&friends is the musical concept and brainchild of New York-based Sean Thomas. Drawing the breadth of his inspiration for these musical works from the African Diaspora, Thomas had the vision to create a project embodying tradition, culture, and community culminating in the coining of &Friends. Through a journey fueled by passion, determination, and drive, the artist set out to foster meaningful connections first with his best friend and music producer, Michael Scheinker, as well as Nigerian natives El Jay, Phina Asa, Oluwadamvic, and Dotun.
Bringing a truly fresh and unique approach to Afro house, Nitefreak is at the forefront of the Zimbabwean house music community. From releases with Francis Mercier and Magic System on Spinnin Records [Warner] to collaborating with Blond:ish and the 3-time grammy nominated duo Amadou & Mariam, the artist has amassed millions of streams, received support from Diplo, Keinemusik, Gorgon City, Nore en Pure, Odesza, Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1, has reached the Top 5 on Beatport, and even composed music for the UFC.
To celebrate the release of Nitefreak’s remix of ‘Ode Ireti’, EG caught up with &friends and Nitefreak to learn more about the record, the African electronic scene, their plans for the future, TV shows, and more.
EG: Hi guys! Welcome to EG. It’s a pleasure to have you here with us. Where are you based right now? How have things been going this year?
Nitefreak: Hey there 🙏 ! I am based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It’s been quite a year for me musically and feels as if I’m honing in on my craft.
EG: What was your summer like? Any particular highlights?
Nitefreak: It was great getting to travel out of my country for a few gigs in Nairobi and Lagos. I’m very excited as I’ve been working on obtaining my visa so I can really hit the road and tour.
EG: Congratulations on the release of Nitefreak’s remix of ‘Ode Ireti’, featuring eL Jay & Oluwadamvic! What has the initial reception been like?
Nitefreak: The reception has been amazing as we’re getting a lot of support from fellow DJs and the Afro-House community. It’s always incredible when you get the chance to collaborate with other talented artists.
&friends: For us, being the second record we’ve released, to be traveling the world like this is a dream—a big shout out to &ME and the Keinemusik crew for supporting this one so strongly. After Burning Man, it all started to explode; I was waking up to dozens of DMs every day asking for the record. I remember sharing all the messages I was getting with our &friends crew, and they couldn’t believe it.
It’s profoundly humbling and only inspires us all to continue to push the boundaries of creativity. A big thank you to all the fans showing their love and support.
EG: What can your fans expect to find on this one, musically speaking?
Nitefreak: You know me 🙂 It’s that Nitefreak Afro buzz that people are familiar with. Those dark baselines, dreamy synths, and punchy drop to bring out that Afro side of the record.
&friends: It’s the sound of cultural collaboration. A plethora of beautiful, melodic sounds backed by the enchanting vocals from the brothers, eL Jay and Oluwadamvic. It’s a dream to be hearing their voices travel the world – shoutout to Oluwdamvic’s cousin Dotun for some of the big harmonies too. It’s incredible what can happen when you find the perfect balance of novelty and familiarity.
“For us, being the second record we’ve released, to be traveling the world like this is a dream—a big shout out to &ME and the Keinemusik crew for supporting this one so strongly.”
EG: What was the process of flipping the original like? Did you know which elements you’d use right off the bat?
Nitefreak: When I heard the vocals, I immediately felt inspired and the bass-line idea hit me quickly. Once I started to lay that down, everything else flowed on the fly. I couldn’t put it down. When the big piano chords fell into place I knew I had something special.
EG: The release is out via Hidden Hands. How is the label doing at the moment?
&friends: It’s been an absolute grind and such a fun challenge to build launch strategies and test and optimize all parts of the music business. I honestly look at everything we’re doing as a start-up. Thankfully, we’ve been able to build the right team, and I am so blessed to be creating, producing, and collaborating with so many humans we deem as our ‘&friends family’. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed navigating the complexities of production, marketing, and storytelling content that drives connection, not just clicks and eyeballs.
