Written by Noelle Alarcon
The Philippines has an incredibly rich, complex history—despite the multiple attempts to put down the Filipino identity, it is the spirit of resistance that has pushed us to continue fighting, time and time again.
For Filipinos outside of the homeland, that sense of pride, of kinship, can look a little different, although the thought remains intact: we have always had our own world and will stick by it no matter what, unnecessary foreign interventions aside. In New Jersey-based producer WILHELMINA’s latest EP, “Book of Spells,” he summons these roots and blends them into webs of jersey club and hard drum.
Akin to being possessed by the spell of a babaylan, “Book of Spells” is over 20 minutes of thumping transcendental beats. Shrouded in mysticism and the promise of a good time, booming 808s are showered in hard kicks and the sound of indigenous Filipino instruments. WILHELMINA trades the more clean, polished sounds of percussion for drums that have more of a roaring echo, contrasting with calming prayers and various sounds of brass that accent each beat.
The EP stands out from the rest, and not just because of its Southeast Asian roots. It is not merely confined to the genres that describe it; it doesn’t have to force or impose its identity upon the listener, and it executes its brashness magnificently. Its trance-inducing basslines are reminiscent of the hypnotic nature of budots, and so are the different ways he uses the sounds found in rituals to exaggerate and build up to certain points in each track. There are standout tracks, like opener “Divine Hand,” which samples Kelis’ “Milkshake” and weave it with indigenous drum beats that become more complex as its runtime moves forward. “Booty Hypnosis” is true to its title; the bass-boosted murmurs become louder and louder until the track finally shifts its gears and mesmerizes with its array of sounds.
There are plenty of ways to play with jersey club, its template being a flexible canvas that will take on anything painted upon it well. However, there are points in the EP where the repetitiveness becomes an element that drags the track on for longer instead of expanding on its sonic possibilities. It’s a tricky endeavor to figure out how to piece these sounds together, and WILHELMINA’s attempt to incite spells of dance works well, for the most part.
The EP’s cover is an array of golden tikbalangs, and the mysteries of Philippine occult—in superstition, they are mythical creatures that lead travelers astray. That’s what this collection of breaks and beats does to the listener; “Book of Spells” unlocks an experience that can only be felt beyond the physical realm, hauling you across a bewitching journey of wonder that has been inside you all along. What joy it is to make the most out of being spellbound.