project which started in the early months of 2018. It took around 3 months to finish the project. I did the composition, lyrics, arrangement, recorded all the instruments and mixed the song to its finish product.

The composition and lyrics came almost simultaneously. PTV already has this "Para Sa Bayan" tagline which they wanted to make in a "wish ko lang" style.  I didn't take a listen to old jingles of the station as I don't want to be influenced by them. Instead I look up to some music influences which bit by bit I incorporated in the song. The introduction was influenced by the Cars' Hello Again. In the stanza you can hear a little bit of Ligaya of Eraserheads in the background. While the chorus part was heavily influenced by Buklod songs. The kulintang part with ati-atihan style drum pattern is just a generic ethnic beat that I need to incorporate to make the song very "Filipino".   

The drum was programmed on the computer, all the rest was played live; bass, guitar, and synths. The original demo was sang by DJ Angela, but the project coordinator wanted a younger sounding female voice so I called in Miyaka from the band Luckyzums to do the vocals, Back up vocals are done by Architect Willy Enriquez and DJ Angela.  

Though this is not the first time I got involved in commissioned work for TV shows, this was the biggest project for me so far. I did some theme songs for several TV shows, some of which I was able to capture and post on my Youtube channel. Others I lost track of.   

The jingle was played extensively and was used for several years. It later evolved into an instrumental piece yet the tagline part was still being used. I think they still use it until now.

It is flattering though that a band called MusiKbeats Coonection band actually covered the station ID and played it live on stage at some event. It was introduced with the title Para Sa Bayan.  The video is in the playlist section of my youtube channel. 

•  Pilipino Ka (PTV4 Station ID 2018)
•  Interpreted by Miyaka featuring DJ Angela and Arch Willy Enriquez 
• Composed by Nolit Abanilla 
• Arranged by Nolit Abanilla 
• Recorded at Indiepinoy Studios 
• Nominated to 2019 41st CMMA Awards for Television (Best TV Station ID) 

NICS - my instrumental electronic album

 An instrumental album of electronic music hence the title NICS which is actually short for electronics. Most of the songs here are taken from the Demotep series. They were recorded with newer instruments and modern recording technologies but maintaining the arrangement and melodies of the original. A lot of these songs are really experiments on gadgets that I have my hand on. Influenced by such artists as Kraftwerk, Herbie Hancock, Harold Faltermeyer, Giorgio Moroder, Jan Hammer and the breakdance music of the 80s. 

 

• A Divine Traveler (Hmmm) (1991) - A favorite tune of mine, this one was first created on a yamaha SHS-10 keytar which I borrowed from my uncle. It's accompaniment is obvious as a preset track. The theme kept ringing on my head that I made several versions of this song. This version is more laid back with a female voice seemingly trying to get you to sleep.
• Spring Disco (1992) -This song was created while playing around with a Yamaha PSR keyboard I borrowed from Pet. The jumpy theme of the song following the disco beat is an ingredient for a dance step that can be used for a craze on social media. Of course I wasn't thinking about that when I made the song. I was just playing around the theme.
• Playful Sea (1992) - Originally titled Playful C because the song works around the key of C. This one is another song playing with the Yamaha PSR keyboard from Pet.
• Don't Gamble Me (1994) - This song was composed to be included in a compilation project about AIDS Awareness. It had a long narration on the first part with a voice of a child talking about the AIDS. Unfortunately the project was shelved and this song was left in limbo. I then rerecorded it and removed a few elements of the song. This was done on a Roland D-10 keyboard and a Boss DR-550 Dr Rhythm drum machine.
• Bell Disco (1992) - Playing again with the Yamaha PSR keyboard, this one follows the same formula of the Spring Disco but using a different tone patch. Obviously the accompaniment is in the disco beat.
• Tip Toes (1992) - This song is very 80s in form and arrangement. Even on the mix with its wide sounding. Upgrading from playing with the Yamaha PSR keyboard, I tried to do a more full band arrangement. This song is very much influenced with the TV theme songs of the 80s.
• Bullets On The Ground (1993) - The original idea of the song is to emulate the dropping of several bullet shells from machine gun firing, thus the beat is very fast. With that in mind I try to make a harmony out of it that does not sound irritating. This was done on a Roland D-10 keyboard and Roland DR-550 Dr Rhythm drum machine.
• Get Busy (1992) - Influenced by hip hop and breakdance music this was created. It has several vocal injections typical of a hip hop dance track but I excluded "get busy" and reserved it as the title of the song.
• Short Wave (1995) - This is obviously an experiment using recorded sounds taken from shot wave radio. They are sampled and played on a keyboard Emulator. I was very much influenced by Jan Michel Jarre with this composition.
• A Divine Trance (2025) - This is a newer version of the original Theme "Divine Traveller' but instead done in trance. This song was added to have a modern sounding song in the collection.

The cover art is a newer digitalized version of a painting in acrylic on canvas I did in 1993. You can listen to these songs on all digital streaming platforms. Just search my name.

guitarista - my guitar instrumental album

 This is an instrumental album that features the guitar. We introduced four instrumental songs in the Early Reflections album (also Other Reflections on streaming platforms). But those songs are just the tip of all the instrumental songs I composed. Most of which are experimental as I am not a prolific instrumentalist. The songs are result of trying out different gadgets. The melodies just came naturally. And the arrangements came with constant experimentation. My demotep series include a lot of these experiments and I have sorted them out into two types: the guitar based songs and the electronic based songs. This one is the guitar based songs. All the song here are rerecorded versions of the original ones from the demotep series.