As for the future, we’ve got some great releases and major collaborations that we’ll be announcing at the end of the year. 2023 is sure going to be a fun one. As cliche as it sounds, “teamwork makes the dream work”. It’s amazing what happens when you value people, connect on a deeper level, allow people to be themselves, share vulnerably, and have the freedom and space to ask for help when it’s needed…..this is a dream, and we’re only getting started.
EG: How would you describe the Zimbabwean electronic music scene? How did you first come across electronic dance music?
Nitefreak: Afro-House is a growing genre here. It’s not as big as Amapiano, but we have a wonderful, loyal community that continues to grow at every event we produce. It’s exciting being able to help facilitate and build the community here.
It’s funny, I remember hearing Calvin Harris’ record ‘Flashback’, back in 2009, maybe, if am not mistaken. From there, I was hooked, it became a calling that I couldn’t silence.
EG: How do you keep entertained when not in the studio? Any good books, movies, or series you’d recommend?
Nitefreak: When I’m really needing to turn the mind off and be at ease, I enjoy watching well-done tv series, and documentaries that have anything to do with money, haha. I love learning. I also recently finished ‘Peaky Blinders’ season 6 and ‘Snowfall’.
&friends: I love to write. I’ve become a big journal person over the years, as it helps clear the mind and creates more space in the brain for me to function at a high level and stay grounded in such a fast-paced environment.
I’m currently reading one of the most beautiful, poetic books I’ve ever read, ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Potawatomi professor and Botanist. She explores the connection between living things and human efforts to cultivate a more sustainable world through the lens of indigenous traditions. Indigenous wisdom, scientific Knowledge, and the teachings of plants…I mean, you can’t go wrong 🙂 Highly recommended.
“2023 is sure going to be a fun one. As cliche as it sounds, “teamwork makes the dream work.””
EG: What are your current thoughts on the state of the scene? What would you like to see more and less of?
Nitefreak: To be honest, I am kind of new as I haven’t been able to travel much. The visa situation in my country isn’t easy, but I am hopeful that is clearing up before the end of this year. I’m excited to get more IRL time in versus most of my current interactions with people on the internet. I don’t get to see the complete picture of the scene, and all I currently get to experience are videos on social media. I’d also love to see more significant events and support in Africa.
&friends: There’s a lot of excitement, incredible energy, and so many talented producers and DJs in the industry. To me, music and the dance floor are places where we find so much healing, remembrance, acceptance, and self-expression in its purest form.
The one thing I am craving is more intention, connection, and giveback models at events. That excites me the most, as we recently launched our first immersive experience last month at Gospel in New York called ‘Tellus’. We hosted a 60-person ticketed dinner, raising money for 501 (c) 3 GreenWave and NGO design studio Nocturnal Medicine before playing a 5-hour set. We used tactile design, mythology, and nightlife, to engage and educate participants on four essential carbon solutions: kelp, biochar, old-growth redwoods, and mineralized carbon storage.
People are numb to all the climate doom and gloom, so when you allow them to do something they already love and you layer in impact and curiosity, you give them new ways to think about a serious and uncomfortable topic. People gravitate toward it when you talk about climate solutions in a sexy new way and then let them dance their hearts out.
The world and everyone in it need as much help as we can, and what better place to start a new revolution than on the dance floor?
EG: What’s next for Nitefreak? What particular milestones are you looking forwards to now?
Nitefreak: I couldn’t be more excited to start gigging on other continents and doing more collaborations with more prominent artists. I also want to help other upcoming producers and DJs in my country push their music out there. I know what’s it like to want to give up and I only want to pass on my learnings and blessings.
EG: Thank you so much for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future.
Nitefreak Thank you for the good faith. #Humbled
&friends: Thank you for giving us a platform to share our art and message #Gratitudes
Nitefreak’s remix of ‘Ode Ireti’ is out now. Grab your copy here.
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