ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: AFTERZ
Afterz brings together Très Chill’s visual worldbuilding and Troy.’s multigenre magic, first linking on Azekel’s Chocolati featuring Nao. With support from Jamz Supernova, Notion and NTS, plus collabs with Hugo Cottu and more, their project The Midnight Cafe serves late night flavour with sounds from Lagos, London, Rio and beyond.
1. Afterz is such a vibe. How did this dynamic duo come together and what sparked the decision to create music as a unit?
Thank you! It was very organic to be honest. We were both working on Azekel’s Analyze Love album, and we co-produced the track Chocolati ft. Nao. That was our first time working together, and it made us realise that we had a lot of creative synergies. We continued working on music for a year after that, and those collaborations became the foundation of Afterz.
2. Between Troy.’s production work with Azekel, Lojay, Team Salut and Très Chill’s background in visual arts and multisensory exhibitions at The Surf Lodge, Art Basel Miami and more, what’s the creative process like when you’re blending both your worlds?
Everything is a reference. Having a broad range of backgrounds allows us to pull different ideas and put concepts together in ways that might not be intuitive, but resonate with us.
3. What’s the meaning behind the name Afterz? It feels like there’s a whole atmosphere behind it.
Afterz is a feeling. We can’t exactly explain it, but the goal is for each listener to have a personal experience with the sound.
The Midnight Cafe is full of late night energy. If it were an actual spot, what would be playing on the speakers and what would the décor look like?
Our cover art best represents the architecture and decor of The Midnight Cafe. The cover was designed by Haya Morowa. Midnight Cafe, the title track off the EP - would ideally be playing on the speakers as you walk in. It has a lot of energy and is also very late night.
4. The project features Azekel and Hugo Cottu from Ninja Tune’s Yuuf, which is a serious flex. How did those collabs come about and what did they bring to the table?
Azekel is a longtime collaborator and friend. We’ve worked on a lot of projects with him. We were in the studio together working on a different project, and when he heard Priceless he immediately resonated with the sound. He recorded some angelic vocals which elevated the track.
Hugo is also a longtime collaborator and friend. We’d previously worked on music and DJ’d B2B with his sister Juliette, and she introduced us to Hugo as she thought we would really connect musically. She was correct, and we’ve been locked in with Hugo ever since. He is a very skilled musician, and he was a key part of building the sound for the project.
5. You’ve name dropped influences like Massive Attack, Future and Yves Tumor. That’s a wild mix. How do you pull those threads together into something that still feels like Afterz?
We enjoy listening to these artists, and what makes them special to us is that they each have created their own distinct sound. That’s something that they inspired us to focus on, and make sure our own music has a unique identity.
6. Your debut drop Soul Searching/Palme D’Or via Club Djembe got support from Jamz Supernova, Notion, Foundation FM, NTS and more. Did that early response shape how you approached this next release?
Getting such a positive response on our debut release really helped us to feel like we’re ready. Up until that moment we had been working in the dark, and not many people had heard the music. So it was a good moment for us to know that people could connect to what we’re trying to build. It definitely motivated us to release more music.
7. From traditional afrobeats and amapiano to alternative and electronic sounds, you’re bridging a lot of sonic spaces. How do you keep the balance right without losing your signature feel.
The sound is built from our experiences of cultures in different cities. The afrobeats comes from Lagos, the baile funk comes from Rio, the indie comes from London, etc. So when we’re working on music the sounds come together organically.
8. Très Chill, you’ve worked on experiential design with global brands. Do those immersive skills influence how you want people to experience Afterz beyond just listening?
Definitely - the goal of each song is to take listeners on a journey to a different space. We want the listening experience to evolve with every release, and I think we’re only just scratching the surface of our vision.
9. Troy., as someone who’s worked across multigenre production, what surprised you most about crafting The Midnight Cafe?
The attention to detail I’d say and how we fused the genres together. We took our time creating the project. Some of the records took us months to produce the instrumentals and finish the final version. It was a lot of work but in the end we were so happy with how it all came together. I believe we elevated the sound to a level we were content with.
10. You’ve mentioned the Alte movement in Nigeria and dance music culture in South Africa as key inspirations. What draws you to those scenes and what are you hoping to contribute back
They are both cultural movements that were birthed in Africa and have had a global impact. We relate sonically to the music as its familiar sounds to us, and we relate conceptually to the music as we understand where it comes from and what it represents to Africans.
11. If you had to describe your sound without using any music terms, what would you say it tastes or smells like?
The first thought for taste would be a mix of Vanilla and chocolate. We have had feedback describing our music as both tasteful and feel-good music. Those two flavours tend to appeal to most people. For smell we'd say lavender because it’s soothing, relaxing and generally smells amazing. In summary, these are we would love our music to be associated with.
12. Let’s talk visuals. Given your backgrounds, will we be seeing more visual projects tied to The Midnight Cafe?
Yes we are working on some visuals currently, and hopefully they’ll be ready to share soon.
13. Who’s on your dream list to collaborate with next — artists, designers, filmmakers, anyone?
It would be great to work with Anitta and Bloody Civilian. We like their respective sounds a lot, they have something special. We believe a collaboration with them would be incredible musically.
14. What’s next for Afterz? Any mixes, shows or new late night creations in the works?
We have a few collaborations in the works, with Ebo Taylor, Haroldo Bontempo, Dee Traits, Brxce and more. We are also working on some creative projects that should be fun to show to the world once ready.