Manila DJs get told not to play Filipino music
A small detail buried in a scene report that says more about the global club economy than most essays about it.
Bandcamp Daily's Manila scene report contains a line that should be quoted more than it is: DJs in the city are often told not to play Filipino music, in order to cater to foreigners who came for techno or house.
Everything else in the piece is the good news. Luis Montales, who records as Pikunin, aaa_Paro and AHJU$$I, puts it plainly:
The time to be a Southeast Asian DJ is right now.
Both things are true simultaneously, and the gap between them is the actual story. The scene is strong: Jorge Wieneke (obese.dogma777, BuwanBuwan Collective), Caliph8, Tengal, DJ Love, the late Lirio Salvador and his handmade sandata instruments, with Manila Community Radio and WSK holding the infrastructure together.
And the booking pressure still points away from the thing that makes it worth flying for.
Go and look
Bandcamp Daily scene reportGot something wrong? Tell us and we will fix it.
