Hot on the heels of a milestone year in his burgeoning career, West African native AMÉMÉ releases his second original production of 2022. In “Balafonerra”, AMÉMÉ draws from his past and present surroundings, accentuating core elements of Afro with Benin’s aesthetic plucks and authentic distant chants.
The latest single fuses raw and digital sounds that propel an otherworldly atmosphere through the duration of the track. Sampling a percussive pattern from the ancient Balafon, a tribal instrument deeply rooted in West African culture, the Beninese producer has deconstructed his genre’s cliches and stereotypical guidelines in “Balafonerra”, an ingenious interpretation of the afro-house nature.
“Balafonerra” is AMÉMÉ’s sophomore release on Armada Electronic Elements, following a driving pair of remixes already beloved by fans for Jan Blomqvist’s “Back In The Taxi”. The latest single supersedes a recent remix of Philou Louzolo’s latest release “Senegal”, and his first original release of the year “Wait No More” released via Nic Fanciulli’s Saved Records.
Celebrating milestones in his touring career, AMÉMÉ this year played his debut set of performances at both weekends of Coachella in April, hosting a panel and set of performances at Ibiza’s acclaimed International Music Summit, and just performed an intimate set for Mixmag’s Lab series in May. His determination and drive has seen him perform across the world in the United States, Europe, Ibiza and more, as well as at world-renowned festivals such as Burning Man, and the BPM Festival.
Specializing in Afro-leaning electronic music, with flourishes of tribal percussion and spiritual vocals built upon a foundation of contemporary deep house and tech, AMÉMÉ’s DJ sets are eclectic, paying musical tribute to his West African heritage. In the studio he is equally dynamic and adept, seeing releases via his One Tribe label finding their way to Black Coffee, who supported the music in Tulum back in 2019. With such an influential figure backing his productions, it was inevitable that AMÉMÉ’s name would soon be ringing in the ears of other key tastemakers. Over the past few years he’s seen his music signed to Watergate Records, Blond:Ish’s Abracadabra imprint and the mighty MoBlack Records all bringing the West African wonder on board.
From Benin to Brooklyn to Berlin, his worldly outlook and unrelenting drive foreshadow a rosy trajectory; AMÉMÉ will be hosting his own percussion-fueled rituals on dance floors across the world for many years to come, uniting the global community and reminding us that we are all One Tribe.