I Don't Want To Be Calm, I Want To Dance!
If you think about it, Blessing Ewona is totally right, we are indeed all chemicals.
“I think you need a little bit of madness to be able to live in Lagos, you can’t be a calm person in this city”, that’s what Blessing told me when I asked how life was in Éko, the city that became hers too, only five years ago.
This conversation was long awaited and I was so glad that it was finally happening, all thanks to The Process. When the team reached out to me to be a contributor for this month’s issue, I was more than happy to have the opportunity to finally sit down, discuss and write about Blessing. I have been trying to get a hold of her the last six months for an interview — and I’m not even exaggerating— but scheduling has been tricky. Which is amusing to me because the artist and I talk regularly — I have a lot of pride mentioning that she’s my friend— but she’s just always busy, going for the next adventure in her life.
Blessing Ewona is someone that I can qualify as a free spirit. She is all over the place, doing multiple things at the same time. I guess the Nigerian pride in her veins helps her cope but I still wonder how she makes all these things happen. Listening to whatever her body and her mind wants, the artist is always ready to experiment and try new things. And for her, moving to Lagos, the city where all dreams could be realized, if you work hard enough, was the best call.
Since she left her hometown Calabar, the former aspiring athlete has worn different hats and embraced different paths. From modeling, to creating her own skate community to now building her new character, WEAREALLCHEMICALS, the DJ. Blessing Ewona is slowly becoming a name on everyone’s lips, having her humble impact on the Lagosian alternative and creative scene, one set at the time.
It was around 6pm in Lagos and 5pm in Abidjan and we were fighting a breaking FaceTime audio line on a regular Tuesday evening, because of how unstable the internet service is currently in our countries. We spoke about her atypical upbringing and how she fell in love with electronic music. We spoke about the Lagosian rave culture and her experience as a DJ in this city where she is now sharing her uncommon sound with whoever would like to hear it and dance.
How did you get into music?
Music has just always been there. I feel like it’s part of everybody’s life, everyone in some way grew up with it.
For me, I was introduced to music by my brothers. They had this crew that used to sing and rap in church every Sunday. I piqued interest in music by being exposed to this, when they started doing these performances. I would listen to what they would have prepared in advance and maybe give my opinion, change some of the lyrics before Sunday comes, because it had to be gospel, you know. It was actually fun.
How did you go from just being a listener to wanting to be a DJ?
That happened when I started to attend raves.
I used to go to other types of parties, I did not know about the rave culture in Lagos and that raves existed here. Then my friends and I got invited to our first rave and we just fell in love with that unfamiliar sound. We loved it so much that we started attending regularly. We would then return home and play back the songs we could Shazam during the party. I was always looking forward to going to another rave.
I started to listen to more and more songs similar to the ones I was hearing at those parties and sometimes, when I was bored, I would just watch different DJs’ sets on YouTube too. I was so excited because the music I was being introduced to was really good. I kept researching, listening to more music and was now discovering some sounds that I would have liked to hear the DJs here play too. I went to Soundcloud and felt like there was so much music, so many styles of house music for example, and I wanted to learn how to play it. I felt like it would actually be cool. I just wanted to learn about it, about the culture and also about the DJs.
One particular event that boosted me and drove me to be a DJ was when I saw Enoo Napa playing live at Element House in 2021. His performance, from his transitions to his body movements, everything was just amazing. Witnessing this was so inspiring for me as he was not only DJing, he was also having fun and you could tell. I wanted to thrive the same way. Unfortunately at that time, I could not afford to get the equipment to learn, so I stored this idea in a corner of my mind and kept focusing on skating.
I became a DJ’s assistant at some point too and being exposed to this environment again brought back my desire to DJ. After struggling for a while to get my equipment fully functioning, I fortunately got a controller from a friend of mine and I finally started to practice.
What do you like about electronic music?
The first time I went for a rave, I was dancing non-stop, you know.
When it comes to parties where other music genres like Afrobeats are played for example, I would dance, pause for a moment to move around and catch my breath or something. But during that first rave experience, I could not take a break, it was so fun.
I personally like movements, I like it when I go out and I’m able to dance, enjoy myself and just move my body. When I found that electronic music does that to me, we were locked in, I decided to stick with it forever. I love this genre because it’s very energetic and it gets the people dancing. I love every detail in it, the melodies, the beats, the drums, the pace of it. It’s something I can dance to and listen to without getting tired.
