Coachella 2011

Arcade Fire – Wake Up
Arcade Fire – Haiti
fun. – Take Your Time (Coming Home)
Jimmy Eat World – Coffee And Cigarettes
The Joy Formidable – Cradle
Kanye West – Dark Fantasy
Mumford & Sons – Winter Winds
The National – Slow Show
The Strokes – Under Control
The Tallest Man On Earth – Thrown Right At Me
Whiz Khalifa – Roll Up
Foo Fighters – Hey, Johnny Park!*
Deftones – Hole In The Earth**
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong
The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire
Broken Social Scene – Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old
Bones Like Snowflakes – The Pleasure Of Leaving***
Bonus Track ****

Download here.

* – Played as I was exiting the main stage after Broken Social Scene’s set.

** – Saturday night, we hung out in my camp site, this was one of the songs that came on my radio. Everyone loved it, of course, and it was an amazing moment.

*** – Perfect exit.

**** – Ah, see for yourself, you knew that song wouldn’t get away without being here anyway.

“Woke Up New”
Directed by Zet Diaz
Starring Jeremy Hatcher and Nicolo Balao
Music by Bones Like Snowflakes

I loved every single bit about this short film. I mean, of course, the first reason to why I agreed working on it was because of Zet. She’s a good friend of mine and I trusted that she had a vision ready, a vision I can work with. Once I saw the film, it wasn’t a complete giveaway, that’s why I loved it more. I’m a sucker for extra-ordinary things, which definitely includes plots that deviate from the standard rise and fall. This short film reminded me of Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express a little bit, because of its play with two male characters and their strange natural similarities. And as for Zet, I’ve always loved her colors and cinematography. This film is fond of dramatic shots and sceneries, which I really loved. You see two sides of the world in the eyes of two people.

Album Art by Zet Diaz

Having all this in mind, I challenged myself in writing the score for it. I veered away from my standard half-step down style of writing and went to a more distinct sound. I used the two-guitar American Football/Owen style of playing, even incorporating their odd tuning. The thing I love the most about AF songs is its ability to sound happy even though the lyrics are sad. I’m not a lyricist (at least not in Bones Like Snowflakes), so I had to be expressive for Woke Up New one way or another. The challenge was to confuse an emotionally focused tuning and guitar sound actually make it colorful, and make it all come naturally. I could only hope that it all fell into place, and now that it’s all over, I think it did.

You can download the EP entitled “Silent Movies I” on bandcamp for any price. Track list as follows

1. The Used – Buried Myself Alive
2. Brand New – The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows*
3. Taking Back Sunday – Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team)
4. Finch – What It Is To Burn
5. Story Of The Year – Until The Day I Die
6. My Chemical Romance – I’m Not OK (I Promise)
7. Saosin – I Can Tell
8. Thursday – Understanding In A Car Crash
9. Blink 182 – I Miss You & Rock Show
10. Yellowcard – Ocean Avenue

See the playlist here.

*Video could be partially blamed for my decision to opt for a Fender Telecaster instead of any other guitar when I bought it two years ago.

From The Moon To The Sun

1. Jimmy Eat World – Just Watch The Fireworks
2. Fuel – Shimmer
3. New Radicals – I Hope I Didn’t Just Give Away The Ending
4. Brand New – Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis
5. Incubus – Earth To Bella Pt. 1
6. Don’t Forget, Clementine – …And He Left With Everything He Came For
7. Anthony Green – Babygirl
8. Smashing Pumpkins – Try, Try, Try (Alt)
9. Goo Goo Dolls – Slide
10. Arcade Fire – Wake Up

Download here.

Southern Decay

1. The Cure – Mint Car
2. Beach Boys – Don’t Worry Baby
3. Feist – Limit To Your Love
4. Death Cab For Cutie – Talking Bird
5. Broken Social Scene – Anthems Of A Seventeen Year-Old
6. Bob Dylan – To Ramona
7. Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur A Contra
8. The Beatles – Dear Prudence
9. Smashing Pumpkins – Try, Try, Try
10. Brand New – The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
11. Kings Of Convenience – Gold In The Air Of Summer
12. Dashboard Confessional – A Guardian Of Sorts (To Catch You)
13. American Football – Five Silent Miles
14. Circa Survive – Meet Me In Montauk

Download here.

This Morning, I Woke Up To The Rain (photo credit)

Weather in California’s been nice, but today I woke up to the sound of rain drops and a gloomy sky. So I took on the wonderful opportunity and made a playlist. These are ten songs that will keep you company for bed weather.

