Every week, Bandwagon invites a guest to do a mix for us. Rather than a standard interview where the artist explains their influences, we figured it’d be more potent if you simply listened to the music.

We provide the context, they provide the sounds.

Bandwagon Mix is back, putting the spotlight on Filipina DJ, Futur:st music director, and UNKNWN co-founder Samantha Nicole.

Over the past decade, the Metro Manila-based electronic artist has taken command over crowds at numerous festivals and parties across the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. "I always found music as my refuge," she tells Bandwagon. Her stellar career goes all the way back to her days of hanging out at Today x Future, where she was constantly surrounded by fellow creatives who inspired her to spin and mix tunes of her own.

Get to know more about Samantha Nicole below.

How did you get a start in DJing?

I always found music as my refuge. I grew up with a father who introduced me to all kinds of genres, Southern girl going to gigs in the north, I had a short stint as a bassist, and I guess somehow DJing just happened. It was a decade ago when I started hanging out in Today x Future and Mogwai. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by talented and incredibly inspiring people who got me into it. I was observing and learning from all of them, and what gave me the real push was when the one I was dating (whom I am now married to) got me my first DJ gear. My first gig, of course, was a complete disaster haha!

We've been in lockdown for a couple of months now, what do you miss most about playing in a club?

Clubs are gritty, raw, and it’s where you find some of the warmest and truest people. I guess that’s what I miss about playing in clubs: It’s the authentic energy of the space and the people in it. 

What are you looking forward to when we get back to our new normal?

It’d be interesting to see how this new normal works with everything we are missing: Our spaces, our friends, our communities, the closeness.

Do you have a specific cause you want to promote? Tell us why you believe in this organization and how we can help.

I saw a friend of mine put together what’s called a Visual Artists Directory for the country. It’s supposed to gather and make sense of open-source data of Filipino visual artists—those who are among the most affected in the COVID-19 crisis. This way, those struggling artists may be helped and hopefully, for the government to realise just how vast this sector is and  how crucial they are to Filipino culture. The NCCA has already recently started to reach but I hope its coverage is well and its reach far, plus sustainable solutions will be available for these artists too.

Listen to Samantha Nicole's Bandwagon Mix:

Tracklist:

Yo Chavez - Youssef Kamaal

Dead Slow - Tonio Rubio

Kisah Dari Selatan Jakarta - White Shoes & The Couples Company

Time for You (DJ Sports Dub Mix) - Dreamcast & ZDBT

Urbi Et Orbi - Mappa Mundi

Flowers in May - Kassem Mosse / Simone White

Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Andrew Weatherall Remix) - Saint Etienne

Strawberry Fields Forever - Candy Flip

Oyster - Lamellen

Lihue - Nohelani Cypriano

Dancewitme - Maxwell

Give It Up (Don't Make Me Wait) - Sylvester

Enjoy Your Life - Oby Onyioha

Bassment Dweller - Jesse Bru

I’m Doing Fine -  Moodymann

Fifty Dollar Bills - Sworn Virgins

Follow It Up - Project Pablo

Let’s Get - Metro Area