JALSA (REMIXED) at THE REACH AT THE KENNEDY CENTER MILLENNIUM STAGE

So excited to be part of Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s JALSA (REMIXED) at THE REACH at The Kennedy Center, curated by Nafisa Isa!

Seda and I, as SAMASAMA will be co-presenting the Arts Market. I’ll be there tomorrow to hang out! Let’s listen to Shuno Re’s 3-hr, all-vinyl, all-Bangla set!

On Friday, from 7-8PM, I will be playing an all-vinyl OPM (Original Pilipino Music) set - TARA NA! LET’S GO!

Click here for tickets, walk-in tickets are available until capacity! FREE! Outdoors! Bring everyone!

💥JALSA REMIXED at THE REACH at @kennedycenter starts TOMORROW!💥 Join us for a weekend of celebratory sounds, storytelling, and dance affirming the creativity, joy, and resilience of Global South #diaspora and BIPOC communities in the DMV!

On FRIDAY, come groove to Les The DJ/@lestalusan’s all-vinyl set and performances by @hudasmusic @walkingintheairband, and check out the vendors at the art market!

Access to the event space is first come, first served and may be restricted due to capacity. Please maintain social distancing! For the full schedule, registration to the weekend’s events, safety guidelines, and accessibility information head to the link in bio!

• • • • •

🎨 5-8PM || ARTS MARKET co-presented with @SAMASAMAART: Friday’s vendors include: @cjpgallery + @donateare_art + @_ampalaya + @jsapmugs + @mmchristii + @mjbose + @e.vnm + @museumpalestinianpeople + @shanishih

🎵5:30-6PM || HUDA ASFOUR co-presented with @MUSEUMPALESTINIANPEOPLE: A set by Palestinian oud and qanun player @hudasmusic at the main stage

🎸🎹6-7PM || @WALKINGINTHEAIRBAND: Performance at the main stage

🎧7-8PM || DJ SET WITH Les The DJ/@lestalusan: Playing Original Pilipino Music+ / OPM+ Roots, Pop, and Covers from the Philippines and the Diaspora⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

🎸🎹8-9PM || @WALKINGINTHEAIRBAND: Performance at the main stage

OPM Sundays // USAPANG OPM

Flyer: Katrin Davis

THIS SUNDAY, Joel Quizon and I will be debuting the first episode of USAPANG OPM with a sobrang special guest - ROGER RIGOR of VST & COMPANY and EMMIE JOAQUIN! Please save the date and join us!

USAPANG OPM features conversations on OPM (Original Pilipino Music) with artists and key players from its origins through today.  

Join DJ’s/Music Curators Les Talusan and Joel Quizon, along with special guests to talk about the roots of the movement, the creators, the songs, the untold stories, and the lasting influence. 

OPM SUNDAYS // USAPANG OPM
w/ Les Talusan and Joel Quizon
EPISODE 1: The Origins of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) with Roger Rigor of VST & Company and Emmie Joaquin
April 18, 2021, Sunday
6PM PT / 9PM ET
Tap in: twitch.tv/lestalusan

You don’t need a Twitch account to tune in but you do need one to get in the chats!

Tell your kapitbahay / neighbor!

First OPM Sundays of 2021

Tomorrow//SUNDAY is the first OPM Sundays of 2021! @joelquiz and I will be playing back to back sets of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and covers! Here’s a dope cover of a Hollies song by Yoyoy Villame and The Embees✨⠀
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OPM SUNDAYS RAID TRICYCLE!⠀
January 3, 2021, Sunday⠀
6PM PT / 9PM ET twitch.tv/lestalusan⠀
8PM PT / 11PM ET twitch.tv/joelquizon⠀
⠀
Tell your neighbor/kapitbahay!⠀

Last OPM Sundays of 2020

Tomorrow//SUNDAY is the last OPM Sundays of 2020! @joelquiz and I will be playing back to back sets of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and covers!
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OPM SUNDAYS RAID TRAIN! (But just me and @joelquiz 😆)⠀
December 27, 2020, Sunday⠀
6PM PT / 9PM ET twitch.tv/lestalusan
8PM PT / 11PM ET twitch.tv/joelquizon⠀
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Tell your Lola!⠀
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Hataw Na!

