IN CONVERSATION WITH BLOND:ISH
words SAMO ŠAJN
BLOND:ISH is a DJ, producer, and activist redefining music and community. Known for her genre-blending sound and eco-conscious initiatives like Bye Bye Plastic, she uses music to inspire connection and positivity. With her upcoming album, Never Walk Alone, she continues to merge art with purpose, creating an inclusive, uplifting experience that resonates far beyond the dance-floor.
Never Walk Alone seems to resonate with themes of connection and positivity/good vibes. What was the initial inspiration behind this album, and how did you envision it helping listeners in times of anxiety and loneliness?
If you want to understand the intention behind Never Walk Alone this is it:
Life's a highway. Most of us stick to the crowded lanes. This record’s intention is to hand you the keys to a smoother road. It's a shortcut to living your best life.
And that starts with discovering that the best friend you’ve got is you.
And in terms of what people need I wouldn’t want to presume exactly what people need. I just decided that I want to make music that provides value. I injected Never Walk Alone with that intention. If the listener wants to go deeper with the tracks, beyond just listening to it, they can, and they’ll connect with that intention.
But more on this ‘loneliness’ stuff – it hits close to home because a couple people in my family have had mental health issues to deal with like depression and anxiety growing up. And I think it’s because the systems we are raised in don’t work very well. Everything from food, medical, school – they don’t give people the right tools to stay above water. So, I did everything I could to discover the right tools. It started with meditation, going to Burning Man, seeing different ways to approach my thoughts, and many more. Doing exercises like ikigai where you can find your own unique power in this world - which is all we have.
The album fuses a variety of genres—Afro-house, pop, indie, and soul. How do you approach blending these styles, and how do you feel this mix enhances the messages in your songs?
I don’t put too much emphasis on it, honestly. I’m all about energy and culture and bringing new flavours to our electronic scene. Energy is the consistency. It’s intention in the music, and it’s traveling around the world and getting inspired by people I meet along the way. It’s living the human experience and putting that into the music. You can listen to it at face value or go deeper and make it yours. That’s what you’re going to get over here. My music is 100% for the people.
I’m in Jamaica right now, writing music for the week and getting immersed in this rich, beautiful culture. I have no idea what’s going to come out of it, but I wanted to experiment in a place I’ve never been before.
With Never Walk Alone addressing themes like self love, positivity and human connection, do you believe music has a unique role to play in mental well-being? How do you hope your listeners connect to these themes on a personal level?
Yeah, for sure. My music is just a gateway to yourself and living your best life! Your companion. We, as humans, are music. And by that, I mean every cell in our body is a resonant frequency, which means music has healing powers. that means music & frequencies have healing powers since waves can cancel our waves and/or change the structure of our cells.It can also be as easy as listening to the lyrics and it sparks a eureka moment in you. Music has infinite abilities, even those that we don’t know of. Resonant frequency exists in the whole universe, and we were only blessed with five or so senses, so imagine what else is out there.
You’ve been a strong advocate for sustainable initiatives in the music industry, especially through your Bye Bye Plastic campaign. How has the response been from clubs and festivals, and what challenges do you face in expanding this initiative globally?
The age-old system is the toughest. We’re going against the biggest conglomerate in the world, fossil fuels. So much lobbying is happening, paying people off, and corporate soulless entities have endless money to give to festivals. On the bright side, we get to find the good eggs of people in the festival industry in the process, and we make moves that way as a larger voice
After the clean-up, you’ll be bringing your Abracadabra show back to Los Angeles along with Nico de Andrea and Malóne. What made you want to pick those two to join you for this show in particular?
They are my bros!!!!!!! But more than that, they are super talented, and the world needs them. We’re fam, and LA is famjam too.
You’re known for creating a sense of community at your shows, from organizing group hugs to your beach cleanups with Abracadabra. Why is building this deeper connection with your fans so important to you?
I love it when the crowd brings the energy, or their passion, or something to add value to the party's energy. Obviously, it’s my job to keep the energy levels up with music and holding the space, but when you add on the layer of the fans and the crowd – that’s where you start to get real deep on long-lasting vibes and memories. It could just be an infectious smile or some eye contact. It’s the small things that make the difference.
You’ve spoken about your vision of a “Happy Happy World.” What does this look like to you, and how do you think music can help in making that vision a reality?
Abracadabra opens doors to get us there. Happy Happy World is this place of freedom, happiness, and abundance. And along the way, we figure out how to live our best life!!! With Abra, the music is the gateway to that realization. The party and music are familiar things that I can give to people at Abra, and if they choose, there’s a whole other world that can open up to them. We’re a church at the end of the day. We share the faith in creating your own magic. So, I've been infusing all that intention into my music, Abracadabra, Never Walk Alone, and everything I do. Imagining a world where we all live our best life… that’s where all roads lead in this camp.
You collaborated with Bantu on “Can’t Let You Go.” Can you tell us more about how this partnership came about, and what Bantu brought to the track?
Meeting Bantu was a super sweet random encounter. We went deep pretty quickly. I spoke to him about the intentions infused into this album. I wanted it to open up people to discover that they are their own best friend -- and he immediately wanted to add his distinct flavour.
Between being a DJ, producer, label head, activist, and now a new mom, how do you balance these roles?
I have two rocks in my life that give me the freedom to stay creative and limit my mindshare in things I’m not good at, like planning. The first is my wife, who has a crazy talent for planning and logistics. She’s a wizard. She remembers all my dates in her head at all times, and even knows the best dates to play everywhere, at any time of the year. Everyone needs a planer in their relationship. Her and all her girlfriends are planners. Behind a successful DJ is usually a wife or partner who is a very good planner.
Second is my tour manager, Gabriel. He is a beast. I’ve had my fair share of absolute fails for tour managers who just used me to get girls, or get drunk at shows, or tried to make money on the side, blatantly up charging flights (this is super common in the scene by travel agents especially), or just being horrible at logistics. Gabriel is meticulous with making sure everything is super on point with our schedule, flights, and logistics, so we’re super-efficient with time. His attention to detail and my computer science-y brain helped us become a solid team. He even walks me to my gate, even if his flight is later. He’s a true team player.
With the success of Sustainable Raving and Bye Bye Plastic, what’s next for these projects? Are there any new initiatives you’re hoping to introduce in 2025?
We’re definitely excited by all the great leaps BBP took in the past 12 months! But we also see there’s still so much work to be done! We’re still quite far away from our big global #PlasticFreeParty dream, so we need to keep working hard and guide the sector towards regenerative practices.
Next year we want to bring the Zero Plastic Club to a new country after the huge success it was in France. Seems like the UK could be next up!
We also will continue pushing for material innovation projects, weaving more circular & biomaterials into the industry’s operating canvas. So, we can all party safely, on top of sustainably!
From your early work to Never Walk Alone, your sound and message have evolved significantly. How would you say your artistic journey has shaped who you are today, and what do you hope to explore next in your music?
My life experiences and state of being shape my music. And I owe those to the people I’ve met and the places music has brought me, from the backwaters of India to the deep tribes of Venezuela, cenotes in Mexico and endless late nights and sunrises at festivals. I’m here for the people, and just want to share how energy is everything, and if you can go through life with this concept, you are on a flowing highway with no traffic.
