Hey Sean, catching up with you is an immense pleasure, and welcome to our Mixmag cover story!
I am super excited, too! First of all, I have been following Mixmag since the mid 2000’s. I have always been a massive fan of the magazine. You have covered the most incredible artists in the last 40 years; it is humbling. I’m feeling good! I have been traveling a lot for the last couple of months. I think it’s always a challenge to stay grounded when you are touring so much, and you are managing so many pieces.
It can be a lot of pressure to not only make music, but create new things or shows. Ultimately, when you are doing what you love and are the most passionate about, you always find a way to make sure that you continue to innovate and stay grounded. My most significant things are heart, physical health, and mental health, which always come first. Everything else is a lot easier from there.
Would like to start by knowing more about you and the crew that makes up &friends. What draws your attention specifically to Nigeria?
What people don’t know is that I started my journey in music in 2005, when I used to produce hip-hop just for fun. I have also always been a writer, writing is another very important way that I express myself.
Back then, when I initially became inspired by African culture, I loved artists like Dr. Dre, 2Pac, N.W.A, Common, and Biggie. They were poets that were telling real stories and the hardships of what it was like to be African American in the United States during the 80s and 90s. I always had a deep curiosity, especially being white and privileged, to learn about how my own lived experience differs from that of others.
In 2007, I went with a group of friends to San Bernardino and had my first experience raving under the sounds of Carl Cox and Erick Morillo. I bought my first turntable just for fun back then, a CDJ400, when we had to put CDs in and were just throwing our own house parties with our friends.
Eventually, I got into production on the house music side; I started a DJ Mix podcast, and one day, I got a DM from a promoter in San Diego, asking me if I wanted to play a show. I remember that first show playing in front of a crowd in an actual venue. I felt addicted to this deep feeling of being able to create a space and energy through the gift of sound. From there, I started to play a few times a month in San Diego and it really grew from 2009 until 2013.
I was doing small tours on the West Coast and México, and the project was rising – but I’m sure, as you know, the music industry can be hard. I was bartending during the week and playing shows on the weekend, up until everything changed – my brother passed away. Since then, everything seemed to shift in my life. Music didn’t sound the same, and I didn’t have the same drive. I just didn’t want to be living a life trying to make it as an artist, so, I left everything behind and went into the digital marketing sector. I had lost that drive to make it and wanted to build something with more security.
Years later, I built a company, working hundreds of hours weekly, and being “successful”. Then COVID hit, and everything changed. So, I figured out a way to return to my passion: music. I wanted to start a project not only for myself but also for other people and get back to the roots… I wanted to work with artists that could create something in people, with soul and a sense of awakening, and for me, that had always been the arts of African culture and their heritage.
My love for Afro-House developed around 2018, I was a huge fan of Black Coffee, De Capo, and Black Motion. So, when I was thinking about starting a project, I knew I wanted to work with African vocalists and find somebody nobody knew.
It all started when I reconnected with an old best friend who is my partner-in-crime, co-producer and business partner in everything we do at &friends, Michael Scheinker.
We went on this site called “SoundBetter”, where you can find session players, vocalists, mixing and mastering engineers, everything. I remember coming across this guy and I listened to the tone of his voice – immediately, he just shocked me. I never heard something like that before. I felt something profound in my soul – it gave me goosebumps, I simply wanted to work with him.
His name was Oluwadamvic. I sent him a message, and then we spoke for two hours. When we spoke, I felt a lot of my brother’s energy inside of him, and I knew then and there that there was something special. We started to work on a record that turned into four records, then he told me about Phina Asa, his cousin Dotun, and his best friend, eL-Jay. So, we all started working on more records together, which became very special.
We started a family. I knew we had something beautiful – so before we released music, I told them I wanted to go to Nigeria. They didn’t believe it initially… Visiting Nigeria was a beautiful, powerful, and magical experience; I will never forget when we first met in person after two years of working together. It was more than I could ever dream of, and from there, I simply knew we had something that could create a new genre in the Afro-House world and dance music.
Working with them has inspired me more than I’ve ever been inspired in my life.