• A Divine Traveler (1991) - This is probably the melody that stuck on my head too long, as I have several versions of this song on the demotep series. The very first version was done on the keytar- a yamaha SHS-10 which I borrowed from my uncle. The accompaniment is obviously a preset rhythm from the keyboard. This version is done in a classical guitar.
• Just Cruising (1993) - I was able to borrow a Kawaii GB-2 session trainer from miyo and this is one of the results from experimenting with the gadget. Among the three songs I made from the session trainer, this is the one I am most happy with. Its beat makes you want to go. The guitar was done on a zoom 3030 effects.
• Morning Sway (1993) - Another song created using the Kawaii GB-2 session trainer. This one is more of a swing. I am heavily influenced by a lot of Tony Mottolla LPs which my dad used to put on our record player when I was young. The influence is obvious with this song.
• Don't Dance With The Record (1994) - This song is not an experiment on gadget but an experiment on chord progressions. This was composed later on when I was trying out not so ordinary chord patterns. I felt the urge to create something that sounds odd but not too dark.
• Guns and Guitars (Instrumental) (1991) - Guns & Guitars is not really an instrumental song. It is a glam rock song I composed about guerillas. I felt this one would sound great as an instrumental piece hence I recorded it.
• Dry (1993) - The third song in this album that I made using the Kawaii GB-2 seesion trainer. The original accompaniment was done on a drums with brushes. The original version is much much longer that this. I felt dusty and dry with the mood of the song, hence the title.
• Beat The Mood (1991) - This one was made using the Yamaha SHS-10 keytar. It is an upbeat song that has a very 80s vibe. This one is not really a guitar song. But I feel the strumming makes up most of the song so I included it with this album. I was fascinated with the preset rhythms and fills from the SHS-10 which is obvious played too much on this song.
• The Love We Forget (1991) - When I was young, I was taught how to play the song romance d'amour on the classical guitar. It became the inspiration of this song. I took a few lessons on classical guitar in yamaha school of music and later on a couple of semester in college of music major in guitar. All I learned during those times were guitar exercises.
• Bright Red Theme (1995) - The purpose of creating this song was to make a short theme song for the website of the BRMP (Bright Red Music Productions) which I handled. This song was originally created using Soundforge Acid layered with guitar adlibs. Eventually I made it into a full song.
• Boiling Flowers In The Dirt (1995) - This song was created along with the other instrumental songs which came out on the Early Reflection album (Other Reflection in streaming platforms). It is heavy and have faster guitar licks which what I was up to at that time. This song lies between VBBF and Oxygen, done in a more commercially acceptable arrangement. The mood of this one is something on fire. Not typical for a last song in an album, but this one says there is more to come.

The album is now available on all streaming platforms. Just search for my name and you will find it. The album cover is a school project, a rubber cut artist print I did when I was third year in college of fine arts.

 

Other Reflections

This album contains the remaining eight song of the full CD of Early Reflections, Late Night Decisions, plus two songs which are my version of songs I made and was jammed and recorded by the band LVNA for which I was part of during that 90s. The instruments in this album are rerecorded and remixed, maintaining the original arrangement of the songs. The original release of the CD was in  2011, and it was rerecorded in 2025. See other post for the technical notes on how these songs were done.

• Hintay (1992) – The original demo of this song has no ending. It just stops with the drum machines playing a few extra beats. It was intended to create a feeling of uncertainty since the theme is about waiting. It is a pop rock song with upbeat tempo.  It was about waiting for the love that has left him behind without a clue.
• Nasaan Na (1991) – This song was first recorded on acoustic guitar and some ethnic instruments. It is not originallu included in the Early Reflections CD.  In 1992, this became a regular line up on the songs of LVNA, my band in the 90s arranged with rock feel. It was recorded and included in the album of LVNA – Instant Myural. The version in this album is back to its original form which is chill in acoustic style. It is an environmental song which laments on losing all the birds, trees and rivers after the wildlife has been raped by corrupt businesses who doesn’t have any regard to taking care of mother nature.
• My Angel (1991) – This is another song we jammed with my band in the 90s,  LVNA. It was never released and was supposed to be included in the band’s 2nd album.  My solo version has almost the same arrangement of that of the band version. I added some lyrics  in tagalog in the 2nd part of the song. It is a love song about longing for a love. It also shows how he is willing to live with the angels and discover how it is in their world.
• F U Want Me (1992) – The song is a showcase of slap bass playing along a jungle beat almost similar to ati-atihan. It then transitions to a pop rhythm where lyrics enters. Then goes back to slap bass and jungle beats towards the end. The song is about encountering a girl from the street and gets the shock of his life when the girl turns out to be a sex worker.
• Three Movements (1992) – One of the first intrumental songs I created with the guitars. It is called Three Movements as it is actually a three part song with different styles. Though almost related in style, they are in ska, reggae and swing. The bass is a noticable instrument that plays an important role in this song. The guitar riffs are mainly rock.
• Take Me To A New Age (1996) –   The song is heavily influenced by heavy rock with pumping drum beats. It is also the time when I am experimenting with vocal effects, trying to create ambient feel of psychedelia. The song talks about longing for something new as he is bored with the usually stuff he is experiencing in his life.
• Oxygen (1997) – This short instrumental piece is originally a school project. It was a radio ad for a line of printed shirts that cater to heavy metal fans. The guitar shreding and tapping is really me playing on my zoom 3030. I did a lot of practice to achieve this recording. It actually ends with a door slam with a narration of the shirt’s slogan.
• Lying In Her Bed (1991) – This is a pop rock song about laziness. Even thouhgh it has an upbeatt rhythm that makes you want to move, the lyrics is the opposite. It is about waking up in the morning and gettting lazy to go to work. To add love song touch in the song it narrates that he wants to stay home because it is where her lover is. The guitar solo is also made in a lazy manner utilizing lesser notes in its start but exelerates to a rocking riff.
• Leave Me For Tomorrow (1995) – Starting with a blend of acoustic guitar and a melodic electric guitar riff. The song is about a broken family, where the father is leaving home and the child is numb and emotionless from the the turn of events. Although the child still hope he will be understood but really doesn’t care.
• VBBF (1997) – One of dark metal instrumentals I composed, this one runs on heavy drum beats. It follows one theme and maintains the that pumping rhythm. The title is an acronym of something I would rather not say.
• Waiting 4 U (1996) – Influenced by solo guitar songs of the 90s from the likes of Satriani and Vai, this one is a song putting the guitar on the front stage. Using a lot of sustains which is common in this era of solo guitar pieces. The prolonged sustains aptly represents longingness and wait.

