What Went Down: Tems at Spotify Surround Sound, Lagos

With so many festivals and concerts throughout the year, Spotify’s ongoing Surround Sound series in Lagos gave PAUSE a completely different experience. We were in the room for Tems’ night at Livespot, where no tickets were sold. Instead, Spotify invited 1,000 selected Premium subscribers for free, based entirely on their streaming and listening history, to watch her perform up close and in the round, with the stage at the centre and the fans all around it.

Tems moved through her catalogue, old and new, revisiting the For Broken Ears era that first drew so many of us in. She invited the crowd to sing along until the room felt less like an audience and more like a choir. The Surround Sound event by Spotify is a simple yet beautiful idea. A platform recognising the listeners who’ve been there from the start and giving artists a different way to share their music with the people who play it most. It felt personal, and it was a reminder of how strong the community around Tems really is.

We also caught up with Tems to talk about her journey so far, making music on her laptop, fashion and what’s next in 2027.

PHOTO CREDIT: @ Courtesy of Spotify

Interviewed By: Johnson Gold

PAUSE: The first song of yours I started streaming was “Damages” – the song, the music video. I said, “Who is this girl?” You really drew us in. Did you have a feeling before dropping it that the song would go so well?

TEMS: Not at all. I didn’t actually know what was happening. I think I just wanted to put myself out there and see what happened. I didn’t have a vision of, “This is going to take me somewhere.” I just wanted to take a leap of faith, believe, and see what happened. So I was quite surprised, and it all went by so fast.

PAUSE: Is there a song you produced that surprised you with how well it streamed?

TEMS: “Free Mind.” It surprised me because the production is really quite simple. I felt like there wasn’t much on it – the drums are almost the same throughout, just a few things. At the time, I didn’t really consider myself a real producer. Now I know I’m much better at producing, but back then I was still finding my footing.

That song has gone so far, and I made it in my room, on my bed. I didn’t make it in a studio – everything was on my laptop. What you’re hearing was recorded on my laptop.

PAUSE: Describe your melody in one word.

TEMS: Reflective.

PAUSE: When people are listening to your music, what do you want them to feel?

TEMS: I want them to remember that they’re human. I want them to be awoken – that sort of “Oh, I’m alive in the world” feeling. I want them to feel alive with my music.

PAUSE: If we didn’t have the digital age we have now, and you had to pick one instrument to make music with for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

TEMS: It would be the guitar, because there are so many different things you can do with a guitar. You could do something vibey, and all you need to do is tap the guitar to give yourself your drums. You can’t do that with a piano – it’ll just be piano, and there’ll be no drums. With a guitar, you could do something really Spanish-sounding, something really slow, something that’s, I don’t know, weird – and it’s all guitar. You can give yourself a beat as well.

PAUSE: From your experience so far in the music industry, what advice would you give to younger aspiring female artists looking to jump in the game?

TEMS: You have to be so sure of yourself. Before you jump in the game, do some self-reflection, some self-work, some self-awareness. You need to be so aware of yourself that you’re filled with wisdom – for me, that’s knowing who you are, knowing God and knowing what you believe in. I think that’s what you should start with. That’s the journey you should get on before you decide, because being in the industry can very much shake your identity if you don’t know who you are – and your identity is everything.

Once you get in the industry and decide, “This is who I am,” you can’t change that. You have to follow through with it. The beginning is where you have the most voices – people saying you should do this, you should do that – because they know that once you’re actually cemented as whatever you are, you can’t really change. So they try to change you when you’re fresh. They try to manipulate your thoughts when you’re new, because they won’t get any other time to really get into your mind.

So if you’re about to jump in the game, you have to get ready for that. It’s like a test, a trial: are you really who you say you are? Many people don’t pass that test.

PAUSE: How important is your team and having the right people around you?

TEMS: Having the right people around you is so important. If you know who you are, then you know who has the right to have access to you, because they will definitely shape how you see the industry. The things you’ll be made to do will come from the people around you.

PAUSE: You killed it at the Burberry show – I loved the coat you wore in London recently. What’s your key fashion tip when finalising a look?

TEMS: I look at whether I’ve seen it before or recognise it from anywhere else. I always like to wear things I haven’t seen on myself yet – things that make me feel like a woman. I want to feel sexy, but still mysterious and luxurious.

PAUSE: You’ve had a year! What can we look forward to from Tems in 2027?

TEMS: A fresh new me. Well, maybe not a fresh new me… I think music, definitely. Evolution – I think that’s what I’ll say.

PHOTO CREDIT: @ Courtesy of Spotify