Listen to Jason Dhakal’s sultry tribute to ‘Manila’

Philippines-based R&B artist Jason Dhakal has released a sultry new single, entitled ‘Manila’.

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The sentimental ballad showcases Dhakal’s signature croon, set against a minimal arrangement of muted drums, sonorous bass, jazzy horns and layers of hushed vocal harmonies. Written in both Filipino and English, the track finds the Oman-born singer expressing unabashed love for the Philippine city, his home since 2017, and a longing to return: “Take me back in your arms, my Manila / And promise me you’ll never let go”. 

Listen to the wistful single below.

‘Manila’ is the crooner’s fourth release of the year, following a couple of solo releases – August’s ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and October’s ‘Ur Man’ – and a collaborative single with Jess Connelly and producer Luis Villanueva released in September.

It’s speculated that Dhakal will be releasing more material soon, based on comments he made on Instagram during the release of ‘Ur Man’ indicating that the October track was meant to be “track 2 of ??” for an undisclosed future release.

Yesterday, the singer performed a release concert for ‘Manila’ at Quezon City’s Gravity Art Space, alongside DJ sets from Loner, Jia The Menace, Papa Jawnz and Dignos. The concert is his latest live appearance following his performance at the 35th AWIT Awards in November, which also featured performances from Zild, Sam Concepcion and more.

Dhakal made his debut in 2018 with his ‘Night In’ EP, which was helmed by producer dot.jaime. In 2020, he released his sophomore EP ‘Lovesound’, which featured his 2019 single ‘Body & Soul’ and featured production from dot.jaime, regular Jess Connelly collaborator LUSTBASS and crwn, the electronic side project of SOS drummer King Puentespina.

The same year, Dhakal was featured on the debut mixtape of 88rising’s Filipino-focused imprint Paradise Rising, contributing its opening track ‘Endlessly+Tenderly’ alongside other cuts from Fern., Massiah, Kiana V and more.

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