Month: July 2026

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.

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.

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,