AMÉMÉ: I'm so excited about the Crosstown Rebels release coming out

One Tribe label-owner AMÉMÉ makes his debut production appearance on Crosstown Rebels next month with the three-track Drum Beat. The EP includes a remix by longstanding US house veteran
Joeski, marking a major career achievement for the Benin-born talent.

We caught up with AMÉMÉ from his home in New York to find out more.
— Hey AMÉMÉ, we're pleased to have you with us today. Whereabouts are you based right now?
— Thanks for having me. Well, on paper I'm based in New York, but in reality, an airplane.
— For our readers who may not yet be familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your sound?
— I was born and raised in Benin and spent most of my late teenage years in New York. A few years ago I started sharing my time between New York and Berlin, which is when my sound really progressed. I consider myself a DJ and Producer who creates a bridge between afro house and other electronic music sub-genres.
— Later this month you are set to make your debut on Damian Lazarus' Crosstown Rebels imprint with 'Drum Beat'. Congrats! What can you tell us about this release and the inspiration behind it?
— Drum Beat was a track I started to work on in 2019. I put it aside for a while and revisited it a year later, after a lot of expansion took place within my sound. This EP represents my true musical essence, with inspiration from drums, percussion, and my own original voice and accents.
— The release features a great remix from Joeski too. What were your thoughts when you first heard it?
— Joeski brought a dynamic touch to the track. The original track captures the essence of my sound, but with the Joeski approach, I'm able to include such an essential track of mine in the dynamic part of my sets.
— We would love to hear about how you first fell in love with music? What was it that inspired you to follow music?
— I grew up in a household where music was very much a part of my upbringing. My dad always listened to the radio and my mom listened to French music. There were always different kinds of music around. When I was 10, I started making mixtapes on cassette, so I could always play the songs I liked. I would say that this was the beginning of my DJ career.
— What music has played the biggest role in shaping you as an artist?
— My brother definitely had the biggest role in shaping me into the artist I am today. When I started making mixtapes, my brother was my partner in crime. We weren't allowed to use my dad's radio, so my brother and I would wake up at 5am before my dad woke up so we could record. Then I joined my brother's rap band a couple years later. He's also the person who introduced me to electronic music. He's been planting the musical seed in me since day one.
— Can you talk us through your creative process when making music? Are there any key pieces of equipment or software that you use?
— I have a skeleton building phase which usually is when I'm on the road and have an idea. I actually use my iphone to record some vocals because of how spontaneous those moments of inspiration are. Then by the time I'm back in the studio, I have about 5-6 different projects that I work on at a time where I focus on developing the ideas that I've had along the way. Ableton is also a key piece of equipment I use as production software.
— Thank you for chatting with us today AMÉMÉ! To round things off, Is there anything else upcoming from yourself that you'd like to share with us?
— I'm so excited about the Crosstown Rebels release coming out. It's definitely a moment of pride to work so closely with Damian and have this EP released on such a legendary label.

I also have another release coming out with Jamie Jones on Cercle Records in July which will also be a major moment for me.