Bedroom beats has no doubt found its groove in the Philippines, and it’s become a soothing soundtrack for the humdrum of daily life in the city. Soundcloud is a gold mine for beat tapes from local producers, so it’s definitely a good place to start when looking for your next chill playlist.
ビクター ＭＫＩＩ
ビクター ＭＫＩＩ(read as Mark Two) is a Naga-based beatmaker. He often samples from anime then layers it over a steady beat and ambient noise. What stands out about his music is the lovely keys, giving his tracks the ability to communicate calming imagery, as if straight out of a picturesque anime scene.
washere
washere is a 22-year-old bedroom producer from Laguna. While his more well-known tracks explore meme-worthy vaporwave (pekeng ma ling, yokona, and the anime opening-inspired bagong umaga), he stays true to his description of not being able to stay within a genre. Nevertheless, he keeps his Internet-brand vulnerability intact in his lovetape, re:home, where groove and funk take center stage.
LUSTBASS
Jazz, soul, and electro find common ground in LUSTBASS’ repertoire. His earlier work is more erotic, aptly referred to as “kantutancore”, but his new EPs Intraverse I and II take a turn towards an ethereal sound. It’s trippy but doesn’t go all the way, grounding itself in its jazz sensibilities.
Meh Shua
Meh Shua creates experimental kawaii beats. Usually, the tracks layer funk and lively keys with samples of video game sounds which make for an energetic set that you can’t help but dance to. This particular track however, All I Want Is uWu, keeps it steady by interspersing guitars with fuzzed vocals and the Super Mario coin sound.
Mocksmile
Mocksmile is a 20-something Mark Fisher stan from Cavite, who occasionally makes electronic music. His music has evolved to become vehemently political, as seen in his collaboration with Kolateral, but his older tracks are otherworldly mediations on the human condition. His EP from two years ago, Prima Facie, takes on the essentials of bedroom pop in form, but deviates from the tendency to aestheticize mundane imagery. Instead, Mocksmile creates an entire immersive experience for the listener, one that captures emotions in 5D.
ｙｏｕｎｇｓｌｅｅｐｙｂｏｉ
Space out with ｙｏｕｎｇｓｌｅｅｐｙｂｏｉ’s beat tapes. He’s evolved from playing around with the sounds of electro, chill, and the Internet to a more synthesized creative voice. His latest album, hello girlfriend, feels like an anthology of the minute meaningful moments of a relationship, without making too big a deal of it. There’s much to enjoy about his music, from the strikingly weird composition to the calming ambience it wraps its listener in.
lui.
The sweet spot of vinyl and Internet culture can be found in the tracks of lui. He usually samples from old records, looping them over infectious hip-hop beats. He deconstructs the vintage and adds in simple yet effective elements from the contemporary, creating a distinct collaged sound.
gny
gny (jee-knee) has been making waves in the past years with no signs of slowing down. He’s creating lo-fi like no one else, especially with his jazzhop tracks in his EP, before/after hours. The smooth disjointed nature of jazz melds perfectly well with gny’s beats, creating an experience that puts you in his place as a wide-eyed kid at a jazz bar. It’s a chill but interesting sound that takes steps towards the experimental side of lo-fi.
Who’s on your playlist? Let us know below!
