Southeast Asia is known to be a remarkably distinct region. The legacies of ancient civilisations that once roamed the land, coupled with the enduring impact of colonialism and its tendency to fuse traditions, have left an indelible imprint on the region’s culture, geography and people. Material expressions remain in constant dialogue between past and present, continually negotiating what defines a Southeast Asian identity.
Music from the region follows a similar trajectory. As electronic dance music (EDM) and underground scenes command the global stage, a new homegrown subgenre has begun to flourish. Blending traditional instruments with contemporary grooves, it draws on ancestral rhythms to shape the future of regional identity through sound. In a sincere search for voice, identity and continuity, these artists re-interpret their roots and traditions, forging a style that is entirely their own.
Clara Rosa
In the early stages of her career, Filipina artist Clara Rosa explored a myriad of electronic music styles and genres, but none left a lasting impression. It was missing something—a connection, a story. This led her to discover her current artistic expression and voice: blending the pre-colonial sounds of the Philippines with EDM and deconstructed club.
“By incorporating Filipino rhythms, ancestral motifs and experimental electronic textures, I create music that carries both emotional weight and historical resonance,” Clara explains. The traditional sound takes the lead in her sets, moving in tandem with flow and feeling, creating a nuanced rhythm that feels alive, spiritual and rooted in memory. Born in the Philippines and raised in the UK, growing up in between cultures, geography and history has attuned Clara to be acutely aware of the multiplicity she carries. This tension informs her musicality, creating tracks that honour her lineage and those that have gone before her while giving room for contemporary re-interpretation.
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During trips back to her homeland, Clara witnessed how song and dance were constantly at the forefront of community and national identity. Indigenous rhythms and instruments coursed through their veins. She came to the realisation that it was more than wishful nostalgia, but continuity of freedom and tradition beyond colonial influence. Though deeper understanding of her ancestry and culture led to a conundrum of discovery and confusion, what grounded her were the encounters with those who fervently carry the tradition: present-day tribes and cultural Filipino collectives. “The journey felt like a reclamation; finding clarity and a better understanding of myself as a Filipina,” she muses.
Today, her sound moves with fluidity and emotion, weaving together past, present and future. It holds a mirror to pre- colonial Filipino music—deeply spiritual and designed for ritual and connection—and melds it with contemporary electronic textures. Her sample track ‘Mag-Saysay’ (which translates to ‘to give meaning’) samples the indigenous instrument bangibang in a tinikling dance-inspired rhythm. By layering traditional motifs, historical awareness and dance floor-driven production, the song links local heritage with present social realities, transforming ancestral sound into a vehicle for critique and reflection. It allows communities to reclaim narratives and engage with freedom and resistance in ways that transcend language or borders. In this vein, Clara’s music is both a historical archive and an instrument of activism, bridging local heritage with global discourse.
Raissa Febriani
Traditional music has been embedded into Raissa Febriani’s daily life since she was young. An Indonesian DJ and producer based in Bali, her signature DJ style is derived from left-field bass, dub and percussion texture. Her own music, however, is a natural outflow of her traditional roots, incorporating the lilt of gamelan into contemporary, electronic-driven sounds. “That’s where it all starts as a DJ or producer. You have the freedom to explore your creativity and follow your curiosity without any limits,” says Febriani.
Her sophomore EP titled Hutan Timur is inspired by time spent in Bedugul, Bali, surrounded by lush forest landscapes. There was a certain magic that hung in the air, instantly captivating her. Her senses became attuned to the rhythm of the insects and the alluring nature of the atmosphere. These unassuming, organic textures eventually played the biggest role in her music, making up the backbone of the album.
Intertwining the traditional with contemporary came naturally for Febriani. “When I sit down to produce, I don’t try to put tradition into a box or force a specific cultural sound. As I get into the creative process, it just happens naturally without me even realising it.” For the uninitiated, it’s a unique experience that’s never been heard before. But for those who call Indonesia home, it’s a sound that strikes a deeply familiar chord.
Together with collaborator Ayu Anantha Putri, a dancer and choreographer, Sangkara was born. Their newest body of work celebrates art, music and movement, re-examining Balinese culture through a contemporary lens. Born from a desire to experiment with traditions that they knew like the back of their hand, a creative tango commenced for both artists—Febriani began with composing her tracks before passing them to Putri so she could physically interpret the sounds into movement. The result was a performance that transformed age-old practices for a modern context—mystical, sentient and unrestrained.
Syafiq Halid
Known for combining traditional Malay percussion with electronic-driven sounds, rhythm has always been central to how Syafiq Halid understood sound. Born and raised in Singapore, his formative years were spent exploring percussion instruments, from African drums and Indonesian rhythmic forms, before eventually settling on his own roots: traditional Malay drums.
His music is an ongoing exploration of classical rhythms—layered and heavily processed, building polyrhythms from drum machines and manipulating textures, reshaping the frequencies of quintessential Malay sounds. “It’s a constant cycle of deconstruction and reconstruction,” Syafiq elaborates. The resulting dialogue between traditional sounds and contemporary electronic processes is summoned from his lived experiences as a Malay artist, these roots creating an imagined sonic landscape that melds the inherited and newly discovered.
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His most recent work, Tune Your Drums, is a rebellious act against musical convention. Once met with a rigid view that his drums must be tuned to sound legitimate, Syafiq saw the friction as an opportunity to create an enigmatic performance rooted in speculative Malay drumming. The performance is centred around a traditional Malay percussion ensemble, performed live as self-composed tracks layered with electronic elements play in the background. All of it is manipulated live and accompanied with spoken word and string textures. It’s an immersive, visually chaotic sonic experience that reclaims collective culture and identity.
Syafiq’s unceasing curiosity is the driver behind his exploration of traditional sound. Rather than replacing tradition, his aim is to discover how it can live differently in the present. “Being exposed to different disciplines and electronic music technologies, I started wondering: what happens if my traditional drums interact with heavy signal processing, manipulated and affected beyond recognition?” he muses. The drum machine sequences remind him of silat rhythms in kompang, and low-frequency grooves evoke familiar jidur patterns and rhythmic cycles. His music is a love letter to Malay arts and tradition, keeping it moving, alive and adaptable.
The April issue of Vogue Singapore—themed ‘Retrofuture’—is available online and on newsstands.
