The Rest Is Noise PH (TRIN) is a music curator, events production, and online publication based in Manila, Philippines.

Founded in 2015, TRIN has curated and produced more than 30 live music events, including Summer Noise and All Of The Noise music festivals, which featured critically acclaimed and up-and-coming homegrown and international musicians, primarily dedicated to showcasing Asian and Asian diaspora music artists, such as Japanese Breakfast, Phum Viphurit, Turnover, Deafheaven, Last Dinosaurs, Up Dharma Down, Sandwich, and more.

In 2020, TRIN co-founded AXEAN Festival (formerly ASEAN Music Showcase Festival), a first-of-its-kind traveling regional showcase festival that aims to put the spotlight on music artists and communities from Southeast Asia—rooted in music discovery, community-based networking, and music industry education—by incorporating structured, artist- and community-centric initiatives including music conference, industry matchmaking/speed meetings, and songwriting camp, resulting to meaningful career opportunities (such as music export) and creative, cultural exchanges.

TRIN’s co-founders have worked with global music partners, including Warner Music Asia, Sony Music Philippines, SXSW, HipHopDX Asia, and programmed, collaborated with, and participated at numerous music showcase festivals in the United States, France, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India.

Music.

Founded in 2015, The Rest Is Noise cultivated its own brand of live music curation that stood out among its contemporaries.

Since its infancy, TRIN sought out emerging independent musicians, many of whom performed first on The Rest Is Noise stage, often held at Route 196 in Katipunan Ext., Quezon City. These musicians were often discovered and/or previously featured in the now-defunct Vandals On The Wall—a music blog-turned-website, peerless at the time, and TRIN’s spiritual predecessor of sorts, which co-founder Ian Urrutia ran in the early 2010s, and where co-founder MC Galang eventually contributed.

The music site heavily published reviews, new music, and evergreen features from some of the best Filipino critics and writers, including Richard Bolisay, Alex Almario, and Itos Ledesma. In 2020, TRIN launched its online music publication platform, curating standout releases from the Philippines and around Asia, explore its music communities and figures, introduce new artists, as well as publish timeless pieces about music and culture.

Masthead

All written and visual content are created and owned by (unless stated otherwise):

MC Galang — Co-Founder, Creative Director

Ian Urrutia — Co-Founder, Artist and Media Relations Director

Aldus Santos — Resident Writer

Jam Pascual – Contributing Writer

Community.

At its core, The Rest Is Noise’s ethos lies in its sense of community—we the founders believe that music is a transformative art form that unites and transcends boundaries and differences.

It is our belief that music should provide an inclusive, safe space.

Over the years, we have grown and diversified our community through our live shows, collaborating with fellow music industry personnel and professionals from around the world, speaking and showcasing at international music conferences, various platform features, as well as music-related efforts such as offering free artist development seminars (currently online), exhibiting live music photographers, trade events, and incorporating Filipino sign language (FSL) to our music festivals.

Press

 Music and advocacy take center stage at The Rest Is Noise Year End Gig

“The Rest Is Noise PH has been breaking records in the indie music community and organizing solid gigs and concerts for about three years. This year, for their third Year-Ender, they had a roster with bigger names that ultimately made a bigger impact on a much, much bigger audience.”

Bandwagon Philippines

All of the Noise was a smorgasbord of powerful concert moments

“The whole gig was a powerful showcase of acts from all over the country, proving The Rest is Noise’s dedication to taking what we love about local music and elevating it all to a stage high enough for everyone to see.”

Young Star

Summer Noise 2019 Embodied a Whole Lot of Diversity

“On top of all of the great artistry that I witnessed during this concert, what stood out the most about Summer Noise was the diversity that it embodied. This was the only festival that I personally witnessed with acts and headliners not predominantly from the West.”

WhenInManila.com

Summer music festival to feature Filipino Sign Language interpretation in all sets

“The company may have only been around for a few years but its music festivals have been making a mark not only in the local music scene but around Asia as well. The presence of critically acclaimed indie acts prove that The Rest is Noise continues to draw interest from musicians who have a cult following in the Philippines.”

