Tag: spotify stages

Celebrate Filipino Heritage Month With Our First-Ever ‘Jasmine Presents’ Artist Showcase

October 6, 2023

Artists of Asian descent are not just thriving globally, they’re making a massive impact on the overall musical landscape. So in 2017, we launched Jasmine, a genreless flagship playlist that highlights Asian and Pacific Islander music communities around the world. Fans turn to Jasmine to discover artists from the United States, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia like Raveena, keshi, Higher Brothers, Anik Khan, Saweetie, and CHUNG HA. 

This Filipino Heritage Month, we’re leveraging Jasmine in a whole new way to celebrate the cultural heritage of artists and listeners emerging from the Philippines by hosting Jasmine Presents: Filipino Heritage Month, presented by Spotify Stages. This is our first-ever Jasmine artist showcase, and October 20-27, eight artists of Filipino descent—Mndsgn with No_4mat; Ez Mil with MBNel; Lyn Lapid with Ashley Mehta; RINI; and P-Lo—will be headlining shows at the legendary New York City venue SOB’s. The showcase is open to the public, and fans who want to attend can purchase tickets for each individual show by following the links below.

Jasmine Presents:

Filipino Heritage Month

October 20: RINI

October 23: Ez Mil w/ MBNel

October 24: Lyn Lapid w/ Ashley Mehta

October 26: P-Lo

October 27: Mndsgn w/ No_4mat 

“We are thrilled to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month this year through the first Jasmine showcase,” said Ronny Ho, Spotify Head of Dance and Electronic Development. “October is a special month to celebrate one of the first groups of Asian immigrants to immigrate to the United States. The vibrant and diverse Filipino community is highlighted in the breadth of our playlist and this year’s showcase, with talents in hip-hop, pop, electronic, and more.”

Ahead of the showcase, For the Record spoke with some of the featured artists to learn more about what makes Filipino culture unique and how their heritage has shaped them as artists and people.

How is your Filipino heritage reflected in your music?

EZ MIL: I can say that I’m very proud of my Filipino heritage and it’s evident with my songs I sing in the languages of the Philippines, like “Panalo.” I also try to incorporate Filipino sounds and tribal instruments in my music.

No_4mat: I try to make my music as organically as possible, so inevitably my life experiences as a Filipino have shaped my taste and creative inspiration. I have a few tracks, like “Manilla” and “Sisig,” that more directly reference trips back home and feelings I get from eating my favorite foods, like sisig. But beyond those, I think a lot of the sounds and melodies I’m drawn to are pulled from my childhood and Filipino culture. 

Ashley Mehta: Growing up in a Filipino household, I was always surrounded by music. Karaoke was always nonstop at family parties, and the love we all have for singing would always shine through. When I write music today I try to capture that same energy that feels very community. I like creating feel-good music that you can use as a sense of release!

Can you share some of your biggest Filipino influences growing up?

Lyn Lapid: Filipino singers such as Jessica Sanchez and 4TH IMPACT were huge inspirations for me. I’d watch them audition on international talent shows with my mom, and that inspired me to start singing for fun. Alex Wassabi and Roi from Wassabi Productions inspired me to start making my own videos and posting them online even if I thought nobody would be watching.  

Mndsgn: Growing up, I remember my parents renting a lot of Filipino movies from a nearby family-owned Filipino bakery. I wish I could remember some of the titles, but a lot of those films were really dark and dramatic, and some of them kind of freaked me out. In retrospect, I feel like watching those movies immediately brought me close to a deeper sense of the unknown. And ironically, the unknown is now something that I constantly search for in music.

Ashley Mehta: My biggest Filipino influences music-wise definitely include P-Lo, Jeremy Passion, and H.E.R. They all have an incredible energy that I take influence from! Aside from music, I would say Manny Pacquiao. Growing up we’d always watch Pacquiao fights and come together rooting for our culture. The representation really showed me how important it is to embrace who we are. 

Are there any Filipino artists that you’re excited about right now?

MBNel: Ez Mil, ParisPlayedYou, JoeMari, and Yatta Bandz, just to name a few.

Mndsgn: Nathan Bajar is a singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn that I’ve been a fan of for quite some time now. His songwriting is always so fresh and tasteful. There’s something in his music that really retains an honesty to his roots. The LA band Xinxin has also been resonating with me lately. The lead vocalist, Janize Ablaza, is Pinay, and the way she floats on each song is effortless. No skips on their records!

If there was one aspect of Filipino culture you could share with the entire world, what would it be?

Mndsgn: One of the most essential aspects in Filipino culture is the communion through food.  We love eating and we know everyone else does too. It’s such a centerpiece in our heritage and it’s probably our favorite way to gather and connect.

MBNel: Having respect for elders and taking family serious. I didn’t really realize or appreciate the value of that until I got older.

