Aklasan Records

Aklasan Records is a d.i.y., independently run label with the decided purpose of distributing and providing exposure to Philippine and Filipino American hardcore and punk. As a distribution, we will carry titles from all the various scenes in the Philippines. We hope to expose the global punk and hardcore audiences to the unique sounds of social dissent and righteous anger coming from our homeland. Aklasan means “uprising” in the northern Philippine dialect of Tagalog. Aklasan Records hopes to stir up an uprising amongst our surrounding communities, so that they may be made aware of the social, economic, and political factors that cultivated the rage-filled music played by punks who struggle and exist in the Philippine Diaspora. Our label is not exclusive to bands whose membership is comprised totally of Filipinos; we also support bands with non Filipino members, but there must be a strong theme of Philippine nationalism that the band expresses whether in the music, the aesthetics, or song topics that the band chooses. Aklasan Records promotes Filipino pride, but we strongly condemn sexism, homophobia, racism, xenophobia, classism, and any other such forms of oppression. We acknowledge that nobody is perfect, but we will always be wary about lyrical content and aesthetics that perpetuate the aforementioned forms of oppression.