CNN Philippines Life

Japanese Breakfast, Phum Viphurit, Last Dinosaurs at Summer Noise 2019

“The 2019 edition is an ambitious step up from last year, considering its impressive and well-curated lineup of international acts… No matter how unforgiving the weather was, the festival lineup – a mix of local favorites as well as indie darlings from our shores and beyond – was hard to resist.”

Rappler

A night of Black metal and nostalgia at All of the Noise 2019

“Speaking of screaming, this year’s lineup of international bands was a surprise at first. If you thought the Rest is Noise would bring back the cute vibes of last year’s headliners Phum Viphurit and Boy Pablo, you’d have been a little disappointed. The last two international acts were burlier than the usual — rakrakan in the post-rock sense, a much-awaited cleansing after a year of terrible, terrible news.”

CNN Philippines Life

Behind the Scene: Women in Music

“More and more women have risen up the ranks to level up the greatness of the Filipino music scene. From band managers, event producers, lights and sound engineers, to live concert photographers, the grounds women have strode upon are now marked with a kind of love and passion no one could find anywhere else.”

Bandwagon Philippines

The Rest Is Noise PH shows us what active allyship looks like

“While spreading awareness and starting discussions are still valid ways to show support, when the outrage ends there it can be difficult for it to translate to positive impact offline… The Rest Is Noise PH shows us how active support can manifest from online discussions. Following a highly publicized anti-trans rap track being released and actively marketed by its label, the music curation group decided to hold a screening of PJ Raval’s ‘Call Her Ganda’ as a response to the discriminatory rap song. Metro Manila Pride shared the event stating, ‘This is active allyship and we love it so much.’”

SCOUT

“Living with Music vol.7″〜MC Galang / MCギャラン（フィリピン / Philippines)

“The musical connection between Okinawa and the Philippines has a long history. When Okinawa came under American control after World War II, many of the big bands that played in the officers’ clubs were filled with accomplished Filipino musicians… But watching the movements of Philippine music insiders such as MC Galang… I was struck by their enthusiasm. From what I’ve heard, the indie scene in the Philippines is very active, and there are many big festivals, including Summer Noise… What kind of maps are they trying to draw when they are now suffering from the coronal catastrophe like other countries?”

Living with Music Series by Music from Okinawa (Japan)

沖縄から日本とアジアの音楽市場に交流を生み出す〈TAMM 2020〉を現地レポート (JP)

Local report on <TAMM 2020>, which creates exchanges between Okinawa and the Japanese and Asian music markets

“2015年に音楽レビューブログとしてスタートした「The Rest Is Noise」。徐々に小さなイベントのプロデュースも手がけるようになり、2017年末に初のフェスを開催。そこから国内のバンドの登竜門的な位置づけとなり、2018年にはジャンルレスの音楽フェス〈Summer Noise〉を主催。音楽レビューブログからスタートした当時から、フィリピンのインディーズや新人によるコミュニティを作り上げてきたという。〈Summer Noise〉には、自分たちが好きで情熱溢れるバンドばかりを集め、国内のインディーズアーティストはもちろん、台湾のElephant GymやタイのPhum Viphurit、Yellow Fangなども参加。海外から参加してくれたアーティストには、メディアや会場押さえなどフィリピンで極力活躍できる場面を作ることを大事にしていると語った。「良い音楽と情熱のあるアーティスト及び関係者も国内外問わずアジアで繋がっていくべきだ」という考えをモットーにしており、フィリピンでショーケース文化を根付かせることを目標にしている。”

StoryWriter Tokyo

Focus Philippines – Interview The Rest Is Noise (FR)

“Mary Christine Galang et Ian Urrutia sont les co-fondateurs de la société The Rest Is Noise (TRIN). C’est une société de production événementielle indépendante qui se donne pour objectif de mettre en valeur la richesse culturelle et la diversité musicale des Philippines. Les deux associés souhaitent remettre la musique indépendante au centre de la communauté philippine mais aussi favoriser la coopération avec l’international.”

Le Bureau Export Paris

© 2025 DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED BY MC GALANG FOR THE REST IS NOISE, WITH ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FROM JEREMY CAISIP AND MARVIN CHUA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.