Road to Ultra: Philippines. NBD.
My legs are incredibly sore, my neck is aching and I’m suffering from a monumental hangover. Overall, I can say that I had an exceptionally awesome time at Road to Ultra: Philippines! My current worn-out state is much proof of this. (Photos by Art Oca for Blackwater and Magic Liwanag for Ovation Productions)
It was a good call for the electronic music fest franchise Ultra to include a Manila leg in its Road to Ultra series this year. The timing couldn’t have been better, with rave culture growing increasingly popular locally and with numerous international DJ’s dropping by our shores recently. The Philippines is more than ready to take on international music festivals! And boy, did the crowd totally kill it last night. Such troopers!
Known for bringing only the best acts in EDM, amazing set design and effects and notoriously successful tours in South America and Asia, Road to Ultra: Philippines was a much-anticipated spectacle. I personally had high expectations for this one-night event, and I wasn’t at all disappointed! It was an absolute dream to be united with thousands of people taking part in a world-class production such as this!
Vicetone with some lazer action
A-Trak going bang-bang
Fedde Le Grand being a total ace that night
W&W’s epic set
After a slew of acts to build up the crowd, the energy began to truly pick up pace as Vicetone took the stage. A-Track and electronic music pioneer Fedde Le Grand kept everyone on their toes with infectious upbeat tracks and eased everyone well into the night, where Zed’s Dead and W&W’s distinct combo of electronic and Dubstep had the crowd pumped up for the main event.
Skillex totally killing it on stage
But I don’t think anything could’ve prepared Manila for the two hours of awesomeness that was Skrillex’s mind-blowing set. The Grammy Award-winning producer/singer/songwriter/DJ commanded the audience with his signature brand of staggering beats, high-pitched screeching and playfully clashing melodies, driving everyone into a frenzy of dancing and head-bobbing, exhausting the remaining energy everyone had from a long night. Then he played his A$AP ROCKY collab, “Wild for the Night,” and I just lost it. I love that song so much and to hear it live was just overwhelmingly insane! Skrillex also played all the good stuff from his first EP’s (my favorites): “Bangarag”, “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites”, and a very brief clip from his mix of Benny Benassi’s “Cinema.”
To sum it all up, Road to Ultra: Philippines has been an amazing journey, and we are more than honored to have been part of it! Hope to witness it again next year!
