Exploring Manila Killa’s Debut Album “Dusk”

As the landscape of music changes as quickly as ever, Manila Killa has sought refuge
in natural landscapes that seem timelessly picturesque for his debut album.  

"Dusk" is a 12-track body of work that fully encompasses both his meticulously crafted personal style and the awe-inspiring mysteries of nature. Hailing from the Philippines and rapidly rising to a global stage, the artist’s signature sound is recognizable and well-established in the electronic music world. His name alone evokes an instant recognition of his musical characteristics; smooth, uplifting beats spiked with euphoria. Mixed with callbacks to indie electronica, progessive house, and a style all his own, his music is universally adored for its ability to provide listeners with an escape. Manila Killa’s music is a daydream, embodied in sound. And with his new album, Manila Killa (otherwise known as Christian Gavino) has utilized his dreamy sonic qualities to capture the specific feeling of the sun setting and night falling, opening the world up to new possibilities in the dark. His culture, his roots in electronic music, and his inspiration drawn from the desert have come together to capture an entirely new feeling to enrich his discography. Enter "Dusk." 

“I was on a trip to Joshua Tree with my girlfriend. We were sitting outside one night, just listening to some of our favorite music. And we saw a shooting star. And I thought whatever I'm feeling right now, I want everyone else to experience. When you're out in the desert, it feels like an escape, almost as if you're not part of Earth. That's kind of the moment where I was like, if I'm going to do an album, this is like the kind of vibe that I want, that feeling of the in-between of Earth and space and the concept of escapism. And then I thought about the kind of music that I listened to when I was younger, which served as an escape for me. And that was dance music and house music. That was the starting point of the album. I wanted it to be euphoric and dreamy, and beautiful. One of the songs on my album is called "Liminal Spaces." The goal of it all was to capture the feeling I felt in Joshua Tree and just share it with as many people as I can.” 

Throughout the pandemic, Christian craved more inspiration from the world around him as live events screeched to a halt. While society stayed indoors, the time period became a turning point and a moment of reflection for him. 

“I honestly felt so boxed in. I felt like I couldn't escape. So my only way of escaping was to make music really. The pandemic was really hard. But it did give me a chance to sit down with myself and figure out what kind of direction I want to go in the future. That's when I thought about dance music and just going back to my roots, back to what I was initially passionate about.”

The contrast of electronic music’s embrace of new technology and ability to spawn a new sub-genre overnight can often miss or neglect an organic feel. Christian has developed a connection to nature through traveling from a young age. "Dusk" holds a lot of symbolism stemming from the desert, sunsets, and the peace and tranquility that comes with a lack of urban modernity. "Dusk" effortlessly conveys both the innovative tendencies of dance music and the powerful adaptability of nature.  

“I traveled so much as a kid, my parents brought me everywhere because my dad's job had us moving places...I think that's where a lot of my inspiration stems from, too, in terms of like, looking outside the airplane windows because that was [a big part] of my childhood. In Bali, I was on vacation with my parents and they brought us to this resort and in the reading room, they had an old iMac with GarageBand on it. I was obsessed with GarageBand during that entire week, I didn't want to go out and see the sights or anything - I just wanted to stay in there and create music.” 

A person’s individual experiences and worldview is often the most impactful factor in shaping who they are, and it defines the pathways people take. This common human experience translates into the atmosphere Christian created on "Dusk", and expands upon it. More specifically, the album's first track "Soul" transports the listener into an ethereal soundscape, unanchored to a specific place or time, allowing anyone to define a new experience for themselves - much like traveling. 

Christian’s Filipino background showcases itself throughout the album - "Dusk" is written in Baybayin text, a Filipino Writing System which dates back to the 18th Century. 

“I wanted to connect my heritage to what I'm doing now. I put out four symbols on the album. The first two represent daytime, and the last two symbols represent nighttime. So if you put them all together, it's dusk.” 

"Dusk" has a way of transporting you outside of the typical linear album flow, with ambient pulls like ‘Sleepless’ utilizing a warm vocal track by Panama, mixed perfectly with a delicate arpeggio and sidechained riser pulling the listener to new heights. 

Time is constantly moving, expanding, evolving, but "Dusk" provides a momentary pause, a moment to breathe and reflect. The world has changed so much in the past two years, and what it means to be an artist has also changed along with it. 

“I find it really difficult to keep up with everything these days. Not only am I a musician now, but I'm a video creator, a content creator, I have to put on a personality in front of the camera and all that. It's tough to keep up with it but at the same time - just do it for your fans, do it for the people that support you. My fans are like the best fans I could ever ask for. They're super respectful. They really respect me and the changes that I make in my own music and they're really open to that too. I’ve put more of a focus to let them know that they're really appreciated and connect with them. Make them feel really proud to be Filipino as well, a lot of my fans are Filipino. They always remind me that there aren't a lot of Filipino or Asians artists that make it big in the music scene. I didn't have a lot of Filipino people to look up to as I was growing up. I'm really happy that they get to see that in me. I'm just trying my best to make them proud.” 

In addition to his loving and supporting fanbase, the story of Manila Killa wouldn’t be complete without including Angel, Christian’s girlfriend who is also a talented ceramic artist, who inspired Christian to branch out into ceramics and other forms of artistry. Together they created a Candle Line that was released to the Manila Killa fan base - to their surprise it sold out on first release. Exploring new mediums of art separate from his musical career has strengthened his philosophy that artistry is patient, and empathetic to the journey. 

“Pottery taught me how to be patient - you're never gonna get things on the first try. And working on music over the last 10 years, that was kind of like my main source of artistry, like, at this point, I can pretty much make whatever I want...it comes pretty easy. But with pottery I felt like a failure the first few times because I just wasn't able to do it...it's that sense of, letting go, not being not being precious about your work, which I think will really help you succeed. Not being so attached to what you're making and just realizing that yeah, it takes hard work, but it's really fulfilling at the same time” 

The reason Manila Killa’s music is so easily identifiable perhaps has to do with his philosophy of creating art for the sake of personal enjoyment. "Dusk" is an embodiment of the artist’s personal inspirations and passions, a combination of significant memories and feelings that are entirely his own. It wasn’t created out of a need for validation, or viewed as a task to conquer. It was created with care, formed from the things that have brought him comfort as well as stirred excitement throughout his life. And those inspirations translate into real-life reactions to Manila Killa’s signature sound. 

“Use your music and your art not as a tool to get successful, but as a release. Think about the reason why you started making music in the first place. I think the most important thing is realizing whether or not you enjoyed it.” 

Creative Director, Photographer: Lewk

Stylist: Angel Vera