Young Filipino producers plug into global sound

Manila’s next wave of music producers got a rare front-row seat to the global stage as Italian composers Lorenzo Travaglini and Davide Sammarchi led an immersive workshop series that pushed students beyond the usual boundaries of music-making.

Held under Music Production in a Global Context and Human Electronic, the sessions were organized by the Music Production Program of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) in partnership with Neoclassica Asia and Bosco Studio.

For many students, the experience felt less like a lecture and more like a creative lab where ideas, cultures and technologies collided.

Travaglini led discussions on modern composition and production, but quickly moved into experimental territory, challenging students to rethink how traditional Southeast Asian instruments could live inside electronic music. He encouraged the integration of the kulintang’s rhythmic patterns and the angklung’s tonal textures into contemporary digital frameworks, turning heritage sounds into future-facing sonic ideas.

Sammarchi, meanwhile, focused on bridging emotion and technology. Working with tools like the ROLI Seaboard, he emphasized that electronic music does not have to feel mechanical. Instead, he argued, it can carry “human warmth,” intuition and tactile expression even when shaped by machines.