Yup I’m from Manila. There is a dreampop/shoegaze scene here but unfortunately I’m out of the loop so I’m the wrong person to ask. If you’re curious, Furiosa organizes a lot of Filipino shoegaze shows. They’re furiosasound on both IG and FB. In one show I remember watching Sleepwalk Circus. https://youtu.be/FTCQbYRuRnc

Ben & Ben is a more mainstream folk rock band but I like some of their songs, especially their collaborations. https://youtu.be/lajkFB4Zeug Lunod is about drowning (whether it be debt, depression, etc) while being invalidated by the people around you.

https://youtu.be/yaGmwtpOyV0 Kapangyarihan (power) was an anti-Marcos song. There’s a lyric video with English translations. But yeah the M/V links the deaths during the martial law era to Duterte’s drug war and Marcos carries on that unfortunate torch. When Marcos won, I was furious and I played this song on loop.

Locally Ben & Ben is more known for their unrequited love songs, which locals eat up. They’ve done a few international tours and I think they’re deffo a group to keep an eye out on.

I’m a massive sucker for dark post-punk and anything goth-adjacent, so I like The Late Isabel, but they haven’t been active for a while. https://youtu.be/l0wpvbO26Go

Aw I didn’t know they split up :( I’m glad I managed to see them in Manila a few years back.