Ultraelectromagneticpop!

Ultraelectromagneticpop! (stylized as ultraelectromagneticpop!) is the debut studio album by the Filipino alternative rock band Eraserheads, first released on July 1, 1993 by BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. It was produced by the band (credited as “Dem”) and Ed Formoso.

Eraserheads formed in 1989 at University of the Philippines Diliman and signed a recording contract with BMG in 1992. They recorded Ultraelectromagneticpop! from July 1992 to April 1993. The recording was hampered by several reasons such as frequent brownouts and Formoso leaving the studio for undisclosed reasons.

The album spawned hit singles such as "Ligaya”, “Toyang”, and “Pare Ko”, best known for its explicit lyrics. It is often credited with revitalizing the alternative rock genre in the Philippines during the 1990s.

Background
The members of Eraserheads met while attending University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. They formed a band in 1989 and named themselves Eraserheads, a nod to the David Lynch film Eraserhead (1977). Initially achieving little success playing covers at schools and Manila’s rock club circuit, they decided to write their own material, which soon earned them a cult following around the university. One of the songs in particular, “Pare Ko”, became popular for its explicit lyrics.

On January 26, 1991, Eraserheads recorded a nine-song demo tape at the garage of drummer Raimund Marasigan’s provincial home in Candelaria, Quezon. They shopped the demo cassette around record labels, clubs, and radio stations only to be met with rejection at every turn; one recording label commented that the demos are “not pop enough”. Later in May, UP Diliman humanities professor and friend of the band Robin Rivera helped them re-record and mix better versions of the demo songs on a four-track DAT recorder. The new demo tape was named Pop-U! as an irreverent response to those who turned them down.

Meanwhile, vocalist Ely Buendia became an employee of BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. (now part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment) as a student copywriter. Working with BMG during the day, he wrote songs with the band at night. Their material later caught the attention of BMG A&R director Vic Valenciano, who commented that they were technically very raw but that there was something promising in them. In 1992, BMG signed the band into a three-year record deal.

Recording
Eraserheads recorded Ultraelectromagneticpop! from July 1992 to April 1993. They initially worked with Ed Formoso for production duties.

The recording sessions were hampered by several incidents, such as brownouts and the recording equipment breaking down. Midway through a session, Formoso abruptly left the studio for undisclosed reasons, forcing the band to finish producing the rest of the album. They expressed their displeasure by inserting a backmasked message (“Formoso sucks!”) into “Combo on the Run”.

The album title is a pun on the ultraelectromagnetic tops, a fictional weapon from the Japanese anime television series Voltes V, which was popular in the Philippines at the time. Working titles included "Lutong Bahay", "Pekaloid", "The Klasik Kapums Konsert Kookout", and "Eraserheads Greatest Hits Vol. 5".

Music and lyrics
In Ultraelectromagneticpop!, local critics found elements of alternative rock, college rock, reggae, and rockabilly. The album drew comparisons to the Beatles, the Cure, the Clash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and APO Hiking Society.

Some of the tracks such as “Pare Ko”, “Tindahan ni Aling Nena”, and “Toyang” were rerecorded from Pop-U!. “Pare Ko” is a ballad and became notable for its explicit lyrics, which was unheard of in Philippine music at the time. The album featured both original and censored versions, with the latter named “Walang Hiyang Pare Ko” (later excluded from the album’s 25th anniversary remaster). Buendia described “Tindahan ni Aling Nena” as a “shameless Beatles parody”. “Toyang” features interpolations of Filipino folk songs as well as the popular song “Too Young” (composed by Sidney Lippman and written by Sylvia Dee) and “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney's band Wings; the band credited Lippman, Dee and McCartney in the album liner notes. Marasigan described the song as “an anti-pop statement against the people who said we couldn’t do a pop song.”

Release
The album was released by BMG Records (Philippines) 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 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. 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 Center for Ethnomusicology for the album's cultural significance.

Track listing

 * On the 25th anniversary remastered edition, "Walang Hiyang Pare Ko" is excluded from the track listing.

Personnel
Credits for Ultraelectromagneticpop! adapted from liner notes. Track numbers noted in parentheses below are based on track numbering.


 * Ely Buendia – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (4), lead guitar (6)
 * Buddy Zabala – bass guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (4)
 * Marcus Adoro – lead guitar, backing vocals, hand claps (4), tambourine (8) , lead vocals (9)
 * Raimund Marasigan – drums, backing vocals, melodica (2), tambourine (4) , hand claps (4) , lead guitar (6) , piano (10)

Additional personnel


 * Dem (Eraserheads) – 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 (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
 * 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.