2. Sound and Structure of Amapaino District

The Science of Vibes: How Amapiano District Engineers Lagos Nightlife

AY: If you’ve been to Amapiano District, you already know it’s not just music playing in the background. The sound feels intentional, like every beat is placed where it should be. In this part of our chat, AY talks about how the sound is built, how DJs are picked, and why structure is what keeps the night from feeling chaotic. It’s the balance between Lagos energy and that deep Amapiano groove.

This interview is a series- dicovering Amapiano District. Click here to part 1 and here for part 2

How do you choose your performers?

AY: So we do auditions You have to send us SoundCloud., we let people reach out to us, It’s a free platform. Like it’s a platform for talent, right?

This is how we discovered Dope Cesar, she blew up on an Amapiano District stage.

Send in your SoundCloud. We have a team and we listen to it. I also am very, very particular about talent.

Nobody spots talent up to me. For example, Active Boy. So we already know the performance. We know the kind of vibe we want to give you people. Everybody offers something different.

Wow, so how do you engineer the vibe?

AY: Any stage in the party, we want you to sweat, right? So we’ll bring Best. Best is the best guy to get you to dance. You don’t know how to dance. Just stay in the mosh pit. Let Best teach you. he would say, “do like this. Do like that. Put your head”, he will teach you how to dance.

So we are giving you an activity to make you have fun than opposed to come to a party and just looking. We are creating an environment where there’s something radical that would probably make you meet someone, have a conversation with someone, or you dance. Then once you’ve done all of that activity, once you believe that you don’t sweat small, there’s a little bit of dopamine in your system.

We now increase the volume. We now introduce three combinations for you- Nino, Active Boy, and a drummer. Now that combination, it evokes the spirit of high rich energy. Then we give you red lights. So it’s more of, as much as a party, there’s a lot of psychology that goes into it.

So you are hearing of sound. You are hearing lights that are red, that is bringing a rich. And don’t forget, we’ve already brought out your dopamine site because we made you sweat.

And now there’s Active Boy that is telling you things that you did not know that someone on the mic wanted to tell you. he would say, “I just want to dance. Oh, my problem will go, You don’t understand. Shake your body, move your body “. By the time we introduce these things, at the right time, you don’t have a choice. You’re going to have a good time. that we can do.

But you have to be good. If you’re not good, you can’t play at my piano show. It’s not possible. It doesn’t work. OK.

We had a district party in Abuja, So taking it to Abuja was very easy.

The only challenge we had on the culture perspective was I was told that nobody in ABJ does ravers and tables. Upon still, we shut down Abuja like its our yard.

 So what keeps your audience coming back? How do you keep the experience fresh?

AY: We engineer emotions. I always want to know what’s happening on the dance floor or at the party every hour, from 8 to 9, 9 to 10, 10 to 11, and 11 to 12. By 12, if you’re not tipsy, it probably means you didn’t drink alcohol and that means you should be on your way. That’s the most honest way I can put it.

I’m very good at assessing my audience, I’m not joking. I keep the experience fresh by introducing themes. Every edition has its own theme.

For example, when we had Jungle Fever, we created a full jungle vibe. When we did Piano Therapy, the DJs and performers wore lab coats with stethoscopes, and we even had nurses around.

We keep it fresh because our audience never fully knows what to expect. We give them a hint of what’s coming, but we still surprise them. For Piano Blackout, everyone wore black. For the Barbie Edition, all the girls dressed in pink.

I think what keeps people coming back every edition is grace and love. We always create with love. When people spend their money, they know they’re getting quality. We give that back to them every time.

Don’t forget this is a series. click here for part 2 and here for part 4

Make sure to follow Faaji.App on Instagram