Electronic music producer DJ Love and alternative rock outfit One Click Straight are set to represent the Philippines at the upcoming AXEAN Festival at the Jimbaran Hub in Bali, Indonesia, from September 13 to 14, 2025. Both acts are part of a Southeast Asian lineup that reflects the region’s growing influence on global music circuits. This year’s conference introduces the Club SEA Showcase, a stage focused entirely on electronic and club music made in the region with DJ Love as its headliner.
Born and raised in Davao City, DJ Love is a pioneer of a chirpy and whimsical Filipino dance music genre called budots. The genre is messy, loud, and often misunderstood — but in the last two years, its raw energy has garnered the attention of the world, shining a spotlight on its origins in low-income communities, as well as its grassroots ecosystem of Visayan and Mindanaoan producers. In that sense, DJ Love’s inclusion in an international festival is necessary. His presence challenges long-held assumptions about what global (let alone Filipino) electronic music looks and sounds like, especially when scenes outside of Manila often go overlooked.
On the other end of the music spectrum is One Click Straight, a band that has steadily carved its path through the Philippines’ rock and pop terrain. Known for balancing tightly produced sonic textures with industrial and techno influences, the band represents a generation of musicians with roots in the DIY scene with One Click Straight taking cues from nu-metal such as Limp Bizkit and Korn.. Their live sets are anchored in tongue-in-cheek rockism and charm, with a sound that feels global but never dislocated. While their music sits closer to the pop-rock lane, it also defies easy categorization — a quality that makes them fit for a showcase that values experimentation over genre purity.
To have both DJ Love and One Click Straight in the same lineup underscores the breadth of what Philippine music offers, showcasing how varied, self-defined, and uncompromising Filipino artistry can be. In a regional event built to spotlight Southeast Asia’s best, these two names have earned their position to represent the Philippine music scene overseas.