Ez Mil: I would say hospitality, and specifically, our ability to make people feel welcome or feel “at home” regardless of their background or nationality. I believe the world could benefit from fostering a culture of inclusivity and warmth. It promotes the idea of being interconnected and it celebrates diversity.

Lyn Lapid: If there’s one aspect of Filipino culture I’d share with the world, it’d be the incredible music that so many Filipino artists make. When I visited the Philippines earlier this year, I was blessed to meet the insanely talented dia maté and Elise Huang, a couple of local Filipino artists who make music on a whole other level.

No_4mat: If there was one aspect I’d share, it would be the hospitality via food and our open-arms mentality. We want everyone to eat and have a seat at the same table, which is the attitude I try to bring to my own life.

Don’t forget to grab your tickets for the Jasmine Presents showcase here. And to get hyped for the showcase, you can discover the diverse sounds of the Asian diaspora on Jasmine. 

Fresh Finds Artists Jump From the Playlist to the Stage in New Spotify Stages Showcase

February 15, 2023

Since 2016, the Fresh Finds playlists have introduced music fans to some of the most promising independent artists, and now Spotify is bringing them to the stage.

On March 23, we’re coming to the Los Angeles Arts District for the inaugural Fresh Finds Live show. The showcase is hosted by Spotify Stages, a team dedicated to producing live event experiences for emerging artists found by Spotify. It will spotlight four talented acts who have been featured in our Fresh Finds playlists: genre-blending rapper TiaCorine, rising singer-songwriter Katherine Li, alt-pop’s budding Abby Sage, and progressive folk project Baerd. For fans wanting to attend the showcase, tickets go on sale February 17 at 9 a.m. PST here.

On the platform, Fresh Finds consists of 11 genre playlists and 18 local-market playlists, which have served as a launch pad to success for artists like GRAMMY-nominee Omar Apollo, Clairo, Steve Lacy, and more. With this event, we’re creating a new experience to connect artists with listeners.

“As more new artists make their first forays into live music following the pandemic, this show allows us to bring Fresh Finds into the live setting to assist in that discovery and growth process, with the goal of amplifying these talented artists to the right audiences to build lasting careers,” shared Jesse Jacobsen, U.S. Indies Lead for Artist & Label Partnerships at Spotify.

In addition to the concert, Spotify is inviting the artists to take part in a five-day residency program at Spotify Studios in LA. As part of this experience, they can use the state-of-the-art facilities to work on new music.

While the showcase may not be until March, you can get to know these artists now.

graphic image background with artist tiacorine featured as a

Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Tia grew up exposed to a range of music thanks to her Japanese and African American father and her Shoshone Native American mother. When Tia released her first single, “Lotto,” she caught the attention of local radio stations, DJs, and clubs, and the internet. Last year, Tia released the album I Can’t Wait, which includes the single “FreakyT.” Now the artist is preparing to share her unique sound with more audiences.

“Performing live gives you the opportunity to connect with fans on a different level. The feeling you get from it is electric, and I wanna share that with my fans at every show,” explained Tia.

 

The 19-year-old singer-songwriter’s music features themes of love lost and relationships that never were, and Katherine has amassed a fan base of hopeless romantics who identify with her lyrics. Last year, she released her debut EP, Crush(ed). The Toronto native is also featured as the cover artist of Spotify’s Fresh Finds: Class of 2022 playlist. Next, she’s gearing up for a series of concerts across North America.

“I used to think that the unrequited love I talk about in my songs was something no one else dealt with, but after sharing them [my songs] with a community of people who turned out to be just like me, I realized I wasn’t the odd one out,” shared Katherine. “I hope that after my set, the audience feels the same comfort I felt in knowing there is a whole community of people that have experienced, and relate to, the same things as you.”

 

A tender soul with an observational eye, Abby Sage draws comparisons to Florence + The Machine and Clairo. Brought up in Toronto, music-obsessed Abby eventually moved to LA, where the singer-songwriter released her debut EP, Fears Of Yours & Mine, in 2021. After Abby relocated to London last year, her sound shifted, and listeners can hear the evolution in her latest EP, The Florist. 

“I always hope that people can take something away from my performances, whatever that may be. Of course, I hope people enjoy the show and leave feeling tingly and excited!” said Abby. “The visual components of my shows and my work overall are very important to me, so I hope people enjoy that as well.”

 

Baerd is a seven-piece progressive folk and Americana band spearheaded by Isaiah Beard. Incorporating jazz, Americana, classical, and R&B, Baerd’s indie-folk sound is influenced by Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Punch Brothers, and Radiohead. 

On performing live, Beard shared, “The spirit of music in its purest form is live. To share attention with others and exchange more than words or notes with strangers, friends, and fellow artists animates my being more than anything.”

 

Hear more songs from top emerging talent in our Fresh Finds flagship playlist.