This album concludes the 18 track CD plus two.  It became the ‘reflection’ series’ – (Early Reflections, Late Reflections and Other Reflecttions).  There are more than 50 ‘old’ songs with demos from my Demotep series. Others are simply written in cattleya notebooks (chords and lyrics). Hopefully I still remember the melodies of these. I will be sorting all these songs and release them soon. Up coming are two instrumental albums, one featuring the guitar and the other electronic music. These are also from the demotep series I created in the 90s. I will be posting them next.

Other Reflections will be available for listening starting July 5, 2026 in all music streaming platforms.  Go ahead, you know how to search them.

Early Reflections (notes)

 

First released in 2011, the album contains 10 selected tracks from the original 18-track cd. The songs in this album was recorded around 1996-1998 on an analog Fostex 380s 4-track cassette recorder. At this point I already have a home studio on my living room with no acoustic treatment. I had a premier drums set with sabian cymbals. I also had a good selection of mics which I experimented to get the best results. For drums I used a Fostex dynamic mic on the snare, (this came free with my purchase of the Fostex 380s Mulitracker. I used a stereo electret condenser pencil mic for the overheads which I bought cheap in raon since the store says nobody wants to buy it as it has 2 tr plugs which karaoke users are not familiar with. I used a “fifty-peso’ mic for the kick which gave me good results. The thud I achieved was probably because of the hard diaphragm of the cheap mic. You cannot get this results on expensive mics having more sensitive diaphragm.

The Fostex 380s Multitracker was the heart of the recording. It featured a responsive 3 band equalizer and two effects sends on each channel strip. I did a lot of bouncing to make all my instruments fit on the mix. Drums and bass is usually bounced into one track, then guitars on another, keyboards or backing vocals on the third track and the main vocals on track 4.

There was no compression done on the drums. With the bass I used a sansamp bass DI. I made it a point that all the signals were good when recorded so that I would not do any more processing while mixing. Guitars was feed using a zoom 3030 effects pedal. The main vocal mic is an electret condenser pencil mic which I found responsive to my vocal range. As early as this time, I already knew I should be avoiding low frequencies for the vocals. The pencil mic just did that without the need for an effects. I had a half-rack Boss SE-50 which I used for hall reverbs on the vocals. In some tracks, I used a Boss DR 550mkII Drum Machine.

In 2023, I remixed all the songs as everything can now be done on a PC. I didn’t like the drum machine in the original recording so I did some redrumming using addictive trigger to make it sound more realistic. I was able to get the raw 4-tracks and split them using stem separation software RipX. So now I have the unbounced bass track separated from the drum. The new mix is now what you hear on streaming platforms. Here is the story for each song:

• Jam Groove – This instrumental piece was composed when I was playing with the drum machine. It started with a groove and a bass line which made it obviously funky having nothing else on and no vocals to reserve space for. The guitars came later and accented with some synth stabs and melodies. The song was a good introduction for the album. This was intentionally composed as a first song for the album.
• Sa ‘Yong Karanasan – This is probably one of my first attempts to tackle the subject matter of a violence victim in a song. More like an observation of a tormented soul. Trying to push for more positivity yet not forgetting the lessons you learned from experience. I was experimenting on tremolo effects on guitars with this song.
• Innosence – The intro of this song was inspired from Ella’s “Permata Pemotong Permata” (a malaysian singer) where the bass did a melodic part over accented down beats. There are three guitar solo portions in the song, each with different effects. The song is about a young innocent crush.
• Hope You Do – Composed in Tacloban city while I was on vacation. The groove of this song was created with the help of my uncle who is also a musician in a band. He actually created that bass line. I just added bass solo towards the end to make it different from the usual guitar ad libs. This started as a jam with a drum machine where I do the guitar strumming and vocals while my uncle did the bass. The song is more about realizing mistakes in a relationship and hoping they could make up.
• Tatakasan – This song is about leaving a relationship which may or may not work. I was heavily influenced by synth pads on this song.
• Give – A “We are the world” type of song. This was composed when Live Aid and all those feed-the-world thing was popular. Although it became a melancholic song, this was never my intention. Wanted it to be more of a song inciting people to help out.
• Atup – A crazy song on experimental music techniques. In a multitrack cassette player you can reverse the play of a song from end to start. Thus this song was created. This was recorded on an acoustic drums (Premier ATK). I do not intend to insult or hurt anybody with this song. It was just a play of how a song can be delivered.
• Tabi Po – A ska rhythm song that will really make you jumping and dancing. I really missed putting a horn section on this (this was fixed in the Late Reflections – Nolit covers Nolit album). The song is actually more about conceit where the singer feels more self important. He thinks a girl is running after him and he just pushes her away.
• Echoing Cries of the Silent Children – The introduction of this song is supposed to sound like teardrops rather than raindrops. Still experimenting on bass as a melodic instrument in lieu of the guitar, the bass line is more riff laden. The song is all about unborn children.
• Di Minsan Lang – Another experimental song, this time playing with tape speed. The guitar solos were actually recorded in slower speed and was speed up to create the impression of fast guitar picking. The song is about being played on by his partner in a relationship.

