''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' (stylized as ''ultraelectromagneticpop!'') is the debut studio album of the

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

rock band,

Eraserheads Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a line-up comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, the band became one of the most ...

. It was released by BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. in July 1993. ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' spawned hit songs such as "

Ligaya "Ligaya" (English: "''Joy''") is the first single by the Eraserheads from their debut album, ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!''. The single was able to make it to the Top Ten of 97.1 WLS-FM countdown. The band last performed the song in their second and ...

", "

Toyang "Toyang" is a song by Filipino rock band Eraserheads, from their debut album ''UltraElectroMagneticPop!.'' It is the band's second hit single. The song is notable for featuring creative wordplay and idiosyncratic combinations: the narrator is sp ...

", and "

Pare Ko Pare Ko (English: "My Pal") is a song by the Eraserheads. It was included in their debut album, ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!''. It was the band's third hit single. The song was later adapted into a movie of the same title starring Claudine Barreto ...

". The album is often credited for revitalizing the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

genre in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

during the 1990s.

Background

Though ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' was their debut album, most of the songs were recycled from original compositions that were written since their college days in 1989. Hoping to have their songs published, the band recorded a demo tape in 1991 and shopped around record labels and radio stations, only to be rejected at every turn. A friend-professor, Robin Rivera, from their school,

UP Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

, helped them record an improved version of the demo tape which was named ''Pop U!'', a play on the invective "fuck you," in response to the people who turned them down. After a year of being passed around the underground music scene, the demo tape made its way to the hands of

BMG Records Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008. Although it was established in 1987, the music com ...

(Philippines), who signed a three-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

with the band. The title of the album is a

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

on ultraelectromagnetic tops, a fictional weapon from the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

serial ''

Voltes V , popularly known as simply ''Voltes V '' (pronounced as "Voltes Five") is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Dōga and animated by Nippon Sunrise (formerly known as Soeisha). It is the second installment of the '' Robot R ...

'', which was immensely popular in the

Recording

Recordings of ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' started in July 1992 until April 1993, at JR Recording Studio and Ad & Ad Recording Studio. For production duties, the Eraserheads worked with Ed Formoso. The group found it hard to record the album due to multiple reasons, such as the master recording machine kept breaking, brownouts, and other factors. Midway through a session, Formoso abruptly left the studio for undisclosed reasons. This decision made the band furious, and prompted them to insert a backmasked message ("Ed Formoso sucks!") onto the last track of the album, "Combo on the Run". Due to Formoso's departure, the Eraserheads were forced to produce the other songs intended for the record.

Release

The album was released by BMG Records ( Pilipinas ) under the label's local division, Musiko Records in July 1993. The album was originally issued on both compact disc and cassette tape formats with the respective catalog numbers: MRCD-032 and MRMC-032. Original issue cassettes featured full-color sticker labels on both sides. In 2008, the album was re-released together with the band's other albums.

25th anniversary remastered version

Coinciding with the album's 25th anniversary, a remastered edition of Ultraelectromagneticpop was released on November 21, 2018, under

Sony Music Philippines Sony Music Philippines, Inc. is a record label based in the Philippines, which was founded in 1995 as an imprint of the international music label Sony Music Entertainment and a part of its Asia-Pacific chain. After the closure of the local labe ...

and Offshore Music. Ely Buendia made the first announcement on his Instagram and Facebook accounts. The album was remastered by Grammy award-winning American audio engineer

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

. In January 2019, Buendia revealed through his independent record label, Offshore Music, along with Sony Music, that the master tapes of the Eraserheads' first album, Ultraelectromagneticpop!, are currently being archived by the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

Center for Ethnomusicology for the album's cultural significance.

Track listing

*On the 2018 remastered edition, "Walang Hiyang Pare Ko" is excluded from the track listing.

Personnel

Credits for ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' adapted from liner notes. Track numbers noted in parenthesis below are based on track numbering. *

Ely Buendia Ely Eleandre Basiño Buendia (born November 2, 1970), popularly known as Ely Buendia, is a Filipino musician, singer, songwriter, author and film director who gained fame as the guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the famed Fil ...

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (4), lead guitar (6) *

Buddy Zabala Hector Avanceña Zabala (born November 13, 1971), popularly known as Buddy Zabala, is a Filipino musician and producer. He is currently the bassist of Filipino pop band Moonstar88 and indie band Cambio, and widely known as the bassist and back ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (4) *

Marcus Adoro Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl� ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals, hand claps (4),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

(8), lead vocals (9) *

Raimund Marasigan Raimund Emmanuel Parcon Marasigan (born May 22, 1971) is a Filipino rock musician and record producer. His first name is often misspelled ''Raymond'' or ''Raimond'' though he personally prefers to spell his name as Raymund. The breadth of his p ...

– drums, backing vocals,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...

(2), tambourine (4), hand claps (4), lead guitar (6),

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

(10) Additional personnel * Dem – production (2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12) * Ed Formoso – producer (1, 3–4, 7–8, 11) * Willie Munji – mixer, recording * Jojo Bacasmas – lead vocals (5), backing vocals (6–7) * Maryana Arinez –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

(3) * Boy Tanquinitic – recording * Jhoffer Aquino – recording * Ronnie Soriano – recording * Annie Angala – management * Buddy Medina – executive producer * Rudy Tee – executive producer * Dodong Viray – production coordinator * Vic Valenciano –

artists and repertoire Artists and repertoire (colloquially abbreviated to A&R) is the division of a record label or music publishing company that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists (singers, instrumentalist ...

* Mario Joson – art direction, design * Chitty Ramirez – art execution * Mitch Amurao – photography

Legacy

The release of ''Ultraelectromagneticpop!'' gave way to other Filipino bands to splash onto the Philippine Alternative Music Scene and also saw the emergence of the so-called "90's Rock Revolution" in the Philippines. The album name inspired the tribute album '' Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music of the Eraserheads'', which featured covers and arrangements of 17 of Eraserheads' most popular songs.

Notes

References

External links

Allmusic Reviewultraelectromagneticpop! Cassette Inlay
{{Authority control 1993 debut albums Eraserheads albums