Filipino photographer Eddie Boy Escudero has released an archive of vintage images in a new book called When We Danced
In 1996, Filipino photographer Eddie Boy Escudero was handed a flyer that read, "look out for the Bat signal." Intrigued by the invite, he and a friend hunted for it in Manila's Rizal Park. What he found would become known as the capital's first established non-club rave, which was held in the Philippine National Library.
"We were hooked immediately by the music, which we had never heard before," Eddie said to Mixmag Asia. "People were dancing inside and the library had stalls offering tattoo artists, street clothes, art and more. There were pole dancers and half-naked men in angel wings!"
Another party followed, this time in the basement of the newly built Shangri-La Mall. And then another in a production studio, until it became more regular and the parties began attracting international artists like Goldie, Ken Ishii, Derrick May, Laurent Garnier and Juan Atkins, who were billed alongside founding members of the local Filipino electronic music scene.
"I don't know what caused it, but an underground scene developed," Eddie explained. "People started to dress up. Their hair turned yellow and pink. More and more bodies were inked. Fashion designers became rockstars, and glow sticks became cool."