BuwanBuwan Collective is providing a playground for Filipino producers
Appropriately named after a traditional Filipino kids game, BuwanBuwan Collective aims to be the playground for all those bedroom producers that don’t fit into the commercial standards of electronic music in Manila. Comprised of nearly twenty young producers and DJs, thanks to their perseverance they have built a self-sustained musical scene where they produce their own events and release their own music while encouraging others to do the same. MusicMap contacted co-founder similarobjects, who will participate in this year’s Red Bull Music Academy, to find out a bit more about the difficulties faced by musicians in the Philippines and top tips for music lovers visiting the area.
Anino by U-pistol x similarobjects
Your collective is named after a traditional Filipino game enacting the lunar eclipse and you match your releases with the lunar calendar. Are moon cycles an important feature of popular culture in Philippines or is it just a personal fascination?
To be honest I think more than anything it’s my personal fondness with Astrology, Esotericism, Occult, Shamanism and all things New Age that bleeds into the various facets of the collective. Not a lot of people around here really pay attention to these things but I like inserting bits and pieces of myself in my projects.
Describe where you live in ten words or less.
A cultural melting pot that pushes its inhabitants towards boiling point.
How did the idea of forming BuwanBuwan come up?
BuwanBuwan Collective was born out of the need to create context for our own content. We were always an odd-fit for Manila’s EDM top-40 DJs / club culture as well as the band-centric venues. So we got together to create both a platform and a playground for all the bedroom musicians and beatmakers to feel at home at, from then on we’ve been organising and putting together our own shows and it just made sense to naturally progress into releasing music as a label. We try to be free and play by our own rules whilst shining the spotlight on the whole community in the process.
When did you start making your own music and what was it like to begin with?
I started making my own music back when my ideas started to alienate my band mates. It was starting to build up a curiosity in me regarding what music I could be making if I was free from the expectations and the voices of other people. It was really tough having to wrestle with a lot of self-doubt and external criticism from so many people but I’m glad I never gave up on the vision. It was all worth it in the end.
What equipment do you use now?
I still use a laptop, Ableton Live, a bunch of samplers, drum machines and synths together with Ableton Push 2.
What sort of music were you exposed to when you were growing up?
I was exposed to a wide range of things from classical music to R&B, pop, hip-hop, electronic music, ambient and jazz.
Could you briefly introduce the BuwanBuwan family to MusicMap’s readers?
BuwanBuwan Collective is a group of electronic musicians and DJ’s from Manila in love with various styles of electronic music ranging from ambient, idm, avant-garde, glitch, abstract, hiphop, lo-fi, trap and various intersections of everything across the spectrum. There’s quite a lot of us to name but if you would like to know here’s a list: akisuda, LUSTBASS, THE BGNR, pillowtalk, ay_n, James Ussher, Ize!, Snow Fox Apprentice, thisbeing_, likeanimals, nights of rizal, nick payumo, Tisha, Bin5, JLVL, escuri, Justo, ahju$$i, lui., spaaawn and similarobjects.
What are the biggest challenges faced by musicians in the Philippines?
The market here is widely and mostly commercial so we struggle to find people that would naturally open up to the music we make since the majority of what we do isn’t the most accessible. Most of the time it feels like an uphill battle because there’s a lot trying and failing in the process but what we’ve learned is to just be patient and stick to our guns and focus on the few that actually resonate with what we do. We still generally find ourselves being an odd fit in certain cases but over the years we’ve managed to develop a niche crowd/market and we’ve just been trying to focus on the music we make and the platforms we’re building to allow more of this to exist and thrive.
What are the top things you’d suggest music fans visiting your region should go and see/do/eat/drink?
I believe Philippines has a very rich scene and there’s definitely a lot to explore and do here. I’d suggest checking out the beaches, the mountains and the mangoes!
Food recommendations: Adobo, Sisig, Sinigang, Bicol express, Bulalo.
Music venue recommendations: XX XX, 2020, Mow’s, Route 196, Dulo MNL, TodayxFuture and CATCH272.
Can you send us a photo of the view from your window?
Picture by Inez Moro