Since the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, most of the recording studios have closed. Blaster Silonga was affected in a way that making music was more difficult because of the pandemic restrictions. However, he eventually found a way to keep this music going on. He decided to transform his house as a music studio and that’s where he made MY KOSMIK ISLAND DISK.
“Hirap kaming makapunta sa studio so I had to buy my own gear,” Blaster shared. “Gumawa ako ng home studio and doon ko ni-record lahat sa bahay yung buong album.”
Asked if he ever decided to record the album in a different setting once the pandemic restrictions loosened, he clarified that it was purely done at his house. “Sa bahay ko lang,” he said.
He says that even though recording the album in his house was convenient, there were still stumbling blocks they had to overcome. One of those struggles was that home recording was still new to him and there was a lack of knowledge that led to some mistakes.
Sharing their shortcomings, he noted, “Siguro dahil kami kami lang din, syempre may kakulangan din kami sa knowledge and experience so naging both Pros tsaka Cons yon kasi.”
He further explained, “Con kasi syempre kulang kami sa experience so magkakamali’t magkakamali talaga kami, pero yung Pro don [is] marami naman kaming natutunan sa mga sa pag record ng kanta ng album.”
He was able to work with his bandmates in “BLASTER and the Celestial Klowns.” He attributes Max, John, Dave and Crystal as his “main collaborators” who helped him form MY KOSMIK ISLAND DISK.
Blaster added that it was fun working with the Celestial Klowns, saying that since they are not just bandmates but also close friends, working together was smooth.
MY KOSMIK ISLAND DISK was made in almost a year, Blaster revealed. He said that it would have been made faster and released sooner had there not been any COVID-19 lockdowns along the way.
He said, “Almost a year, considering din ‘yung mga ano don na na-lockdown [and] ‘yung mga na delays. Pero siguro kung hindi nagkaroon ng mga lockdowns mas mabilis ko syang natapos [and] mas mabilis siyang na-release.”
MY KOSMIK ISLAND DISK was released last October 8, consisting of 9 tracks. Blaster said that 7 of those are “song songs” while there are two which are very “cosmic sounding.”
The concept of the album, Blaster revealed, was inspired from BBC Radio 1’s segment “Desert Island Discs” where the artists are interviewed about their musical inspirations and art influences.
Among the 9 tracks, Blaster said that “KOSMIK DREAM” is favorite. “Binigyan talaga namin ng oras at pag-ibig ‘yung paggawa ng kantang ‘yon,” he recalled.
Soundstrip asked Blaster if he had anything to say to his listeners. He expressed nothing but pure gratitude, saying, “Maraming salamat sa mga patuloy na pagsuporta sa sa aking musical career and sa aking music at I hope to see you guys soon sa mga live shows and magpa-party lang tayo, mag-sasaya lang tayong lahat.”
MY KOSMIK ISLAND DISK is available on all music-streaming platforms.
