"Tell Me the Truth" Single by MNLA

MNLA, the solo project of 19-year-old Migo Lumawig from Pasig City, began making music in the seventh grade. His early start teaching himself the ins and outs of music production in his bedroom was inspired by the rise of progressive house and trap in the country, as well as the innovation in electronic music from Porter Robinson, Flume, and Disclosure. When he reached high school, he met a community of like-minded musicians and creatives in his school’s Music Industry org, a community which eventually became RausHaus (pronounced as Rau’s House), a Manila-based media collective comprised of young, passionate, and hardworking artists, photographers, and creatives.

After releasing a few singles and a mixtape as part of rap group Kennedy and producing for other artists, MNLA had already amassed enough technical skill to build a solid tune. 'I felt kinda comfortable producing, but I wasn’t really satisfied,' he says. 'Making beats was confining me from what I could do on the songwriting end. I still needed to find my own voice.' The result is something that’s both grungy and dreamy — a junction that remains sincere to where he’s been and where he wants to head. 'There isn’t much Filipino representation locally and worldwide in the alternative hip-hop, pop, and indie scene, and I don’t want to be boxed into any of those expectations,' he says. 'I want somebody to hear this and think to themselves, “I can do that too!”

His debut single, Tell Me the Truth, out on all streaming services today, comes after the release of his mixtape “From the Top Bunk” with his pop-rap group Kennedy, wherein he produced every track on the tape. The new track shares MNLA's evolution as a solo artist, channeling the joys of infatuation and transitory love through spaced-out guitars reminiscent of shoegaze and alternative rock, angelic background harmonies, and gorgeous synths. "'Tell Me the Truth' was a spur of the moment thing, inspired by watching too many coming-of-age films," MNLA says of the track. Hear "Tell Me the Truth" below, and stay tuned for more from MNLA coming soon.

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