Sony Music Entertainment (SME) Philippines and Off The Record, a Manila-based indie record label known for supporting Filipino artists, have teamed up in a new partnership to boost and showcase Filipino music.

In this collaboration, SME Philippines will spread Off The Record’s music collection worldwide and collaborate on strategies for marketing, media exposure, artist growth, brand alliances, and synchronization.

Off The Record was founded by industry expert Ricky Ilacad, who has kickstarted the careers of major alternative, pop, and crossover artists over the past twenty years. Ilacad established the label to leverage his tried-and-tested experience to nurture Filipino talents and enhance their opportunities in the ever-changing global music landscape.

"We're excited to partner with Off The Record," said Roslyn Pineda, General Manager of Sony Music Entertainment Philippines. "Ricky Ilacad has a strong history of success in the music business, and we share his dedication to fostering outstanding Filipino talent. Together, we'll open up remarkable chances for artists and revamp the music industry."

Another interesting musical project from one of the known band in the country, 6cyclemind, will be doing their best and effort to show appreciation to the fans who have been through their musical journey, 6cyclemind recently teamed up with Sony Music Philippines for Sige I-Cover Mo Lang Project.

The initiative, which was supposed to be an independent project, encouraged fans to submit covers of their favorite songs from the band’s catalog.

“Throughout our career, we have been touring different parts of the country,” vocalist Tutti Caringal said. “We are lucky to witness how our audience, even from far flung areas, sing our songs with us. This is indeed a very magical feeling. Online, we can also view our fans cover our songs. This makes us feel that, somehow, through our music, we have touched their lives. This is the reason why we have decided to do this project.”

With number one singles, best-selling albums, and sold-out shows, 6cyclemind continues to gain foothold in the local music industry. Their latest project is a testament to their growing and respectable discography, a proof of their legacy as a band known for their heartfelt and rousing anthems.

Fan involvement

The five-piece pop-rock act did not set some specific criteria for the fan submissions, and accepted all entries—whether phone recordings, changed tempo or genre.

6cyclemind lead guitarist Herbert Hernandez added, “We gave them the freedom to interpret the song of their choice. While screening the entries, we followed our gut feel and looked for the cover that will move us. There were many entries that we really liked. It was difficult for the band to eliminate the other submissions because we had to limit it to just 3. Part 2, perhaps?”


2020 version of “Biglaan”

From the pool of submissions, Bianca’s stripped-down version of “Biglaan” stood out the most. It earned a spot as one of the first among the three winners of the all-covers record. “Whenever I want to cover songs, I usually just search for the chords and let myself feel the music,” the budding artist said. “I was pretty melancholic during these times so my general approach was to make the song softer and downcast which is what I usually do to songs I usually sing.”

According to Bianca, the project “was such a great platform to thank the band’s fans and also give opportunities to artists” like her.

The sixteen-year-old singer-songwriter recorded the song at Backdoor Recording Studio, and it was produced by 6cyclemind.

Bianca’s rendition of “Biglaan” is now available on various music streaming/download platforms worldwide.

Featuring today this Israeli artist, singer-songwriter, VANNA, with her recently released debut single entitled "High Hopes." It is via Singapore based indie label Umami Records, which will capture your attention and would probably listen to more of what's coming from this artist. The single was just released last Friday, 6 March 2020.

Produced by Roy Avital of Tel Aviv based indie-electronic trio Garden City Movement and mastered by Matt Colton (James Blake, Muse, Coldplay), High Hopes is a song about not giving up, even in the darkest, loneliest moments of one’s life. “In the end we must ‘run slow, with high hopes’, be patient, and face the future with optimism.” shares VANNA, “I wanted to let people know that they are not alone and there is always hope.” A gently fingerpicked acoustic guitar sits at the centre of Roy’s production which he combines with VANNA’s unique voice, wafting a piano, strings and other instruments in and out, immersing the listener into the raw emotions of this song.

A music video produced by award-winning independent filmmaker Matan Balalty, set in the beautiful forests of Mount Eitan in Jerusalem, accompanies the release of this single.

High Hopes is the title track of VANNA’s debut EP which will be released throughout 2020. Over the last 3 years, VANNA has been working closely with producer Roy Avital on this EP, delivering a delicate fusion of indie electronic, pop, and folk influenced by artists like RY X, Oscar and the Wolf, SYML and Sóley.


Born and raised in Tel Aviv, of Indian and Iranian parents, VANNA grew up immersed in music, culture and diversity. Creating music is her way of confronting and understanding the turmoil she feels within herself, and she hopes her songs will touch others going through the same struggle. She is also a graduate of the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

VANNA’s next show will be at the Hateiva, Tel Aviv on 23 April 2020, and she is planning a tour to Singapore, India and Nepal in the fall of 2020.

High Hopes by VANNA is available everywhere at this link: https://ffm.to/high-hopes

Few weeks ago Astroplus together with Mike Soon of MixofEverything and Azrael Coladilla of Asrael'sMerryland collaborated to showcase and introduce what's new and what's upcoming from different brands.

It was a fine afternoon and I think rain had stopped for some time to make way for the bloggers to attend this overwhelming and brand-flooded event. This is their second year of bringing brands upclose to bloggers. The first one was the Bloggers' Blow Out which was done in one of thei branch at Greenbelt and for this year it's themed as “Astroplus Blog-Connect” and it is held at their Astroplus branch at the Podium. Astroplus wanted to let bloggers experience more of the brands that they have. The event was divided into two blocks, one for the music and movie and the other one is for the gadgets. So for those who love music and movies they attended the first block, then for the bloggers who like and knows much more about gadgets go for the second block which is the gadgets block. Gladly, I was there during the first event and it was a huge one, with different brands and as I recall it it was raining with giveaways that day. Did get a lot of good stuff!