Early in the summer, I was thinking about making a mix of 🇵🇭 pop and dance hits from the late ‘80s-early ‘90s. Some of them tv and radio hits from when I was growing up in Pinas.

Vex Ruffin invited me for a guest slot on his show with possiblemusic, “Manila Times” on NTS Radio and I thought it would be a good time to finally finish and share this mix.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Hataw Na! by Les The DJ for Manila Times

Geneva Cruz “I Like You”
Archie D. “Pakita Mo”
FOJ “Crush Kita”
Viktoria “Dance With Me (Tayo’s Magsayaw)”
Gary Valenciano “Sa Yahweh Ang Sayaw”
Ogie Alcasid ”Dito Sa Puso Ko (Pogi Remix Version)”
Rachel Alejandro “K.S.P. (Kulang Sa Pansin)”
Manilyn Reynes “Feel Na Feel”
Jamie Rivera “Sige Na Nga (Crush Din Kita)”
Randy Alejandro “Siguro”
Regine Velasquez ”Promdi”
Donna Cruz “Kapag Tumibok Ang Puso”
Ogie Alcasid “Sumayaw, Sumunod”
Gary Valenciano ”Tara Na”
Archie D. ”Kasayaw”

https://www.mixcloud.com/NTSRadio/manila-times-w-les-the-dj-30th-october-2020

HFR 3 - The Manila Sound by Les The DJ

HFR 3 - The Manila Sound by Les The DJ
Cover Art by Sacha Carlos-Raps

This past May, Filipino/American Artist Directory & Aloha Got Soul tagged me on Happy Family Market’s open call to participate in curating a mix for Happy Family Radio, a monthly series highlighting the Asian diaspora. I finished the mix in mid-September and I’m super excited to share it with you for Filipino American History Month!

Thanks for creating space for our community, Happy Family Market, and maraming salamat for introducing me to my new kaibigan, Sacha Carlos-Raps! Maybe I can DJ for your night market in the future?

The Manila Sound by Les The DJ for Happy Family Radio

Hotdog “Di Na Kita Iiwan Muli”
Cinderella “Superstar Ng Buhay Ko”
Rico J. Puno “You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)”
Pat Castillo “Aso’t Pusa”
Rainmakers “Ok Sa Akin”
The New Minstrels “Smile”
Leah Navarro “Totoo Bang Lahat Ito?”
APO Hiking Society “Heto Na”
VST & Company “Ayos Ba”
Hajji “Inggit Lang Sila”
Celeste “Pag-Ibig Ng Lubos-Lubos”
Ray-An Fuentes “Saying Goodbye”
The Boyfriends “Oras-Oras”
Ella del Rosario “Shake It Baby”

“Manila Sound is an era of Filipino music that started in the mid-70s. It is considered as the golden age of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) and will always be remembered as one of the few good things that came out during Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law regime. Groups like Hotdog, VST & Company, Boyfriends, and Cinderella ruled the airwaves and also helped shape what OPM is now. As a kid growing up in the Philippines—specifically, Kalookan City in the 80s—I was surrounded by music from the moment I woke up to the AM radio, to lunchtime variety shows with lots of song and dance, to the tunes played by jeepney and bus drivers. 

I’ve been in Washington, DC for over 20 years now, but the songs I heard growing up made an impression on me. I play all sorts of music when I DJ but I wanted to share a mix of songs that lifted some of my people during those dark times.” - Les Talusan

If you enjoyed this mix and want to hear more, hang out with me twitch.tv/lestalusan for Bahala Na OPM Sundays, 9-11PM ET // 6-8PM PT, I’ll be playing a live, all-vinyl set of OPM for you and the whole barangay!

https://www.mixcloud.com/happyfamilymkt/hfr3-the-manila-sound

Bahala Na - OPM Sundays!