What other music genres do you listen to aside from electronic music?
To be honest, I listen to everything, I don’t really know how to pick. I love slow paced rhythms as much as I love the fast paced ones. I love indie music and rock, for example. I listen to a lot of rock, especially when I’m skating.
Also my taste changes from time to time. The music I am currently listening to might be totally different from the one I’ll be vibing to next week, it depends. I just really love music so I’d listen to anything I want to, anytime I want to.
Is there a particular sub genre of electronic music that you enjoy more?
I love GQOM, it’s my favorite genre to play and my set is never complete without it. I know I’ll make a GQOM track one day in my life.
WEAREALLCHEMICALS’s sound seems limitless. It is definitely unreplicable and this is all due to Blessing's wide musical taste. The artist is able to create unique and eclectic sets mixing everything she likes without restrictions. From edits, remixes and original tracks, she would use any sounds available as long as it feels right to her ears. Blending electronic genres from all over Africa and beyond, Blessing never fails to take her crowd to an unexpected trip, giving them an unforgettable experience that only she has the secret of.
I like all types of electronic music. As long as I can dance, I’m fine.
Tell me more about your chosen DJ name, WEAREALLCHEMICALS.
My brother used to listen to this American rapper, Lupe Fiasco. And because of that, I started to listen to him as well. He has this song called Mural that I like and the opening lyrics say: We’re all chemicals, vitamins and minerals. That genuinely made so much sense to me, if you think about it, we are actually all chemicals.
Working at a Psychiatric Hospital also solidified this idea for me. Everything in the universe, in the world, is made up of chemicals. There are so many chemical elements in the world and our bodies. This was stuck in my head.
When I was thinking of the name, I just wanted something that I’d like. I even had a notebook where I listed a lot of potential names but none really stood out to me. I didn’t even put WEAREALLCHEMICALS on there, I was not thinking of it as a name or anything. But one day, I stumbled upon this line again, we are all chemicals, and I realized that I could actually use that name, why not? I think at first I was overthinking it but then I noticed other DJs names and handles, I told myself that this one was not that bad either. You just need to have fun with it and that’s why I finally picked it.
I feel like my name is really catchy and when people see it on the lineup, they get confused and I like that. Before, they always thought that it was more than one person that would come out to play but, it’s only me. Now, they know.
“Back in secondary school, I wanted to do long distance running. But when that did not really work out, I just decided to follow a more regular path, go to school and become something”, Blessing confined to me, remembering how everything turned upside down and how her journey so far has been everything but regular. The nursing school graduate turned model was at some point more likely to end up in the police force just like her father. It just did not happen in this life, maybe in another one, who knows.
It’s not like I’ve always wanted to model, it just sort of happened. I told myself that I had the body for it and I could do it as well since a lot of people were telling me I should try it out.
Listening to Blessing sharing bits of her life through this phone call makes one realize that she has already lived more than one. That’s maybe why she is more of a cat person, they might have this characteristic in common. Not following fixed plans but always trying and making the best of what her journey can give her, the artist has so far been able to thrive, even in the most difficult situations. It must be Lagos madness tainting on her.
What is Rave Culture for you, how would you define it?
For me, Rave Culture is all about the music. It's a space where people come together to enjoy electronic music and have an amazing experience, a great time with their friends. Rave Culture brings freedom, it’s about being in that moment where you feel like there’s nothing able to stop you.
How do you feel about the electronic dance music (EDM) scene in Lagos and Nigeria?
I feel like electronic music is sort of a thing now, a lot of people are into it. There’s so many raves now compared to when I started attending for example. There are different parties in the city where you can go to listen to EDM exclusively. The scene is evolving and growing really fast according to me. A lot of people want to learn more about it, they come because they are eager to listen to it. There’re also talented DJs and producers here to play and produce the sound. It’s actually buzzing.
According to you, is Rave Culture and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) in Africa different from the western one?
Rave Culture in Africa is different because it builds its own unique experience with its own flavor. People used to say that EDM is white people music but if you dig deeper, you’ll see that in the 60s and the 70s, electronic music was made here too. We add more character to the scene by incorporating locally made music and our own culture into what has already been done. This blend creates a very distinctive flow. It also create a better and stronger sense of community and it’s very nice and exciting to be a part of it.