If you have noticed the heavier songs were not included in this album. A lot of the instrumental pieces including the filler “Oxygen” taken out to make the album more pop and appealing. Those songs are included in the “Other Reflections” which we will review next.

The Journey of My Solo Album: Early Reflections, Late Night Decisions

Since I have released on streaming platforms all my songs from my first solo album I will need to tell its story and this post will be the perfect place to understand everything about the album. 

 

In 2011, as music streaming via the internet became the in thing, I got the courage to released the album to the public for everyone to hear. Only 10 tracks were included in the release and it was titled “Early Reflections, Late Night Decisions”. The songs were made available on spotify, deezer, Tidal, Youtube music, amazon music, applemusic and a lot more digital music platforms using the original cover art. This was released under the Indiepinoy label. 

In 2023, I rerecorded some instruments yet retained the vocals and the arrangement of the songs. This was made because digital redrumming was invented and I didn’t like the obvious sound of the drum machine used in the original recordings. Stem separation was also invented and now I can split all tracks and mix them properly. The original recordings were done on 4 track, thus I had to do a lot of track bouncing to bypass that limitation. The tracks were remastered and this is what you hear now on the streaming platforms.

Then came 2025 and new technology in digital music arrived. I then decided to rerecord and release the 8 remaining song which was not included in the first release. I included 2 more songs which were originally recorded by LVNA in the 80s for which I was the bassist at that time. I then called it “Other Reflections”. This will be available on all streaming platforms starting July 2026. 

Artificial Intelligence became controversially popular in music in 2026, and I tried my hand on it. I made AI covered the 10 songs in the first release trying to maintain the arrangement as much as possible. At first I had it for my own listening, but I was really amused by the results and so I released them on streaming platforms as well. This was now called “Late Reflections (Nolit Covers Nolit)” with an album cover which is also an AI version of the original art.

 There are more songs from my “demotep” collection, 40 in total. Plus there is more in my “cattleya” notebooks, some melodies are still in my head. I will then make other posts about each album and every song in it, including the “demotep” collection. This post is just the introduction. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing about it. Please do listen to the songs here in these albums. They are on all music streaming platforms. Just search for my name and it will all pop out.

Getting Back On Track

 

It has been a while since I last posted on this blog. I am coming back on since its a new year and I think I need to channel some of my ideas off my head. This post will be a trial post to see if the plugins work. If they don't then I may have to decide to fix the site, remove wordpress and instead use the blogger service as my blog. That we will have to see.

A lot has happened during the past few years while I refrained from posting. After posting a political topic, I received a message from someone I do not know but seems legit. I perceived it as a threat to my life so I distanced myself online and became more private and security conscious. Then I just let all things pass. In the last year, I was faced with several challenges. The studio couldn't recover after the pandemic as a lot of equipment had to be fixed or updated. My gigs became less common, which means I had to tighten the belt as finances became scarce. My dad died mid year of last year. And so I had to go to our home province every month to look after my mom. My wife had 2 operations. LapChole and Lazer to remove kidney stones in the ureter. And another procedure to remove the stent after 2 months. I too had 3 eye operations in the later part of the pandemic.

What is in store for us now? I plan to do a lot of reviews of old albums especially those independent releases of indiepinoy. Most of them are still available on web stores and hopefully with a proper review we can promote them. I also plan to showcase what is happening around me. As well as new techie discoveries especially on the sound recording field. I also have to post some activities I missed to post like a couple of trips to Dubai for the Dubai Expo 2020. And also the visual arts exhibit which I participated.

For all music lovers, I will also be writing about some music discoveries, especially 80s stuff for which I will be sharing as a continuation of my Search me series.

All of these your have to watch out. So, stay tuned.

How I Met Ka Heber

 

I first met heber in the early 90s when I went with a musician friend to visit him at his house which was then in New York st in cubao. It was also his gallery and his work area where we found him busy painting on the canvas. We discussed a few things, mostly on art, music and philosophical stuff which I am acustomed to after spending years under Ibarra dela Rosa’s class in college of Fine Arts in PWU where discussions on philosophical stuff goes on for hours.

