Davao City’s budots pioneers DJ Love, DJ Danz, and DJ Ericnem join forces for the first time on a full-length record titled Budots World: 3-Hit Combo, out this December 3 under the UK-based electronic label Eastern Margins.
The three producers helped shape budots from its earliest days in the 2000s, when the sound took root in Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin). Their beats, loops, and DIY production styles formed the backbone of a scene that moved through fiestas and barangay “discos” (as it is colloquially called), to eventually the internet. Together, DJ Love, DJ Ericnem, and DJ Danz represent the most influential names behind a grassroots Filipino dance genre that grew far beyond its local footprint in the Bisaya-speaking region.
The album’s first single, “Pao Pao,” is produced by DJ Ericnem, who was recently signed under Eastern Margins. Known for incorporating dub and reggae downbeats into budots, Ericnem’s sound remains as distinct as the loose, kinetic rhythms that DJ Love and DJ Danz developed on their own — the latter being notable for pushing a four-on-the-floor version of budots called “bomb tek.” Each artist carries their own fingerprint, influencing countless producers and earning the trio the nickname “The Budots Three” — a reference to the Detroit techno founders “The Belleville Three” with producers Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson.
Since emerging as a prominent genre of Filipino electronic music, particularly in the 2020s, budots continues to attract global attention. In 2022, DJ Ericnem and DJ Love contributed to the soundtrack of Nocebo, a Filipino-Irish psychological thriller starring Eva Green, which features vocals from DJ Ericnem’s wife. In October, DJ Love released a compilation of remixes called DJ Love Presents Universal Budots. In August, DJ Danz performed a set in Electric Sala, Makati, for the after-party of Some Nights I Feel Like Walking, a Filipino drama directed by Petersen Vargas.
As budots sustains its momentum, the VisMin artists who built the movement — beyond DJ Love — are yet to receive more spotlight. With DJ Danz and DJ Ericnem helping push the sound forward, the evolution story of budots turns a new leaf.
