AMÉMÉ on Breaking a "Sweat": "When Dubai's Dance Floor Nearly Melted Me"
AMÉMÉ on keeping his cool during a scorching Middle Eastern gig, and his latest Insomniac Records collaboration "Sweat".
West African-born afro-house frontrunner AMÉMÉ's summer heater "Sweat" is a brooding new collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated artist Barney Bones, released via Insomniac Records. The track blends AMÉMÉ's signature tribal percussion with Bones' nonchalant vocal musings, creating a moody dance floor anthem built for summer heat.
Fresh off his sophomore Coachella performances, a landmark Boiler Room Lagos set, and two performances at EDC Las Vegas, AMÉMÉ reflects first-hand on a sweltering Dubai show that was almost too hot to handle.
"I played in Dubai in May a few years ago, and I wasn't prepared for what was to come. No kidding, it felt like I took a shower during my set. Every move I was making felt like a bucket of hot salty water on my face and body. The venue was beautiful, but beautiful doesn't save you from that Middle Eastern heat when the sun is still blazing and you've got hours ahead of you in the booth. At first, I tried to be strategic about it... minimal movement, conserve energy, thinking I could outsmart the desert heat, but that lasted about fifteen minutes.
The vibe was just too good, and people were enjoying the music so much that I had to let go and just give them everything I had in the set. Sometimes when you perform the conditions aren't perfect, but that's when the magic happens. The heat, the sweat, the physical challenge, it strips away everything and leaves you with pure, raw energy. The crowd could feel that authenticity, and they matched it with their own. By the middle of my set, my shirt was completely drenched, my hands were slipping on the mixer, but something just happened where I stopped fighting it. I started moving with the heat instead of against it.
When I dropped "Sweat," the crowd went absolutely wild, and I found myself throwing my hands up, dancing behind the decks like the temperature was perfect. The sweat wasn't holding me back anymore and it was part of the performance. After that experience, every time I get an offer in Dubai, I make sure it's before May! But honestly, those sweaty, unforgettable nights are a huge part of what inspired "Sweat" with Barney Bones. We wanted to capture that feeling of letting go, of embracing the heat (both literally and metaphorically) and dancing through it. Because sometimes the best moments happen when you stop trying to stay cool and just let yourself sweat it out on the dance floor." - AMÉMÉ
