Seelenluft

𝙀𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 2000𝙨, Manila 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙎𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 — 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙮, 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙥, 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.

Released on Back Yard Recordings in 2002, the track pairs Seelenluft’s crisp, uplifting production with the unforgettable childlike vocals of Michael Smith, creating a strange yet addictive hook that made Manila a crossover favourite on dancefloors and radio alike. Its fusion of glitchy electro-pop textures, playful melodic structures and tropical undertones reflects the era’s fascination with genre fusion and cosmopolitan sound.

More than just a quirky hit, Manila has endured as a cult anthem of early-2000s European electronic music — joyful, eccentric and irresistibly catchy, embodying a moment when club culture and pop sensibility collided in refreshingly unpredictable ways.