I heard of Banyuhay ni Heber in college listening to a lot of pinoy rock. And when I got into an art organization who does stage design and visual art performances in concerts for a cause, I was able to watch the band perform several times. Notable was their performance in Quezon Memorial Circle where they had that powerful line up – brothers Heber, Levi and Jess along with drummer Flor Mendoza. I admired their songs as it was different from most pinoy rock ditties. Theirs was always about something social and political.

My visit to his pad in cubao became frequent. We later on discussed several issues about the music industry, this time in his office. At this point he was running a music label called Akasha Records and I thought I wanted to learn about how the industry works. Ka heber would then bring me to several meetings with people in the industry. Sometimes leaving me there on my own at Club Filipino, representing his company in front of CEOs and GMs of various record labels. He would also bring me to recording studios where I acted like a look out making sure that things are done right. I remember going to Abbey Road – not the studio in London, but the one in Makati. I also met a lot of his artists including one member of Mga Anak ng Tupa who made an album under his label.

My frequent stay on his office did not last long as he had to move to Banlat in Tandang Sora which was too far for my convinience. I would later on become busy with my band and we would seldom meet.

After several years, I found myself running a record label of some sort along with some muscian friends. I would later realize that it must have been Ka Heber’s ideas and our discussions which influenced me to formulate Indiepinoy, a record label for independent artists.

We would later meet again when Indiepinoy was expanding its network with organizations in the music industry and Ka Heber was organizing Malayang Ugnayan sa Industriya ng mga Komposer ng Awit or MUSIKA. We would get together to discuss issues on musicians rights and welfare. We would even go to congress and sit on a congressional hearings when musicians rights are involved. Our meetings were held either in my house in Sampaloc, Manila or in his place in Banlat, Tandang Sora. Most of our discussion now were more concrete than those we discussed before in New York st., Cubao. With the help of Skarlet we were picking up pieces of the puzzle to formulate a stronger guild that will represent the musicians and the composers. Ka Heber tried to convince me to join his group MUSIKA and give it a strong leadership but he knew I was already busy with Indiepinoy and understood my cause. So he did not really insisted as we can work together anyway. But I felt that he was building MUSIKA to be more than an organization, maybe a CMO of some sort or probably a guild. He had with him personalities in the pinoy rock scene along with a group of new breed songwriters and singers. I felt he wanted me to help him expand his group with the same extensive number of members Indiepinoy had at that time.

We did organize a few concerts including one held at the Rizal Auditorium’s Concert at the Park. This was to commemorate Bonifacio’s 150th birthday. A few more meetings were held here and there, including one organized by atty Rod Domingo, the lawyer who was able to win a class suit and recover millions for Marcos victims. This was attended by really influential personalities and the agenda was quite radical especially having in the attendance, people who had first hand experience of corruption and brutality in the music industry. Ka Heber showed me how the industry really looks like. The good and the bad.

This is how I met Ka Heber. We were both organizers and we both have visions of how the industry should work and to whom should it serve. Most people will see the genius of his songs. I see how he felt about the people who make such songs. He was ahead of me and he knows more than me. Even if I would deny it, deep inside me I know he was a big influence.

Later on I would here several stories from different people about Ka Heber. Including that one story Emil Sanglay told be of how they had an argument with Ka Heber and left him in the middle of the grassland. I am not the one to judge about those stories I heard. He is only human anyway.

But I will surely miss him.

Not an Ordinary Day at the Office

(This article was a seat work in an English literature class in PWU around 1989).

She entered the office along with her mother. It was almost noon and most of my office mates were down at the cafeteria eating their lunch. The office is almost bare except for some medical equipment we use to service the needs of workers from various industrial firms in Manila.

Here I am standing in front of them. Her mother did most of the talking. I was as if she could not speak. The mother introduced her daughter as elena, a 16 year old factory worker from a large textile factory in Valenzuela. According to her mother, elena was abuse by her employer less than a week ago.

"Elena was fired when she forgot to load a fresh spool of thread into the machine she was assigned to handle." Explains the mother. "She pleaded for mercy and her employer agreed to hire her as a maid in his home instead."

"During the first two days in her employer's home, she was locked-up, beaten and raped. It was such an ordeal which affectedalmost every inch of her body and mind. It was a good thing she was able to break free when sympathetic neighbors heard her screams and notified the police."

I could not believe such things actually happen. I looked at her bruises. They were almost everywhere. But then she does not react whenever her mother touches her arms. It is as if she could not feel a thing. Her eyes blank. Her nostrils were big and pulsating. I think deep inside her she was crying.

Then I stood up and told both of them to wait inside a room. I have to call the doctor who will attend to their needs.

How to clean Toilet (sic)

(This article is a school seat work about linear process explanation. It is a group work by Nolit Abanilla, Ma. Jeremiah T. Balbuena and Ma. Alma P. Duron for an english literature class in PWU sometime in 1989.)

Cleaning the toilet is always a drag. You must degrade yourself, kneel down and do the scrubbing. But before that, you must consider somethings.

First, see to it that your windows are closed. You don't want to let your handsome neighbor see you in your most humiliating position.

Then you must use an appropriate detergent. Do not use your imported "floral scented" soap on the white porcelain just because you want it to smell good. A good active cleanser with deodorizer will do. Dash a few of these into the john. You might need some strong acid or toilet bowl cleaner. Pour some of these generously, and set aside for a few minutes.

