DJ group Afrique Like Me has been making strides in the Toronto music scene for almost five years, uniquely merging the sounds of the African diaspora with electronic dance elements.
Comprised of three members, Razaq El Toro, Martin Ses and Sonic Griot, the members are pioneers of Eko Electronic, an eargasm of alternative electronic music, funk, underground elements, West African music and Afrobeats.
HOW DID AFRIQUE LIKE ME GET STARTED?
The word Èkó is the name for Lagos City in the Yorùbá language, the capital of Nigeria where both El Toro and Ses hail from. The pair began Afrique Like Me in November 2019 out of a simple desire to play African electronic music. They had put on their very first event in Toronto’s east end, and Griot had been one of the attendees. Little did they know, she would become the third member of their trio.
Since then, Afrique Like Me has made a name for themselves, known for its event series, which bears the same name. Beginning as an intimate after-hours party in Toronto’s west end, the experience eventually transformed into a popular social event held in unconventional and often secret spaces.
WHY IS AFRIQUE LIKE ME SIGNIFICANT TO TORONTO?
More than just spinning African music on electric beats, Griot says she finds purpose in playing music representative of who she is, yet still maintaining authenticity and the energy of the music’s origins.
“I think one of the challenges with the globalization of music is how far removed it can become from the people who created it. And I think for us, one of the things that’s really important is paying homage to the roots of that music. So, either putting people onto the producers who are the real creators of those sounds, or spotlighting DJs who are actually pushing those sounds in the underground,” she said.
“I think when you think about electronic music and dance music, a lot of that music started on either African dance floors or computers or in Black communities in the U.S. Dance music is Black music, and so I think it’s really powerful that we’re starting to reclaim that.”
The group has brought its infectious sounds to numerous events in the region such as Pride Toronto, Electric Island, and Lumaterra as well as popular venues including Ace Hotel, Drake Hotel, Velvet Underground, CODA, Soluna, and the now-defunct Sub Division. But for El Toro, perhaps one of the biggest highlights from their extensive list of appearances is just simply seeing people come out to their shows, even sometimes alone, just to have a great night surrounded by good vibes.
“I notice people are comfortable enough to come to our parties by themselves, and just have a good time and just be in their space,” he said to Now Toronto.
“Our slogan is ‘come as you are,’ and it’s kind of cool watching people take that on, and just showing up to the parties, having a good time without judgments, just being themselves.”
Griot says while all events have been beautiful in their own distinctive ways, some of the best moments she can reflect on is the bond that Afrique Like Me shares.
“Other than getting to jam with my friends… I think being able to work with people that you can also cry on their shoulders is really a blessing,” she said.
Afrique Like Me has taken their impressive talents beyond the Canadian border, most recently to the Netherlands for the Amsterdam Dance Event in October. Ses says the experience abroad opened his eyes to the evident disparity in Toronto’s nightlife culture compared to the rest of the world, and how it can be much more difficult to access spaces to throw these kinds of events.
“The sheer number of spaces we got to see in that small amount of time, and the diversity of sound that they had there kind of gave us some context as to how far back we were,” Ses said.
“There’s not that many high quality spaces to throw dance events or dance parties where you can get good sound, quality, amenities that are accessible, at least in the downtown area.”
Griot also says the way Torontonians party is different, where nowadays people tend to follow popular DJs for the latest events rather than just showing up to any club.
“Some people say club culture is dead. I’d say club culture has changed,” Griot added.
“I think that there’s so much vibrancy in the city’s underground dance community. Like, there’s some really cool parties, some really amazing producers, some really interesting things that are happening. But similar to what Martin said, it’s really hard to access space, and so you’re having to DIY it and fund it yourself… part of it is the amazing grit, but it shouldn’t be that hard to push culture in a city that is as multicultural as it is, and that has as much energy as it is.”
WHAT’S HAPPENING FOR AFRIQUE LIKE ME’S 5TH ANNIVERSARY?
Coming up on their fifth year anniversary this month, the collective is hosting a party to commemorate the celebration. On Nov. 16, Afrique Like Me will once again bring their biggest African electronic dance experience to the city. Playing all sounds from Gqom to Amapiano to Afro house, the night will feature tons of surprise guest DJs, including U.K.-based African house artist Sef Kombo!
El Toro says the night will be special, filled with “super dope production, super dope DJs, obviously, and super dope people.”
“It’s definitely gonna be the biggest event we’ve ever done,” Griot added. “I think it’s just going to be a really awesome celebration of African electronic dance music and like, what can happen when we create space to dance and to jam.”
“We wanted to really look at everything we’ve done over the past few years and raise it a notch, just to show that we’ve come this far,” Ses said.
“We’re also doing this for ourselves, to put on the types of events that we want to attend, and therefore we have to put as much of our efforts into it, to make sure that everyone comes there and has a lovely time – a super dope time,” he added.
Tickets are available for purchase here.
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