In this evolving space where Lagos and Nigeria as a whole gives more and more room to electronic music, now feels like the right moment for Blessing to embark on this DJ journey, to learn more about EDM and build WEAREALLCHEMICALS’s path. Venues and parties promoters are currently eager to book DJs and collaborate with other musicians evolving around electronic music. Blessing and her peers are now seen as the face of this movement and she admits receiving even more attention than what she has ever expected.
I feel really blessed and grateful to be recognized and seen at this scale already with DJing. When I started, DJing was just one of the obvious things on my list to try. It was something I just wanted to do, I was not thinking too much ahead of me. I wanted to share all these tracks I have been saving on apple music, Spotify or Soundcloud for a long time or maybe what I have heard at the different places I’ve been. I wanted to play something I’d like and that I’d dance to.
Blessing has been learning DJing and gaining skills by practicing and watching what her peers do, whether it’s live, on Youtube or other platforms she can access. Behind WEAREALLCHEMICALS, it’s days of rehearsals, listening, and picking the right tracks to move her crowd. The artist never shies away from feedback and constructive opinions from her friends and from other DJs. She is always chasing new materials and techniques to better her craft.
When I travel to Accra for example, I’m used to practicing a lot at the Vibrate space. There's a controller there and I can just sit and watch the DJs I know play. They would teach me and make me learn new tricks. So I was either skating or practicing in the studio. It helped me too, I would write down what I would’ve learned during my stay and I would practice more and watch more videos when I was back home.
In less than a year that you’ve started DJing, you’ve been more than booked and busy, playing in multiple spaces in Lagos and sometimes having more than one gig a day. How do you feel about this rapid expansion and what’s your secret?
I don’t even know how I feel honestly. I don’t know how to explain this. I’m still in awe of the fact that I’m able to get all these opportunities. It’s just really surreal to be and I’m grateful and happy to be experiencing this.
About my secret, I just try my best, you know. I don’t want to be calm, I want to dance and I know that that’s what people want too. So I put in efforts to make sure that it happens whenever I DJ and I guess that people fuck with that and love that.
Do you recall your first gig, how did you feel about it?
My first gig was Group Therapy, in August last year.
When I started to learn how to DJ, I told Aniko, the founder of Group Therapy, about it. She was really supportive and when she decided to launch this party, she reached out to me to play. I was really skeptical about this gig, I didn’t think I could do it, I didn't even have a DJ name. I didn’t feel ready at all but she urged me to come and play. So I accepted.
I think that week, to prepare for that set, I listened to so much music that I felt like my ears would start bleeding. I was so paranoid about it, I kept digging for tracks, finding the right ones, the ones I liked. I then learned a lot of things to be ready, how to cue my song, how to make smooth transitions, how to use effects and everything.
I was the one opening the event and people really enjoyed my performance. They came after my set to hug me and compliment me. DJs that I really like came to me with appreciative words as well. It was crazy.
From that first one, I kept having more and more gigs and people kept recommending me for more parties.
How do you prepare for a set?
When I’m booked for a set, I like to prepare at least 4 or 5 days in advance depending on what other activities I have personally scheduled. Also, I’m a morning person, I like to do the most things possible in the morning because my brain hardly works after 6pm.
So when I wake up, when I’m done with my morning routine, I’d just open my laptop, get my controller and start preparing. I’d go to soundcloud and dive into what tracks are suggested to me and keep digging from there. This is how I find new music, sometimes I take hours to do this.
I might not find the perfect track that day but sometimes, I just need the first song, something really catchy I know people would be driven to. As soon as I find this one, every other things just follows. I can then decide on the vibe I want for that specific set.
How I prepare also depends on the type of event I have to perform at and my set time. If someone reached out to me to play at their party, I would go to their page to get a sense of the event’s vibe, how the latest edition was, what kind of music was played and how the crowd was reacting. From there, I would find the middle ground. It has to align with what I play or want to play so I work on creating a balance between my taste and what I think the crowd’s taste is.
As long as I’m having fun and people are also having fun, that is all that matters.
How do you feel when you’re playing?
Well, the first few minutes I’m always nervous, you know. I’m just shaking and I want to faint, I won’t lie. I have stage fright, I don’t really know how to talk or be in front of a lot of people so I’ll just need some minutes to be nervous about my set, about the crowd and to adjust with the equipment, especially when I’m not familiar with it. Trying to figure all this out while knowing that there are people standing there, looking at me, it’s a lot. That’s why I always bring my friends with me on stage because they’ll boost me and keep me going.
