Muni-muni Stories, a podcast co-produced by Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) and Podcast Network Asia, will launch its second season on January 3, 2022. In this new season, many heavyweights in the film industry will talk about official soundtracks (OSTs) in Pinoy movies we love.
The first episode will kick off by talking about the classic dance-themed film, Hataw Na! (1995).
Hataw Na! is borne out of the 1990s collaboration between Gary Valenciano and Jungee Marcelo. The song lends its title to a 1995 movie written and directed by award-winning writer and director, Direk Jose Javier Reyes, celebrating youth expression through dance moves.
In the first episode, Muni-muni host Sofia Santiago got the pleasure to interview the one and only Mr. Energy Gary Valenciano, alongside Jungee Marcelo and Direk Jose Javier Reyes. The three talked about their thoughts as songmakers and director on beats, melodies, creation, performance, and its intersections reflected in cinema, dance, and music.
“When we were doing the first season of Muni-muni Stories, we thought that Hataw Na! is a perfect fit for the second season because [Hataw Na!] has three art forms intersecting: film, dance and music,” shares Sofia Santiago, host of Muni-muni Stories and Associate Manager and Curator for Partnerships, Programs, and Exhibitions on the podcast.
Also in the line-up of the show’s second season are Glaiza De Castro, Direk Antoinette Jadaone, Up Dharma Down’s Armi Millare, Direk JP Habac and more guests.
“We decided to focus on the soundtracks of iconic Filipino movies because we wanted it to be a bit different from the first season, where we deep dive on the creative process behind the song. In season 2, we wanted to know the relationship between soundtracks and movies and how music communicates the narrative of the film and vice versa,” Santiago adds.
FHL’s Head of Partnerships, Programs, and Exhibitions Monica Araneta Tiosejo also says, “What started as a love letter to the heritage of Philippine music, inspired by the library’s HIMIG Collection, has branched out to discuss local films by way of soundtracks. Slowly, the podcast is becoming a platform to talk about everything Filipiniana, inviting more reflection or pagmuni-munihan of our culture.”
Filipinas Heritage Library is the home to over 1,000 vinyl records of Original Pilipino Music. It is the other half of Ayala Foundation’s Arts and Culture Division that archives vintage phonograph records, spanning the decades from the 1920s to the 1980s. Included in them are selections considered as classical, light classical, popular, and indigenous.
The non-profit organization will also preserve the recordings of all nine episodes in the library, adding podcast audio files in FHL’s HIMIG Collection. Adding the interviews moderated by Santiago makes it easier for future generations to research about the integration of music and film in current times.
Muni-muni Stories Season 2 is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or other podcast streaming platforms starting on January 3, 2022. You may also follow Filipinas Heritage Library and Podcast Network Asia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more updates.
