In the Philippines, the Minus-one (commonly, albeit improperly, spelled "Minus one"[1] without the hyphen) is a variant mix of a multitrack recording, wherein the lead vocal track of a song is muted for further commercial "exploitation". In the Philippine recording industry of the 1980s, during the heyday of vinyl records, this variant was released as the "flip side"[2][3] of a commercial song's 7-inch single, but generally never a part of the Long Playing album containing the full-featured song. Succinctly, a B-Side selection became referred to as "minus one" because the lead vocal track is subtracted from the A-Side song's original mix.

Record production genre

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45 RPM 7-inch vinyl

As a genre of record production in the Philippines,[4] the inclusion of a 'minus one' Side-B reduced the production cost of a 45 RPM 7-inch "single" by foregoing the need for yet another song to occupy the 7-inch record's flipside.[5] It also encouraged buyers to "sing along" with the bonus accompaniment of the "hit single".

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 was replicated overseas.[6] In the ensuing years, tracks from minus-one flip sides were assembled by production houses for their inclusion in compilations.[7][8] Their commercial success notwithstanding, no spurious claims were made that vinyl sing-along B-Sides of OPM were an "ïnvention" or innovation.

Examples of Minus One sides

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The following table illustrates early B-sides of Zsa Zsa Padilla's 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[9] with dedicated Minus One content.

Minus one is content

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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,[10] 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, Compact Disks and later as online material.[11] As sheer musical content, the instrumentals were a precursor to widespread recreational crooning at home and outside, its provenance[12] effectively traced to the Music Minus One products of the mid-1950s. As a Filipino trait[13] for festivity,[14] the allure for minus-one recordings crossed cultural barriers in the Philippines.[15][16][17]

Demise of Philippine Minus-one B-Sides

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References

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  1. ^ Minus One | Slang Define, archived from the original on February 15, 2024
  2. ^ "Merriam-Webster: Flip side Definition & Meaning". April 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Collins Dictionary: FLIP SIDE definition and meaning". 2024.
  4. ^ Production Genre | soundroll.com
  5. ^ Oxford Languages: flipside | Google
  6. ^ Fintoni, Laurent (2020). Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-Hop & Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century. Velocity Press. ISBN 9781913231040.
  7. ^ "Vocal Removal and Isolation". manual.audacityteam.org. November 16, 2023.
  8. ^ Epekto ng OPM Orihinal na Musika ng Pilipino | musixmatch (in Tagalog)
  9. ^ Minus One | AllMusic
  10. ^ "Vic, Orly & Tito: Philpop's music trio". PressReader. The Philippine Star. March 8, 2017.
  11. ^ Minus-One OPM Alternative Love Songs | Universal Records, Polycosmic, August 2021
  12. ^ Odrich, Jim (May 2016), The Jim Odrich Experience: Music Minus One Piano | Google Books, Music Minus One, ISBN 978-1-59615-056-0
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "communal celebration". Collins Dictionary. 2024.
  15. ^ "Pinoy music artists sing of love and hope for Philippines {mention of minus one)". goodnewspilipinas. May 2, 2019.
  16. ^ "Quincentennial Theme Song Minus One MP3". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.
  17. ^ "Bagani Quincentennial Theme Song". National Quincentennial Committee Philippines, National Historical Commission of the Philippines. March 25, 2020.