Then when I see people dancing, it feeds me some more positive energy too. If people are dancing, I’ll dance too. When they are enjoying themselves and having fun, it just makes me so happy. It’s an incredible feeling and it means a lot to me to see people appreciate something that I have curated. The connection with the crowd and the music sometimes just feels surreal to me, it’s really wild and I love that. I get very emotional in these moments.
Do you feel like you being a DJ has inspired people around you?
Oh yes. Some people come to me to ask me to teach them how to DJ. Girls are telling me that I have inspired them to embrace that path as well and even one of my friends got a controller because of me. I’m always happy to see that because we obviously need more female DJs around and it’ll happen, step by step.
Why do you think that we need more female DJs?
It’s important to have diversity in this industry and to be honest, women know better how to have fun. They know how to create the right vibe for a party. I’ve heard people saying that when they see a flyer and there are female DJs on the line up they’re always excited because they know it will be a different experience.
Also, on a more serious note, women always empower one another and I think it’s important to have more female DJs to be able to support each other in this industry and elevate each other. We need more representation. It doesn’t mean anything when bookers say out loud that they are for more diversity but always book only one female DJ on a line up full of men. It doesn’t make sense. There are so many other talented females who could have been included.
How do you balance DJing, Dencity1, skating and modeling at the same time?
Honestly, it might be by the Grace of God. I really don’t know, I’m even wondering sometimes.
With Dencity, I’m not alone anymore, there’s a team now and we are working as a group. This is the same group that is helping me with my DJ journey. My friends are always coming to my sets making sure I have everything I need. We usually skate on Saturdays and when I have a gig the same day for example, we will come back to my house after the session, get ready and all go for my gig and party.
I’ve been able to manage it so far and do multiple things. Everything works out somehow. And sometimes, when I’m too stressed out or burned out, I take a break. I know when to rest and separate myself from things when they are not working.
Would you like to create your own rave at some point?
Party organization is an extreme work, you know. But honestly, I would love to do that at some point probably.
Since I met Blessing, I’ve been able to witness the artist and creative person grow, accomplishing things that she would’ve not thought possible, five years back.
Now, she’s not just Blessing anymore, she is also WEAREALLCHEMICALS, a name with a meaning behind, a name that nobody should butcher or cut short. WEAREALLCHEMICALS is this new facet, this new creative project that the artist is exploring, expanding on and genuinely having fun with.
I can’t wait to see what the next step will be.
How do you see WEAREALLCHEMICALS’s future, where would you like to take this journey as a DJ?
I would like to take it as far as I can, even farther than that if possible.
When I started, I had a list of places in Lagos I’d wanted to play at but without attaching a precise timeline to it and in less than a year, I’ve been able to play at most of them. I even had the opportunity to perform outside of Lagos as well.
I feel like now I want to travel, I want to connect and meet with DJs from other parts of the world and also play my music for people in different places. My hopes and dreams are to play more outside of Lagos and Nigeria, and reach a wider audience. I would like to play at festivals, for example, here and abroad.
I want to know how the vibe is and how people enjoy music in other countries. I also want to learn from these travels, you know. I’m always learning, from the crowd, from the DJs and so far, it has been really good.
Listen to more of WEAREALLCHEMICALS’s sound on their Oroko Radio show and their Soundcloud, you’ll thank us later.
CREDITS
In conversation with: Emma Gbehi @gemaemoone
Editor-in-chief and Producer: Ojuromi Eboseyi Rachel @tryrachel_
Creative Direction: Ojuromi Eboseyi Rachel @tryrachel_ and Daniella Almona @daniellaalmona
Photography and Makeup: Daniella Almona @daniellaalmona
Styling: Debby Fasingha @debbyfasingha
Set Assistant: Chidebe Raphael @omo.iyaoyinbo
Lighting: Thespacestudio @thespacestudiong
Cover Design by: Manuchimso Nsirim @manuch1m
Production: The Process Africa @theprocessafrica
Wardrobe: Mazelle studio, Rusti.56, Josei no Kami.
Blessing funded Dencity in April 2021, a skate club created to build a community for female skaters. Dencity is a safe place for women, girls and other marginalized identities, to gather, connect and grow around a sport they all have interest in.