Independent record label Other People’s Music (OPM) Records continues its streak of reviving Filipino groove culture with the release of Dakila, the latest album by producer Pasta Groove. Months after the label unearthed and compiled vintage funk cuts through UMPAK, OPM Records turned its focus to original material that celebrates and reinterprets Manila Sound for a new generation in Pasta Groove’s latest album. Dakila feels both archival and alive where it presents an ambitious homage to the era’s unmistakable pulse, built on live instrumentation, analog textures, and a refined sense of rhythm.
The 13-track album blends disco, funk, and soul with a producer’s precision and a historian’s ear. From the reimagining of Cely Bautista’s “Uhaw sa Ligaya” to the spoken-word snippets of General Douglas MacArthur in “Heatwave,” every song reconstructs the city’s forgotten nightlife through bass lines, horn sections, and house-inspired grooves. Songs like “Manila Beatdown” and “Ang Likha” expand the record’s palette, merging modern production with 1970s psychedelia, giving Filipino funk the contemporary space it deserves.
Back in August, OPM Records hosted three listening sessions across Makati venues including Open House World, Boogie MNL, and Astbury for UMPAK. The official launch of Dakila happens on October 25 at Karrivin Plaza, featuring live DJ sets from Terno Recordings’ Toti Dalmacion, Pasta Groove, and Soft as Silk. A talkback with “Uhaw sa Ligaya” music video director Joy Aquino follows the performances, sealing Dakila as a vibrant bridge between past and present Filipino sound.
