Manila Community Radio teams up with Elijah to amplify community discourse

Manila Community Radio (MCR) and grime producer Elijah are coming together for a night of dialogue and performances on January 12, 2024, with an event titled ‘Deep Feedback’.

It looks to reframe public spaces for local artists by promoting open dialogue, community-based cultural learning and creative collaborations while taking note of the meaning of “b2b”.

Elijah will bring his Yellow Squares project to Manila; it’s been making waves by looking at fresh perspectives on learning how to navigate the many challenges that artists face.

The Yellow Squares concept will help with the creative process, navigating through social media, negotiating within the music business and making sure challenges don’t weigh down your mental health.

MCR archivist Sai Versailles and the Butterz label head will go back-to-back (b2b) over a discussion that explores the “DJ as an iconic figure within contemporary pop culture”.

The conversation will dive into the current booming dance music industry and the DJ or producers' main role that have heavily influenced the scene's growth, plus what they should strive to achieve via collaborations.

"DJs should incorporate more intersectionality in their practice because the dance music scene could benefit from more cross-pollination with different disciplines. Elijah questioned in a recent Yellow Square whether club nights are still the best way for like-minded artists to connect. Being curators by nature, I think DJs can diversify how we experience art and culture in a unique way," states Sai to Mixmag Asia.

Elijah and Sai will also dive into a collaborative lecture and will deep dive into topics that include the importance of ‘deep feedback’, globalisation of culture, the changing understandings of art, and many more.

When asked about why the subject of collaboration becomes an important topic, Elijah answered: “Our primary vessel of communication today is our social media, which is one voice, one perspective, one feeling, and quite often don't spark any productive discussion. Setting up forums where I can explore some of the ideas I share online, in real life is interesting to me, especially in places where I'm not knowledgeable about that city, country or scene.”

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In terms of performances, MCR will be staying true to its b2b collaborative formatting with Filipino artists. Trans rapper Pette Shabu, and visual artist Christal are set to bring forth a high-energy DJ set that stems around alternative hip hop, techno, metal, punk, hard dance to ballroom.

Read this next: Mixmag Asia Radio: nothing short of fresh tunes from versatile Manila DJ, Versailles

The other performance will include Waiian and Calix featuring RuiijiKun as they face off with a cypher rap improvisation over a live performance in the back.

‘Deep Feedback’ will be happening in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila. To register for the event (free of charge), click here.

Miki Kitasako is Mixmag Asia’s Social Media and Content Producer, follow her on LinkedIn.