Written by Jax Figarola One should always listen to a trance album with an open mind, open heart, and an open area to move freely and dance. D Waviee’s ‘Epitome’ reads less like an album than a carefully staged rite of passage. Rite of passage (detachment, liminality, incorporation) in a way that the album stages […]
Tag: Jax Figarola
TRACK REVIEW: MISTER MEYERS – LAYUAN MO NA AKO
Written by Jax Figarola MISTER MEYERS’ “LAYUAN MO NA AKO” is a heartbreak spiral. Compared to the glitchy, melodic sprawl of his hip-hop mixtape last year called Meister Eyres, this latest track keeps his signature eclecticism, but punctuates it with heavier percussion and a more confrontational edge. And just like his previous works, he scores […]
ALBUM REVIEW: switchbitch – Silang
Written by Jax Figarola For rap duo switchbitch, subversion means crossing the boundaries within the existing political realities in the Philippines from the bottom up. Their debut album Silang – under the genres of conscious/political hip-hop and experimental hip-hop – focuses on making its listeners confront known truths of oppression and systemic inequality, particularly the […]
ALBUM REVIEW: DJ Love – Budots World (Reloaded)
Written by Jax Figarola Sherwin Tuna, better known as DJ Love, has spent years at the forefront of budots, a genre he helped pioneer straight from the slums of Davao. His first full-length album “Budots World (Reloaded),” captures both the genre’s origins and its future as a globally recognized electronic dance music subgenre. This album […]
EP REVIEW: LONER – DROPSTAR
Written by Jax Figarola Stepping back from the energetic beats and quicker rhythms of drum n’ bass in Lean Ordinario’s sophomore album ‘Make Noise,’ LONER—his solo project—ventures into new territory with five tracks of mellow techno-trance music in his third album, ‘DROPSTAR.’ This shift in genre reflects the influence of Metro Manila’s underground rave and […]
EP REVIEW: SHUICHI – YEAR OF THE RABBIT
Written by Jax Figarola Following shuichi’s well-received 2020 debut EP, “somniloquy,” he returns with “YEAR OF THE RABBIT,” a collection that invites listeners into a world of introspection and dream-like grief and longing. He presents a haunting blend of dream pop, bedroom R&B, and ambient electronic elements in music that creates a strong feeling of […]
TRACK REVIEW: sister christine – driver’s license
Written by Jax Figarola “driver’s license” by sister christine immerses their audience in a sonic landscape that draws inspiration from iconic shoegaze bands like quannnic, Whirr, flyingfish, and my bloody valentine. However, the song combines the elements of grunge and shoegaze, capturing the essence of dark liminal spaces through its use of distant ethereal vocals, […]