Minus one recordings (Philippines)

A description of Minus One recordings in the Philippines.

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[edit]

45 RPM 7-inch vinyl

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[edit]

The following table illustrates early B-sides of Zsa Zsa Padilla 7-inch singles released by Blackgold Records. Many such vinyl sides have since been ported to other platforms, including 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

► In 1987 a song by the Filipino band, The Dawn was released as a 7-inch 45 RPM single (with minus-one) by their record label, OctoArts.
► In the millenium years, Narda, a band from the Philippines, featured an album page in AllMusic[5] with dedicated Minus One content.

## Minus one is content[edit]

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 together 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[edit]

Main article: Karaoke § In culture

## External links[edit]

* B-Side
* What are Minus-one tracks and why they are used
* Minus-One OPM Alternative Love Songs

## References[edit]

1. ^ Minus One | Slang Define, archived from the original on February 15, 2024
2. ^ Fintoni, Laurent (2020). Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-Hop & Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century. Velocity Press. ISBN 9781913231040.
3. ^ "Vocal Removal and Isolation". manual.audacityteam.org. November 16, 2023.
4. ^ Epekto ng OPM Orihinal na Musika ng Pilipino | musixmatch (in Tagalog)
5. ^ Minus One | AllMusic
6. ^ "Vic, Orly & Tito: Philpop's music trio". PressReader. The Philippine Star. March 8, 2017.
7. ^ Minus-One OPM Alternative Love Songs | Universal Records, Polycosmic, August 2021
8. ^ Odrich, Jim (May 2016), The Jim Odrich Experience: Music Minus One Piano | Google Books, Music Minus One, ISBN 978-1-59615-056-0
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ "communal celebration". Collins Dictionary. 2024.
11. ^ "Pinoy music artists sing of love and hope for Philippines {mention of minus one)". goodnewspilipinas. May 2, 2019.
12. ^ "Quincentennial Theme Song Minus One MP3". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.
13. ^ "Bagani Quincentennial Theme Song". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.