Even though there's no real 'Acid Jazz' scene there, it is generally
recognized as a musical genre there. There are no Acid Jazz clus per se
there, but there are signs:
- An 11-piece band from Manila called Ugoy-Ugoy has been getting some press
leately. They supposedly mix funk, jazz, soul and latin elements. I guess
we know what that means.
- An Acid Jazz mix show on Sunday nights at 11 p.m. on 99.5 RT FM. This
station plays rock/top-40 during the day, but the stuff I heard on one
Sunday night was phatter than lechon (roast pig, that is...)
As for the electronica scene, it is up-and coming, though not as much (and
not as hyped) as in the U.S. In the Metro Manila area, DJs from Europe and
Canada are known to work in the clubs there, specializing in techno,
ambient, gabber and drum & bass. In Cebu City (the 2nd largest city in the
country), they have a club balled DTM that features techno and drum & bass
on Saturday nights.
Also, the artist to watch is a band called Kulay. It is a trio featuring a
male singer/rapper/producer (Boom Dayupay) and a female singer from the
Philippines and a female singer from Canada. They have a song in the local
charts there called "Burn" and their latest album, "Vibestation" is a mix
of Funk, Hip-Hop, Acid Jazz and Drum & Bass; They are signed to Sony Music
Philippines and there are talks of distribution in Asia and Canada.
A few other observations:
Hip-Hop doesn't really exist in the Philippines, despite the fact that
Filipino youths in America are probably the 2nd only to blacks in terms of
being into hip-hop. There are hip-hop artists there, but unfortunately the
music doesn't have the street roots as it does in America (and even other
countries, like France). One popular female rapper seems to get away with
rehashing West Coast gangsta-rap songs (only this time with 'bad girl'
lyrics) for the local market. And here's the worst thing about it: She was
born and raised in the USA.
In Asia, and perhaps others from Asian countries can also jump into the
discussion, is the growing popularity of "Raggaloo" music, i.e. Ragga
toasting/raps over boogaloo grooves. Shaggy seems to be popular there. I've
noticed it's popular all over Asia (via venues such as MTV Asia and Hong
Kong's Channel V), as other artists such as Thailand's Joey Boy seem to get
into that "Raggaloo" thang. Any comments?
Elson