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Eastern Hunnies
Muri on belonging, being nomadic, how culture shapes music, and family legacy
Season 1, Ep. 5
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Melissa and Isabelle chat with Muriel Gonzales, also known as Muri, a Filipino artist and violinist who recently released her debut EP 11ème. Muri has roots in Manila, Paris, and London, and is a member of the indie-folk band The Ransom Collective.
This episode feels like a warm hug! Muri shares her experiences as a nomadic polyglot who has lived across Europe, how culture and heritage influenced her new album, how her grandparents inspired her art, her observations on the European diaspora, and what it was like performing for the Filipino Olympic champions.
Mel and Iz also share personal stories about what it means to be first- and second-generation immigrants, and touch on social mobility in the UK vs Asia.
Muri created the Eastern Hunnies podcast jingle - so of course, we discuss the creative process behind that too!
Stream Muri's official debut EP, 11ème: https://open.spotify.com/album/06TTjkQexrUMH7ulUn72hD?si=TFW8pYm1TS2DZ3NiFKU-kw
Muri: @muri.music
The Ransom Collective: @theransomcollective
Eastern Hunnies: @easternhunnies
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate, review, subscribe & share!
Editing: Gabby Lauren
Mix Engeering: Yukesh Gurung
Original Music: Muri & Lustbass
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36:53||Season 1, Ep. 4Melissa and Isabelle sit down with Jason Kwan, the pop star, singer-songwriter, queer Asian advocate and all-around gorgeous human inside and out.They discuss gender pronouns, coming out, being Asian in queer spaces, finding a drag family with The Bitten Peach, how queerness is perceived differently in the UK vs Hong Kong, the beauty of melancholy and love, being an advocate for underrepresented communities, and why it’s so important to be bold despite the risk of failure. Iz also shares their own personal journey with their gender identity. Grab a cuppa and enjoy - this is a great one.Jason Kwan’s latest EP, ‘Deja Vu’, is out now. Stream here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6FYePlcYshzXjl0WrnlBjj Jason Kwan: @jasonkwanmusic Bitten Peach: @bittenpeachukEastern Hunnies: @easternhunniesIf you enjoyed the episode, please rate, review, subscribe & share!Produced by Gabby Lauren.Music by Muri & Lustbass.Mixing by Yukesh Gurung.3. Nicole Ocran on the joys of being Filipino-Ghanaian, justifying your Asianness, mixed race fetishisation, and why fashion needs change
37:30||Season 1, Ep. 3Happy Filipino-American Heritage AND Black History Month! In this episode, Melissa and Isabelle sit down with Nicole Ocran, the Filipino-Ghanaian American author, podcaster, and fashion influencer. They discuss the UK’s obsession with mixed race models, how Blackness and mixed heritage identities are perceived differently in the UK vs in the USA, the pressures placed on mixed children, the beauty of being Filipino, they petition to get Akala in the national curriculum - and Iz spills some fashion industry tea. Nicole Ocran co-hosts the award-winning podcast Mixed Up, where she and Emma Slade Edmondson engage with identity from a mixed-race perspective. You can order their fantastic book, The Half Of It, here: https://lnkfi.re/nf0upCIf you enjoyed the episode, please rate, review, subscribe & share!Eastern Hunnies: https://instagram.com/easternhunniesNicole Ocran: https://instagram.com/nicoleocranMixed Up: https://instagram.com/mixedup.podcastProduced by Gabby LaurenMusic by Muri & Lustbass Mixing by Yukesh Gurung2. Johnny Lee on Asian masculinity, Bruce Lee, raising mixed children, and chilli oil appropriation
39:56||Season 1, Ep. 2Melissa and Isabelle are joined by Johnny Lee, a British-Chinese visual artist and founder of New Territories Training. In this episode they discuss defying Asian male stereotypes, the legacy of Bruce Lee, raising multi heritage children, and creating your own culture - plus they debate the verrrry fine line between cultural appreciation and appropriation.Johnny’s work at @newterritoriestraining empowers Asian men through fitness and self-development in a way that challenges existing biases and celebrates individual strength, diversity, and culture. As an artist and designer, he creates stylised artwork with a focus on faces and characters, with an emphasis on Asian and street culture.If you enjoyed the episode, please rate, review, subscribe & share!Eastern Hunnies: instagram.com/easternhunniesJohnny Lee: instagram.com/mrleelivesNew Territories Training: instagram.com/newterritoriestraining Produced by Gabby Lauren. Music by Muri & Lustbass. Mixing by Yukesh Gurung.1. Mel & Iz unpack their British-Filipino identity, being the change, and find their feet as hosts
30:00||Season 1, Ep. 1Meet the hosts! British-Filipino creatives Melissa Legarda and Isabelle Landicho welcome you to Eastern Hunnies and find their feet on the mic.They dive right into what it's like being one of the 'firsts' in their culture, being a person of colour in a UK workplace, the need for code-switching, the difference between being a first- and second-generation Asian migrant, how ethnic minorities are viewed in Britain, advocate for Pinoy Pride - and they get a little emotional too. Subscribe, rate, review, and enjoy!Produced by Gabby LaurenMusic by Muri & LustbassMixing by Yukesh GurungFind us on socials: instagram.com/easternhunniesTRAILER: Introducing Eastern Hunnies
01:48||Season 1, Ep. 0Welcome to Eastern Hunnies, a podcast that celebrates East and Southeast Asian community and culture in Britain and beyond. Hosted by British-Filipinos Melissa Legarda, a writer and content producer, and Isabelle Landicho, a director and creative, this podcast is about amplifying underrepresented voices, navigating different cultures, and creating space to share refreshing new perspectives. Filipinos are the biggest Southeast Asian migrant community in the UK - but we still feel so unseen and unheard in mainstream media. So we thought, why not be the change we wanted to see?Eastern Hunnies is our love letter to the ESEA diaspora, and is for anyone dedicated to a more inclusive and empathetic world. Subscribe and enjoy! Produced by Gabby LaurenMusic by Muri & LustbassMixing by Yukesh GurungFind us on socials: @easternhunnies