Now you can start scrubbing. Scrub very well and do not leave any space unsubscrubed (sic). Make that brownish gray "holy seat" look sparkling white. And feel the glory of that miraculous change.

After scrubbing, you must wash away the soap. You can wipe bowl (sic) with a clean rag if you wish.

Finally, your toilet is clean. Now you can call your 5-year-old brother to sprinkle the toilet with god-knows-what in a manner most playful little boys do.

(Apparently the teacher did not like the story as she gave the piece a low grade of 2.50 with a note saying "topic is very ordinary." But I think she should have given us a better grade as the purpose of the seat work was to demonstrate linear process explanation, and we did a good job on it regardless of what topic we choose. Well, you cannot please everybody.)

Combat Apathy

(Unpublished article intended for Philwomenian in 1988)

Apathy has always been an obstacle to Social Development. In this world of conflicts, apathy is never absent, serving its own interest. Such a selfish path one would take.

Apathy is defined as one's avoidance to be involved in any struggle or conflict. Apathy include liberalism which follows the reconciliation philosophy. We all have heard people say "We must be fair, we must listen to both sides of the story, there is always right and wrong on both sides, If we could only get people to talk to one another and sort out their misunderstandings and misconceptions, conflict could be resolved." It sounds like a genuine concern for fairness and justice, yet later we will find out that liberalism stands for unprincipled peace.

NOT ALL CONFLICTS CAN BE RECONCILED

We must take in mind that not all conflicts are based on misunderstanding and must be reconciled. In some conflict, one side is right and the other is wrong, one side is being unjust and oppressive and the other is suffering injustice and oppression. Thus one must take side. Being Christians, we are not supposed to try to reconcile good and evil, just and injustice. We are supposed to do away with evil, injustice and sin.

Neutrality is not always possible. In cases of conflict due to injustice and oppression, neutrality is totally impossible. If we do not take sides with the oppressed, then we are unintentionally taking sides with the oppressors. Since being neutral hides the nature of the conflict. The injustice continues and everybody is made to feel that the injustice doesn't matter because the tension and conflict have been reduced. It keeps the oppressed quiet and passive and brings about a kind of pseudo-reconciliation without justice.

It is wrong to assume that tension and conflict are worse evils than injustice and oppression. It only shows one's cowardliness to confront conflicts. They are those who are not convinced of the need for change and lack of hope. They rather flee to escapism from the realities of injustice and conflicts.

Thus, it shows that being liberal is being apathetic to realities, and being neutral is a way of siding with the oppressor. In a conflict if one side is right we must recognize this and side with them, just as Jesus sided with the poor. If the other side is wrong and in power, we must oppose them and dethrone them from power. We must realize the real root of many conflicts - The oppressive structure being implemented by the rich. God didn't actually hated the rich. What he simply meant, is that he wants to pull the rich and powerful from their thrones, from their position in the society, because the structures of the society are unjust and oppressive (Luke 1:52:53)

God said "Love our enemies." This does not mean for us to convert the rich and those in power to stop the oppression. The only effective way of loving our enemies is to engage in action that will destroy the system that makes them our enemies. In other words, for the sake of love and for the sake of true peace, we must side with the poor and the oppressed and confront the rich and powerful, and join the struggle against what they stand for and what they are defending.

Remember, God wants peace that is based on truth, justice and love and not the superficial peace and unity that compromise truth, covers over the injustices and that is usually settled on for thoroughly selfish purposes.

Advance peace based on social justice and not on apathy.

'IWASAN ANG CLIMATE NF COMPETITION SA MUSIKA' - NOLIT ABANILLA

(Published in theophirianchronicles.com, by Ravenson Biason, October 6, 2019)

“Ang aking opinyon naman ay iwasan natin ang ‘climate ng kompetisyon’ sa musika. Lumang konsepto ito, kung saan sinusuportahan ang komersyalismo sa music. Ang opinyon ko ng maganda ay maaring hindi maganda sa iba. Ito ay bunga ng aking kamulatan at iba't iba ang ating mga kinagisnan. Kung ang maganda ay opinyon ng isang may "katungkulan" ibig bang sabihin ito na ang maganda sa lahat?”

“Huwag tayo magpaloko. Lahat tayo ay nakikinig ng mang aawit at ng mga awitin. Huwag natin limitahan sa iilan lang ang pwede natin pakinggan. Ang away sa isyu ng composer at singer ay bunga lang ng sitwasyung ito sa industriya ng music. Lahat sila ay biktima sa paniniwalang kompetisyon. Wala tayo dapat pag awayan. Lahat tayo ay makinig sa sari saring musika ng mas nakakarami. Hindi lang ng iilan. Payagang magtanghal ang lahat ng musikero lalu na yung nasa independent scene para marinig ng lahat ng hindi naglalaban laban. Ito ang dapat.”

ISYU SA MGA COVER SONGS

Hindi lahat ng songwriters alam ito kaya pinag uusapan tuloy sa social media at madami ang nagkakamali ng decision. Aware si Youtube sa copyright laws (synch rights specifically). When someone uploads a video of a cover song to youtube, mayroon itong tinatawag na Content ID system.

