NEW YORK– Of all the musical genres perhaps the most difficult to produce is Pop. Rock music depends on the character of the band or the artist. Rock's dynamic nature allows the producer to simply channel the already existing character of the artist into the record. It is the same with Jazz, where improvisation and spontaneity is the only rule that cannot be broken. Put into record, Jazz exists in its own sphere–untouched and pure. However, with Pop, everything has to be manufactured. It is so because there is no live dynamic that producers can tap on to create an organic record.
Pop is a 100% producer's record. The sound of every Pop record bears the eternal fingerprint of its producer. Form the use of samples, the programmed beats, and layered voices, Pop demands a more than able producer to make it work.

In his latest album 'Built to Sound Good,' Archie D', the New York-based singer-songwriter-producer, returns to what he does best: produce Pop records that work.
The album, independently released by Archie D's own label, 888, is somewhat a return to form for Archie D, who made big hits back in the Philippines in the early 90's before moving to the US.

WILD: Photo by Marx Jordan Benzon of MJBenzon Digital Media

NEW YORK– It was 1:00 AM on Saturday, July 18 2009, yet the crowd inside the Lower East Side rock club Fontana's wasn't showing any sign of decline. On stage was the last band in the lineup, T.4T  and they were rampaging through a barrage of "hardcore-ized" versions of pop standards like it was only 9:00 PM. The energy inside the club was nothing short of  molten and infectious even though the event,  aptly called "Sagaran (Push to the limit) Night,"  started seven hours earlier on Friday, July 17. It was an energy that never let up from the beginning to end for it was fueled by some of the most amazing music in the Filipino-American scene in New York and New Jersey, and the combustible spirit of a united youth community, to whom the event was offered. Yes, despite the sheer debauchery and reckless abandon of the multitude of Filipino-American music fans and their favorite bands, it was a show to raise funds for the Ugnayan delegates of the upcoming youth consultation called Daluyong to be held in Los Angeles this coming weekend– the very essence of rocking hard for a good cause.
So to the people whose bodies are still aching from slam dancing, and whose hairs still carry the faint smell of beer, the pain and odor weren't for naught.

Alfa

NEW YORK– Artists have phases in their careers. The not so great ones have downhill phases, while great ones have phases pointing them towards perfection.

In Alfa's  sophomore album entitled Second Skin, we see her in a new phase, which reveals her in her most brilliant form yet– a testament to the fact that  she is currently the best female singer-songwriter in the New York and New Jersey Asian-American music scene.

Second Skin is such a well-written record that it is a challenge to anyone who listens to it to even describe it as an OK record because It is not just an OK record, it is a magnificent record. It is Alfa at the top of her game.

NEW YORK– On March 3, U2 released their much-awaited album since 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The new album, No Line on the Horizon, was intended to be an experimental album, because of the band’s collaboration with musical innovators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, and their location recording sessions in exotic Morocco. However, after many passes, one could determine that it is not. Instead, the new album could be volume two of their previous one and volume three of their second to the last one  ad infinitum.
By the middle of the record, The Edge’s riffs would have sounded familiar already, of course it would, after all, it is the same pair of hands that built the sound. But for the band to claim that this new record departs from their ‘usual’ sound is a mistake. It is the same U2 after all these years.
But like other U2 releases, this one would definitely sell big and perhaps even get a Grammy.

Track List:
1.     "No Line on the Horizon"       
2.     "Magnificent"       
3.     "Moment of Surrender"       
4.     "Unknown Caller"       
5.     "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"       
6.     "Get on Your Boots"       
7.     "Stand Up Comedy"       
8.     "Fez – Being Born"       
9.     "White as Snow"       
10.     "Breathe"       
11.     "Cedars of Lebanon"

The verdict: Three and a half stars out of Five (3.5) – A good record with false claims.