1. Dashboard Confessional – This Ruined Puzzle
2. Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism
3. Brand New – Play Crack The Sky
4. Owen – Bad News
5. Mew – Comforting Sounds
6. Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur A Contra
7. The National – England
8. John Mayer – Edge Of Desire
9. Irving Sappho – The Empty Apartment
10. Don’t Forget, Clementine – A Lullaby: From Opinion To Faith

Download the playlist here.

About Angels (photo credit)

Here’s a playlist I made last year. Things have changed but the music has stayed the same. That’s as far as I can go in describing whatever happened there.

1. The Smiths – This Charming Man
2. The Cure – Just Like Heaven
3. Copeland – Don’t Slow Down
4. The Smiths – Ask
5. fun. – All The Pretty Girls
6. Smashing Pumpkins – Try, Try, Try
7. Stars – This Charming Man (The Smiths cover)
8. The Pixies – Here Comes Your Man
9. Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes
10. Vampire Weekend – Taxi Cab
11. Dashboard Confessional – Ender Will Save Us All

Download the playlist here.

Last night, my friend Zet (greet her a happy birthday!) and I watched Olafur Arnalds at the Echoplex (LA). There are three things I liked about the show: the storytelling visuals, and music with a spirit – the latter leading to my third point, which is pretty much about music becoming more than just music.

Playing live music with visuals has always been a dream. It has been my vision for my music. I have always wanted to do something like that, as a supplement to our live material. It was going to be good, considering I always played in the form of a wall of sound (with a band); surrounding a cafe or bar so much that it blankets the ambience with reverberating emotive melodies. Too bad we did not have money for it.

Photo credit: Zet Diaz

Olafur Arnalds, last night, showed me the power of visuals when tied with music. His visuals weren’t just supplements to the music; as a matter of fact, the visuals held a storyline along with the music. It was hand-in-hand, as if one couldn’t live without the other. I loved the motif, which was mostly flying (planes, birds), and falling down (rain). I had to close my eyes once in a while, trying to digest everything all at once. The soft sounds. The flights. The fears. The joys of letting go.

In terms of music, what I admire the most about Olafur Arnalds is his ability to capture stark emotions and turn them from bitter to bittersweet. His use of dark tones, followed-up by his sweet string quartet arrangements, make listening to his music a rollercoaster ride. I can’t believe he’s only 24 and he’s already accomplished such a feat in music. The bipolar factor of his music is an asset; something one wouldn’t turn down easily. My favorite aspect of his music was his use of reverb. It was as if reverb was elementary to his music, creating a soundstage that was watery and cold.

Lots of things happened in the show last night; emotions were felt and stories were told. But after everything, I realized why listening to Olafur Arnalds was so important to me – it was because his music was beyond music. He was telling stories. I could hear the notes being born simply as rhetorics, simply as little things that sounded good in his head, then turning into surreal arrangements. I could hear his creative process through his timid voice and the way he caressed the keys on his piano. His music became himself, and he became the music.

Photo credit: Zet Diaz

I believe that people and their potentials have no limits. If you tap into that energy and translate it into something beautiful, such as music, it can’t be destroyed, considering it came from an infinite source. Last night, Olafur Arnalds showed me the meaning of that – how his humanity transposed to music, and how his music touched people in the audience like me. He also proved to me why it’s worthwhile to stay in sometimes and just play the piano because eventually, it’s going to teach me how to fly.

1. The Sky Will Fall Down Tonight
2. A Bed Of Starlight To Lay Your Wings Upon
3. The World Is Gold, And Yours
4. Hello, You Have Reached The Winter Of Our Discontent
5. The Pleasure Of Leaving

I know that there have been talks between me and Ow (Threads) of a split album. Apologies for us getting excited too soon; we figured that we’d rather release solo albums on our own first then work on that split album. We did not want to compromise our own concepts, and nor did we want to compromise the stories we wanted to tell with our songs. So instead, we will be working on the split album after our Q1/Q2 2011 releases.

Rest assured, I’m very excited for Second Star. I’m going full-force on collaborations for this album, because that’s something I truly believe in. Carina Santos* and Zet Diaz will be collaborating on the album art. Kristine Caguiat has also agreed to work with me on this one for something to be announced. If you have any ideas or avenues for collaboration (whether it be under film, photography, literature, or mixed media), please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be more than happy to hear you out. The best part about making albums for me is creating such solid relationships with these lovely people.

That’s about it for now. Thank you very much for your support. I will be talking more about this album as we near the release date.

You can hear some previews here.

* – No, I will never ever get sick of her and her amazing art. In fact, I am forever thankful for such a supportive friend!