Automatically iniiscan ni Youtube lahat ng content na inauupload sa youtube at kapag ang content mo ay naglalaman ng song na nasa Content ID system nila meron ito sinusunod na option based on sa kung ano ang isinet ng publisher ng song thru its aggregator. Pwedeng (1) allow ng publisher na ma-stream ang (cover) song but publisher will get all the monetization from the video, (2) not allow the song to be streamed at all and mute it from the video, (3) Block the video, (4) Restrict the viewing in certain teritiories/countries or block on certain platforms. Makikita ang action na ito along with the description ng video. And decision ng options na ito ay manggagaling sa publisher ayon sa dictate ng songwriter (or kung ano man ang pinagusapan nila), at ipapasa sa aggregator na syang susundin ni youtube. Ikaw, ano sa palagay mo mas gusto mo mangyari? Wag i-allow na me mag cover ng kanta mo at maging exclusive lang talaga sa version mo?

Or hayaang sumikat ang kanta mo at kumita ka nang wala ka nang kahirap hirap, walang ginawa sa bahay, or naglalaro lang ng candy crush? Tandaan lamang na naayon ang kita mo actual na kita ng produkto at porsyento lang ang nakukuha mo. At syempre to show courtesy, dapat i-acknowledge ng singer yung song mo at ikaw as a songwriter. Pero, usually automatically nilalagay naman ni Youtube ito sa description in case nakaligtaan mong banggitin na cover song ito.

My point here is, be aware but dont be alarmed too much regarding copyright issues of your songs on digital platform or social media in general. The internet is not a jungle of theives with no rules or police. The structures follow rules and are even more specific according to country. Mas nakakatakot nga sa real world dahil may areas na di nasusubaybayan ang mga magnanakaw ng kanta. Sa digital world lahat ay na tetrace at nababantayan.

So how do you get your song included on Youtube's Content ID system? Release them to digital stores via aggregator thru your publisher. Nandito lang ang @Indiepinoy makakatulong sa inyo dyan (shameless plug - hehehe).

Part 2 naman ito ng issue tungkol sa Youtube cover song. Kung ikaw naman ay mag cocover ng song at ipopost mo sa Youtube, be aware of the rights that Youtube is allowing you to do. Buti nga pinadali ni youtube ang sistema at hindi ka na maghahagilap kung sino ba ang publisher ng kantang kinanta mo at humingi ng permission or mag bayad. First be courteous and acknowledge the songwriter. Pwede din the original singer kung di mo alam ang songwriter, usually the songwriter will bow to that and accept your acknowledgement. Be aware that you are not doing the cover version to earn money.

Kung gusto mo kumita then you should get mechanical rights to record the song and release it for selling either in physical cd or in digital stores. This will get your percentage of profit when your version is uploaded to youtube as it will now be included in the content ID system. Kung ang song mo ay kasama dun sa nag option to block or not allow other to cover your song, sorry ka nalang at pwedeng ma take down yung cover song video mo or ma mute. Lets respect the songwriter nalang if they choose this option for whatever reason they have. Karapatan nila un.

Remember hindi masama mag cover ng song. Others do this to have their take on the song. Others do this as a way to get popular. Others do it for whatever reason they have. Kung ikaw ay walang ibang ginagawa kundi mag cover ng mag cover ng songs at hindi gumawa ng original song, ok lang yan. Wag ka lang mag expect na matawag na songwriter. Pero choice mo yan. Marami namang dyan singers na magaling kumanta pero hindi marunong mag compose ng song.

I am just hoping sa mga Pinoy na wag naman tayo maging mapanghusga at manglait agad ng mga musikero dahil puro covers lang ang ginagawa nila. Hindi mo sila pwedeng sabihin na hindi sila magaling na singer dahil wala silang sariling kanta. Singer sila. Hindi naman definition ng singer ang gumawa ng original song. Songwriter un. Kung songwriter din ung singer, e di ok.

Pero, hindi ibig sabihin mas magaling na singer sya kasi songwriter din sya. Ang kanta tulad ng lahat ng arts ay hindi dapat ipinag-cocompete with each other. Lahat naman yan pwede natin pakinggan. Mag enjoy nalang tayo sa mga awiting ito. One way or another nagiging bahagi ito sa buhay natin. At napakinabangan natin ito. Salamat sa kumanta at nag- compose.

ANO ANG DAPAT PALAKASIN? (Indie music at hindi ang mainstream OPM)

(Published on Philippineone.com a blogsite about positive change, connection, a conduit by which free stream of ideas and designs for change can flow incessantly. We aim to enthusiastically REBUILD a nation that is ripe for RECONSTRUCTION and REFORMATION. Dec 25, 2019 by Ravenson Biason.)

(Also published on afiilipinosong.com, December 25, 2019)

Ano ang dapat palakasin? Ang indie music and mainstream OPM?

Ang dapat palakasin ay ang kapangyarihan ng bawat Pilipino sa industriya ng musika, upang makapagdesisyon ng sarili para maitahak ang tamang direksyon ng musikang Pilipino. Dapat palakasin ang ekonomiyang istruktura sa musikang pilipino upang maitaguyod ang musikerong Pilipino sa sarili nitong kakayahang pangpinansyal.

Kailangan palakasin ang mga organisasyon sa musika na tunay na nagtataguyod sa kapakanan ng mga musiko, kaugnay sa mga pangangailangang pangkaligtasan, kalusugan at karapatan. Kailangan palakasin ang mga oportunidad sa lahat ng larangan ng media para marinig ang musikang Pilipino, bago man o luma.

