Minus one recordings
In the Philippines, the Minus-one (commonly, albeit improperly, spelled "Minus one" without the hyphen) is the instrumental[1] variant component of a vocal recording, wherein the lead vocal track of a featured song is muted. In the Philippine recording industry, during the 1980s in the heyday of vinyl records, this variant was released as the "flip side" of a commercial song's 7-inch vinyl record, but generally never a part of the Long Playing album containing the full-featured song. Succinctly, instrumental tracks on B-Sides are often referred to as "minus one tracks" because they typically lack the main vocal part of the original song.
Production
The inclusion of a 'minus one' reduced the production cost of a 45 RPM 7-inch "single" by foregoing the need for yet another song to occupy the record's B-side. It also encouraged buyers to "sing along" with the bonus accompaniment of the "hit single", found on the B-side of the record.
A "minus one mix" would not necessarily be wholly instrumental, as backing vocals of the song's original mix may be retained. The concept of instrumental B-Sides to complement their full versions became a production trend of the Philippine record industry of the 1980s, which replicated overseas.[2] In the ensuing years, countless production houses have extratcted instrumental tracks from existing recorded material for the use of entertainment systems.[3][4]
Examples of Minus One sides
The following table illustrates early B-sides of Zsa Zsa Padilla released by Blackgold Records. Many such vinyl sides have since been ported to other platforms, such as VCD, videoke and free video sharing websites.
| Side A Song | Side B Minus one | Record Label | Catalog | Year | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| When I'm With You (Rene Novelles) |
When I'm With You (minus one) (Arranged by Dante Trinidad) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-392 | 1985 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Eversince (Alvina Eileen Sy) |
Eversince (minus one) (Arranged by Dante Trinidad) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-397 | 1985 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| To Love You (Danny Javier) |
To Love You (minus one) (Arranged by Menchu Apostol) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-401 | 1985 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Hiram (George Canseco) |
Hiram (minus one) (Arranged by Danny Tan) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-404 | 1986 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Mambobola (Rey-An Fuentes) |
Mambobola (minus one) (Arranged by Homer Flores) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-410 | 1986 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Ikaw Lamang (Dodjie Simon) |
Ikaw Lamang (minus one) (Arranged by Menchu Apostol) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-413 | 1986 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Minsan Pa (Jun Sta. Maria & Peewee Apostol) |
Minsan Pa (minus one) (Arranged by Menchu Apostol) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-417 | 1986 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Maybe This Time (Marlene del Rosario) |
Maybe This Time (minus one) (Arranged by Menchu Apostol) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-432 | 1988 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Pangako (Dodjie Simon) |
Pangako (minus one) (Arranged by Egay Gonzales) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-447 | 1990 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
| Ang Aking Pamasko (Tony Velarde) |
Ang Aking Pamasko (minus one) (Arranged by Egay Gonzales) |
Blackgold Records | BSP-459 | 1990 | 45-RPM 7" Vinyl |
Minus one is content
The wave of "Minus-one" vinyl B-Sides brought about a genre in the Philippine record industry, harvested by the cousins Vic del Rosario and Orly Ilacad,[6] co-owners and executive producers of Vicor Music Corporation and its offshoot record labels. They released the seminal 7-inch B-sides of minus-one recordings, later grouped as "minus-one" compilations on cassette tape format, and later as online material.[7] As sheer musical content, the instrumentals were a precursor to widespread recreational crooning, its provenance[8] effectively traced to the Music Minus One of the mid-1950s. As a Filipino trait[9] for festivity,[10], the allure for minus-one recordings crossed cultural barriers in the Philippines.[11][12][13]
Demise of Philippine Minus-one B-sides
External links
References
- ^ Minus One | Slang Define, archived from the original on February 15, 2024
- ^ Fintoni, Laurent (2020). Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-Hop & Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century. Velocity Press. ISBN 9781913231040.
- ^ "Vocal Removal and Isolation". manual.audacityteam.org. November 16, 2023.
- ^ Epekto ng OPM Orihinal na Musika ng Pilipino | musixmatch (in Tagalog)
- ^ Minus One | AllMusic
- ^ "Vic, Orly & Tito: Philpop's music trio". PressReader. The Philippine Star. March 8, 2017.
- ^ Minus-One OPM Alternative Love Songs | Universal Records, Polycosmic, August 2021
- ^ Odrich, Jim (May 2016), The Jim Odrich Experience: Music Minus One Piano | Google Books, Music Minus One, ISBN 978-1-59615-056-0
- ^ Charles E. Griffith, Jr. (March 1924). "Folk Music in the Philippines". Music Supervisors' Journal. 10 (4): 26–64. doi:10.2307/3383136. JSTOR 3383136 – via JSTOR.org.
- ^ "communal celebration". Collins Dictionary. 2024.
- ^ "Pinoy music artists sing of love and hope for Philippines {mention of minus one)". goodnewspilipinas. May 2, 2019.
- ^ "Quincentennial Theme Song Minus One MP3". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.
- ^ "Bagani Quincentennial Theme Song". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.