Illustration: Katrin Davis

Starting this Sunday, from 9-11PM ET // 6-8PM PT, hang out with me on twitch.tv/lestalusan for Bahala Na OPM Sundays! I’ll be playing a live, all-vinyl set of Original Pilipino Music (OPM).

TONIGHT, Friday, I’ll be on mixcloud.com/live/lestalusan from 8-10PM EDT // 5-7PM PDT playing 80’s records. There may or may not be some rick-rolling happening.

Bahala Na Global Pandemic Episode No. 3

📷 : taken by me, in Manila, 🇵🇭

Check out my Bahala Na episode from July 30th and please join me on Thursdays, 3-4PM on Eaton Radio’s Mixcloud Live Channel.

Bahala Na Global Pandemic Episode No. 3 by Les The DJ

Yolly Samson "Pagibig Ko'y Ibang Iba" (Sunshine)
Hajji Alejandro "Panakip-Butas" (Jem)
Rainmakers "Binibini" (Blackgold)
Ella Del Rosario "Hinahanap Ng PagIbig" (Canary)
Celeste Legaspi "Irog Ko" (Pioneer)
Leah Navarro "Lagi Na Lang" (Sunshine)
Sharon Cuneta "So Much In Love" (Sunshine)
Basil Valdez "Tuwing Umuulan At Kapiling Ka" (Blackgold)
Ray-An Fuentes & Tillie Moreno "Umagang Kay Ganda" (Blackgold)
Rico J. "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)" (Sunshine)
Apo Hiking Society "O Giliw Ko" (WEA Records)
Hotdog "Manila" (RCA)
VST & Company "Ayos Ba" (Sunshine)

https://www.mixcloud.com/lestalusan/bahala-na-w-les-the-dj-eaton-radio-dc-20200730/

Bahala Na on Eaton Radio

I recently started a radio show at Eaton Hotel’s in-house radio station, Eaton Radio. It’s a community-based radio station with a DIY spirit, so it seems that I fit right in. My weekly radio show, Bahala Na, is all music, no talking. Bahala Na is a popular expression from the Philippines that is similar to the Spanish phrase "que sera sera". It reflects both resiliency and a fatalistic attitude of the culture that I grew up with. Expect a variety of tunes from my eclectic record collection. I stream on Instagram Live and Eaton Radio, Thursdays at 2:00PM. It’s Women’s History Month and for the whole month of March, I’ll only be playing women-fronted groups.

Here's a mix I made that includes some songs from last week's show. Some songs are on heavy rotation, some are records I bought from my recent trip to Thailand with my favorite digging partner and some were hidden for a long time in my record shelves (that I need help organizing).

Bahala Na on Eaton Radio Mix (Women’s History Month Edition 1.0) by Les The DJ

Little Ann “Deep Shadows” [Deep Soul]
The Chapells ”You’re Acting Kind of Strange” [Bedford Records]
The Monzas “Where Is The Love” [Numero Group]
Asha Puthli “Let Me In Your Life” [CBS]
Tamiko Jones “Touch Me Baby” [Arista]
Celeste “Pag-Ibig Nang Lubos-Lubos” [Pioneer]
Sonya Spence ”Let Love Flow On” [High Note]
Leah Navarro “Will It Ever Come To You” [Blackgold]
Gloria Jay “Know What You Want” [Melodies International]
Umapon Buapeng “Chum Chum” [Azona]
張小英 and The Stylers “幸福要自己找” [Tong Aik Records]
Doris “Don’t” [Odeon]
Ervinna & The Stylers ‎”Witch Queen of New Orleans” [White Cloud]
สุปราณี ทิพยโอสถ “Black Is Black” [ตราดอกไม้]
Helen Gamboa “Uptight” [Jonal Records]
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings “How Long Do I Have To Wait For You?” [Daptone Records]
Freda Payne “Band of Gold” [Invictus]

https://www.mixcloud.com/lestalusan/bahala-na-radio-mix-whm-2019/