Hindi dapat palakasin ang musikang matagal nang malakas at naghahari sa ere, at malaki na ang kinita ng mga nasa mapang-aping mga istruktura na tumatapak sa mga maliliit na mga musiko, mga-aawit at kompositor.

Hindi dapat palakasin ang mga organisasyon na matagal nang naghahari sa industriya at hindi man nakakatulong sa mga musikerong nagkakasakit, nakandamatay na o tumanda na ng wala man lang pagkilala sa kontribusyon sa industriya. Hindi dapat palakasin ang mga organisasyong nagpapanggap na kumakatawan ng nakararaming musiko, mang-aawit at kompositor at patuloy na naglalahad ng mga huwad na programang hindi naman nakakatulong sa mas nakararaming kalahok sa industriya ng musika.

Maging mulat sa katothanan. Ito ay isang maiking mensahe ng INDIEPINOY sa Musikang Pilipino. INDIEPINOY- EMPOWERING THE INDEPENDENT FILIPINO ARTISTS.

Our blog update

I have decided to host my blog on my own website located at nolits.com. You can now visit this link and it contains all other information of me and my works. Although its still a work in progress as we are populating the contents especially the art and photo galleries and other literature stuff. I think this will take forever. So it would be wise to visit our site from time to time to see any updates. There are other parts of the site which I am still undecided, like on how to manage the Phoney Talks and how to post all the essays and literature I have created. Also on how I will showcase the comics section. These are a lot of things that will surely keep me busy.

As for the blogspot, I am retaining it as a mirror from the main site which is hosted on my own nolits.com. You can view new entries as what I post on my own blog will be reposted on blogspot automatically. (fingers crossed) You can leave comments but don't expect me to answer soon as I will not be as active as I am on nolits.com.

That is for now. Catch you later.

I am back!!

I finally decided I am reviving this blog and will continue to input more entries from time to time. It has been over a decade since I last placed an entry. In fact I think it was still with multiply when I was active in this blog thing. After giving some thought, I decided to give it a go again.

So, I will be discussing things that come to my mind. I wont be too much of a political but you cannot avoid it as everything is political. I will put in some tutorial stuff, about music, about recording, technical stuff in electronics, arts, and anything under the sun. I will also be posting here artworks I have done over the years. Visual arts, music, and everything in between. I will try to make categories on this blog so it would be easy to follow especially if you have just got here late and there are tons of entries already.

I had plenty of blogs before. I think my first blog was written on BBS or the Bulletin Board System which I used to run in the 90s, where the internet was not yet the in thing and what we do is dial up modem to modem. Then I had my website which also contains a blog. There was also the basspage, the nolit.i.com and the nolitsite which is still running. I have a blog on my nolits studio page but I will only post what is happening on the studio in that page. I will not post music tutorials and other stories there. It will be here. I will not post family stuff, as I will be doing it on my facebook page.

I think you now have a general picture on what this blog will be all about. You will see articles, tutorials, discussions, and a gallery of my art. It is a variety of topics. So be prepared.

Let's start rocking!!!!

Indie Music Fest at MOA Day 3 Pics

The last day of the indie music fest featured a lot more exciting performances from great bands. Here are a few pictures:









This concludes the indie music fest. But more events are cooking up. So watch out for it soon.Thanks a lot to the support of indiepinoy and songwriters philippines along with the preparations made by pxmx productions and the cooperation and accomodations of SM Cyberzone. Thanks a lot to all the other media partners and productions and support groups for making the event happen without any obstacles. Thanks a lot to all the performers who shared their talents to make the 3day fest a success. And thanks a lot to the audience who came to witness the event.

Radiopilipinas Bar Tour8 - Genre Bar Cubao X

Still working on the bars to showcase the indie bands heard at radiopilipinas perform live. This time its at Genre Bar in cubao expo. Here are some pictures:











Unfortunately, I wasnt able to capture a picture of the band satellites as I was at MOA for the indie music fest and came in late at genre bar. I hope other radiopilipinas staff was able to get a picture. I will be updating this as soon as I get the pic.Thanks a lot to all the performers and the audience who came in and enjoyed the show. The bands had fun playing with gusto to the crowd as the people enjoyed all the music delivered with the best performance by the bands.Hope to see you again next time!

Indie Music Fest at MOA Day 2 Pics

Its the second day of the indie music fest. another set of performers did their best showcasing a variety of genre in music. Here a re some pictures:













There more performers on the next day. Its not too late to catch them perform live.See you at the cyberzone, one e-com center in Mall of Asia for the Indie Music Fest.

Indie Music Fest at MOA Day 1 Pics

Here are some pics of the indie music fest at cyberzone in one e-com center, mall of asia.

















It was a great day for the fest. The poster of the event was all over mall of asia. The performers showcased a variety of genre from pop, alternative, rock, reggae, new wave and punk. But that is not all. There are more bands who will be performing on day2. Come over and witness it [color=#FF0040]live[/color]!!See You There!

Radiopilipinas Bar Tour 7 - Mag.net Katipunan

And so the bar shows continue. This one was exciting as great bands performed that night. Here are some images that captured the event.













Thanks a lot to radiopilipinas, songwriters ph, indiepinoy and magnet katipunan. Thanks to kuyakurt, nolit, marv, kv, wendel, chitols and the rest of the people who made the night explosive.

The bands enjoyed the crowd. The audience enjoyed the bands.

"Next time ulit!"