Similarobjects, a.k.a. Jorge Juan B. Wieneke V, is a household name in many musicians’ circles. Aside from garnering several awards to wide international acclaim, he is also a core founder of music collective Buwan Buwan, where he has helped foster a community of collaboration between like-minded musicians. It is through efforts like his that the envelope has been pushed in terms of music in the Philippines. Today, he continues to relentlessly make music with his cohorts, knowing that there are still genres to be transcended.
This week, we ask Similarobjects to share local Filipino artists he’s looking out for, and ones we probably might have heard of. (When asked why the division between “Yin” and “Yang,” he replies: “Bright and dark; polar opposites siya for me. Masculine and feminine sides. I [put it that way] because they represent the duality in me. Some music speaks to my dark side. Sine music speak to the light side.”) Take a look:
YANG
Merlinda – “y ou r lov e”
“Merlinda was one of the heads responsible1 for now defunct YLG (youngliquidgang), the collective that was home to the likes of no rome, leon., Local disk c, and etc. Even back then he was always onto some next shit. Like you always knew that the art he was creating was coming from somewhere deep, introspective and complex. With every listen it always makes me curious if I could ever visit that world. I think his music best represents the melting pot nature of our generation that grew up on the internet.”
jdvplus – “XO PLUS Llif3”
“jdvplus is a Buwanbuwan homie based in the US. his music, an echo of the early beat scene with a slight mutation inspired by online life. With a strong attention to detail and a way with words he manages to sculpt strong sonic narratives and spaces that find you getting lost in the world he creates.”
thisbeing_ – “Somnolence”
“In a sea of future beat clones, thisbeing is a textural and emotive oasis of sound. Transforming the pain of everyday into a slice of paradise.”
J LEVEL – “PAPYRUS N SANS R D GR8ST EVR (SOLT N PEPPOR DISS)”
“Raised on a diet of videogames, hiphop and maximalism, J Level’s own brand of hyperactive ADHD music takes a life on its own in the form of these songs that he passes off as fanfiction pieces.”
meh shua – “I have no song on soundcloud so I made one”
“Little is known about this anime blondie. He just added me on facebook and I noticed he makes some proper bomb ass kawaii bass music. I fuxwiddit.”
justo – “catching orbits”
“18 year-old boy wonder justo is a sign of good things to come. He reminds me of the saying “its not the arrow but the indian”. He produces on Ableton lite which is sort of a version of ableton that works with some limitations compared to a full version. In a sense he works with what he has to maximize the minimum. A true sign that its not about the tools but what u can do with it. He recently released a beat tape on Buwanbuwan’s new moon series.”
YIN
Local Disk (C:) – “Titor”
“Hybrid art forms, psychoacoustics, noise intoners that would make the dada surrealists in you shriek in joyful terror. On good days it sounds like a trip inside an 80s arcade game. On better days its that exact video game on acid, trampled over by elephants and tossed in the fire’s of hell backed up on a harddrive and fed to the unknowing plebe via social media. And I mean that in the best possible way.”
RIYO WASHINGTON – SPORT CHAINS MIXTAPE
“Dirt grit rawness is an art perfected by riyo washington. A member of the DGAF URL GANG NO FACE RECORDS. Prolific, terrific and horrific music for the 3rd kind.”
LOZANO – EXHIBIT A
“Avoiding worldly hype, trendy gimmicks and guided by his own sensibilities. LOZANO creates an obscuro world of his own. A master of sound manipulation and sampling who isn’t afraid to counter the flow in all ways possible.”
spaaawn – “stillinmeyoustillinmeyoustillinmeyoustillinmeyou”
“Versatility is key in the music world of today and being able to adapt and be resilient in any situation can give you an edge over the rest. Spaaawn is a perfect example of that resilience. Being able to craft dope lofi and hiphop beats but at the same time being able to craft potent ambient and experimental pieces that blur the lines between styles and genres he is easily one of the beatmakers I have my ears and eyes on.”
0belisc – “Edikt”
“Obelisk who used to go by the name moonfearmoon is a veteran local electronic musician that has been a big influence on me. I admire him for a lot of a reasons but his music being the main focus. I sometimes find comfort in the dark. 0belisc’s Edikt treats us to a plethora of beautiful yet haunting atmospheres that launch you into deep thought. this is the soundtrack of the vastness of space and the infinite.”