An analysis with journalist Ellery Biddle on clampdowns on digital rights when authoritarian regimes use it to silence oppositions. Listen on how internet shutdowns are affecting some wars and conflicts as well as how the nexus of tech companies and authoritarian regimes are herding political behaviour with little chance of any meaningful regulation on the horizon. 

Photo credit: Satheesh Sankaran

Digital authoritarianism

Palagi - Tj Monterde Cover

A ramshackle episode of OK Jazz but with the usual great musical selections! BlackSabbath sung in Amharic, new music from BrandeeYounger, more classic Strata-East jazz, respect to Sade, a visit to the Soviet Union and lots more! 

OK Jazz Episode #179

The PHresh Project and alt(r)ego* collaborated with Gerard (https://www.instagram.com/gerardfajardo/) to curate a Summer mix featuring Filipino Artists across the world!

The PHresh Project’s mission is to empower Filipino Artist Discovery through music curation, live experiences, and storytelling 🌏🇵🇭. 
Connect with us here: https://www.instagram.com/thephreshproject/

alt(r)ego* is a multidisciplinary creative studio specializing in design, branding & identity,
production, and experiential work. Using experience from various areas of design and exploration, they strive to bring a unique perspective to any project. 
Follow them here: https://www.instagram.com/alt___r___ego/

Follow The PHresh Goods Playlist here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5qLz3bLpUQjaV3z2PGLaWq?si=b0615ed594c04198

Visual production in collaboration with alt(r)ego*

Directed by: Gerard Fajardo & Andru Gabriel
Director of Photography: Andru Gabriel
Producers: Andru Gabriel, Daniel Nicolas, & Gerard Fajardo
Co-Producers: Tiffany Villaruz & Elisza Tiongson

Tracklist
0:05 - "Sining" (feat. Jay R) - Dionela 
1:20 - "You Got Me (Ooh Ahh)" - Roanna RO Mesina
3:14 - "Nobody Else" (feat. Alani) - J. Taylor
5:25 - "OTW" - Ronnie Villa & Zeke Abella
6:44 -  "Move On" - Olivia Esuyos
8:33 - "Make Em Say" - socalledjay
10:03 -  "Sa Susunod Na Lang" - PdL, Skusta Clee & Yuri
11:18 - "Falling Out" - Kiana V
12:26 - "Virgo Déjà Vu" - Lukey
13:33 - "Lambing "(feat. Kiyo) - KINDRED
14:16 - "7 Days" - LARRENWONG
15:07 - "Come Pick Up the Phone" (Future James Mix) - Tyler Lauren
17:07 - "Selfish" - Jules Aurora
18:08 - "Sana" - Kiana V
19:45 - "BEEN ON U" (feat. John Concepcion) - Nieman
20:45 - "Say Less" - Jamie Ave
21:38 - "Trippin" - LENI
23:08 - "Giving" - GIOVANNA & Austin Marc
24:15 - "EASY" (Redux) - ZOYA
26:48 - "BULLET TRAIN" - Ru AREYOU
27:54 - "EVIL EYE (feat. Ang Sirena)" - WLFTOWN
28:44 - "Down4ME"- jsilos
29:34 - "Rad Child"- 8Teen & Sindirella
31:18 - "THAT’S MY BABY" - PLAYERTWO
32:41 - "Chicken Adobo" - Guapdad 4000 & !llmind

Summer Mix Vol. 01 Ft. Gerard (R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Dance, featuring Filipino Artists Globally)

This is an instrumental cover of Pretty in Pink I recorded years ago, back when my old band thought we could sneak a New Wave anthem into our mostly garage-punk-shoegaze setlist and make it work. We never actually played it live—something about the tempo always felt like it belonged to a different kind of heartbreak than we were used to performing. Still, I held onto this version. It sounds like 2 a.m. in someone else’s kitchen, the party long since over, with cheap strings of fairy lights still on and no one bothering to turn off the amp. It’s less about nostalgia and more about that fleeting moment where you thought reinvention was still possible—before the morning came and reminded you otherwise.

Pretty in Pink – Instrumental Cover of The Psychedelic Furs

An instrumental cover of Seona Dancing’s More to Lose, lovingly stripped of its synths and rebuilt with jangly, melancholic layers of guitar—because sometimes heartbreak sounds better on six strings. A sonic time capsule from the ’80s, reimagined in a bedroom studio three decades too late, hoping somewhere out there, Ricky Gervais pauses, smirks, and almost remembers being in a band.

More to Lose – Instrumental Cover of Seona Dancing

An instrumental cover of Boys Don’t Cry—the song that first tricked me into thinking new wave was a lifestyle choice and that playing guitar could solve emotional repression. I found it a decade late in the mid-‘90s, when it already sounded like a postcard from someone else’s youth. Still fun to play, even if I’ve long outgrown the whole “emotions are embarrassing” thing. It’s like visiting your teenage bedroom and realizing you turned out okay anyway.

Boys Don’t Cry – Instrumental Cover of The Cure

Nearly a decade ago, I recorded an instrumental cover using a guitar, bass, drum pad, and a synth module on GarageBand for iPad—meant for a girlfriend to sing over, though that never happened, the way the relationship didn’t quite either. It sat unfinished, waiting for a voice that kept postponing itself, much like we did. Now it’s just a loop of almosts: a space left open for something that never came, a quiet timestamp of a feeling that tried to become a song but settled, instead, into memory.

Bizarre Love Triangle – Instrumental Cover of New Order

Out of Reach—Gabrielle’s ballad from the Bridget Jones’ Diary soundtrack—reinterpreted by Chuck Baclagon, with all instruments and vocals performed and recorded by him. Rendered as a shoegaze lullaby, it captures the quiet resignation of loving at the wrong time, carried by hazy layers of sound and the steady hum of distance.

Out of Reach (Gabrielle cover)

WRC18: WOMEN REPORTING ON SOME OF THE WORLD’S 18 CONFLICT AREAS. A PODCAST HIGHLIGHTING THE WORK OF WOMEN JOURNALISTS AND RESEARCHERS COVERING WARS, CONFLICTS, VIOLENCE AND UNREST

The PHresh Project’s mission is to empower Filipino Artist Discovery through music curation, live experiences, and storytelling 🌏🇵🇭.

We are an indie electronic music label that support DIY music projects regardless of their genre.

The OK Jazz Podcast features an eclectic selection of Jazz, Soul, World Music  and a lot more genres! With plenty new releases and old classics, it is hosted by Mr. OK Jazz of kol-radio.com and tokyojazzsite.com, Also check his sister podcast Tokyo Jazz Joints about the great photo project documenting jazz spots all around Japan!

🎧 mattea
Artist / Cover Creator
Originals & reimagined sounds — straight from the heart.
For late nights, loud thoughts, and everything in between.
New drops soon — Stay tuned.

New tracks tagged ##Philippines