As an alternative and city pop singer-songwriter rooted in the Philippines’ thriving music community, Maki crafts work that balances soft, approachable melodic structures with the unvarnished pain and heartbreak that defines his discography’s core emotional identity. Long before he would draw audiences across borders and fill stages across his home country, he wrote and released the Tanong EP, the project that laid the groundwork for every step of his subsequent career, turning an emerging independent creator into a name that resonates with listeners far beyond his local scene. The EP’s creative and cultural momentum propelled him into 2023, where he released what would become his biggest track of that year, “Saan?”, a recording that cemented his status as one of the most compelling new voices to emerge from the Philippines’ pop landscape in recent years. “Saan?