Sterilium is mainly a progressive rock/avant garde/jazz/classical solo act by multi-instrumentalist Mark A. Galang offering music for the thinking man's mind.
The Story So Far....
Mark Galang has an almost insatiable taste for music and has a seemingly overwhelming desire to make sonic art. As such, he had spent time playing in various unknown bands ranging from metal bands to jazz and Rn'B bands, bands that have not realized his full potential as a musical being. Mark was also a freak of nature, a weirdo whose musical ideas, though innovative, were not embraced by many as it is part of human nature to resist dynamics and change. Having been educated in music from the elemetary school age, being exposed to the wide spectrum that music had to offer, and having embraced the basic foundations of occupational therapy, Mark began to realize that within the confines of a band he could not pursue his full creative musical potential, thus a freak of nature from the International Organization of the Insane and the Deranged named Sterilium was born.
Mark Anthony A. Galang, being his very common full name, otherwise now bearing the alter-ego known as Sterilium, is a person which probably isolike any other person in this planet, having his own aspirations and dreams, visions and goals, being bound to this vast place we call the universe. It seemed unlikely at first that Mark will pursue the vocation of a solo artist later in life when he was initially "forced" by his parents at the young age of 11 to take classical piano lessons as a therapeutic means for his seemingly bad fine motor function. At the age of 12, he was "forced" once again, this time classical guitar lessons at the age of 12. At 12 years of age, when it seems that Mark's passion was for the sciences, he suddenly discovered somewhat interesting music in the form of one of the popular bands of the early 90's, namely Metallica. Something about Metallica's early music sparked that interest which led Mark to try out as a vocalist for a band at grade school to be then known by the name "Sanitarium" (as Mark recalls from his seemingly bad memory). Out of probably sheer luck and a lack of choices (or probably desperation in looking for a vocalist. Hey! Mark was in a children's choir before. There must be something in him right?), Mark eventually was chosen by then Sanitarium drummer Cyril (now of Silverfilter fame in Manila's Electronica Scene). This brief experience in his life opened a lot of musical possibilities for the young innocent boy as he then pursued a largely self-taught musical education along with his studies.
With piano and guitar lessons here and there, as well as some self-taught knowledge and contributions by other individuals, Mark began to build his musical knowledge further. Such knowledge opened the opportunity for him to be of service to the Lord through music by auditioning for a band that used to be known as Jacob's Ladder (a band that was formed within the walls of a certain prominent Evangelical church in Manila). During his adolescence, he had devoted his time to this ministry as a keyboard player/guitarist/vocalist, performing a wide array of music ranging from hymns arranged in a jazz-like manner to praise and worship songs to CCM as well as their own original compositions. As time went on, Mark's exposure to a lot of forms of music grew into a form of dissatisfaction with his involvement in the band as his musical interests began to waver from those of his bandmates until one day he discovered Progressive music when he first picked up his copy of Dream Theater's "Images and Words." Finally, Mark thought to himself that this was a compromise to his interest in jazz and to his bandmates fixation in rock and alternative music. Mark thought that his role as a keyboard player will be of much more use as well as it would open new musical boundaries for the band thus bearing forth their first progressive rock composition known as "Ignite Your Fire."
Personal problems, obligations, and matters then found its way into Mark's life as an artist. Along with his dissatisfaction in politics within that church and the divided opinions and ploys to either stop the band from performing their ministry or to control the band against its own creative force, Mark along with his bandmates decided to stop their ministry and attempt to reach out outside the walls of the church in the form of gigs in some unknown bars as well as locally sponsored battle-of-the-bands-type of events (which none of them won). It seemed that Mark's life was going nowhere during this period that he almost decided to call it quits with music (though he played along with various bands musical groups in college) until he met this woman named Niña, the founder of the International Organization of the Insane and the Deranged. Quite same or probably more the eccentric, antisocial, sentient, thinking being that Mark already was, Niña became Mark's inspiration for life. Mark began to straighten out his priorites in life and thus became the genesis of a new musical avenue, Sterilium.
Eventually, he got married to the founder of the International Organization of the Insane and the Deranged, has a son, finished college, went to med school for a while, left med school, got a day job, and got himself a house where he continues to write music which he distributes for free on the internet, juggling it along with his life as a husband and a father. Sterilium still continues his ministry by writing and distributing music for free which has manifested into an online album that could be downloaded in its entirety for free.
Completed in November 30, 2005, Sterilium's Opus No. 1 was released online with no special ads, no special promotions, and no strings attached; just music that is free, non-commercial, experimental, and teeming with artistic integrity.
As of the moment no. I am busy with my full-time job as a medical editor.
I have a wide variety of influences spanning genres from progressive rock, metal, jazz, and classical music. Examples of bands/artists that have a great influence towards my music are Yes, ELP, Dream Theater, Return to Forever, Rush, Gentle Giant, Kansas, and Vangelis. Some of my favorite classical composers include Johann Sebastian Bach, George Friedrich Handel, Franz Josef Haydn, Igor Stravinsky, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy, and Gustav Holst.
My main axe is a Korg X5. I also use this synth to control other softsynths installed in my computer. I also have a Fender Squier Precision Bass and an Axtech Stratocaster copy for bass and guitar parts. I also use a steel-string guitar and a classical guitar. All of my music is recorded on a Pentium III 733 MHz PC.
My music is given away for FREE. Download my albums at http://www.sterilium.tk. Just show some respect and never rip me off.
