knows nightlife better than most. Years spent in clubs, both on the floor and the stage, have shaped how he thinks about music. For him, the night out is where it starts: where scenes get built, where friendships turn into tours, and where artists develop who they are.

‘The Night’s Not Dead’, is a concept album that follows a night out from start to finish, with all the excitement, memories and real experiences that come with it. With nightlife and spontaneity on the decline, Tinie wants to bring the culture back, and dancing is a big part of that. “Biologically, dancing is good for you,” he says. He talks about getting into a flow state, losing track of time and space, and the value of speaking to a stranger or dancing with someone you’ve never met. “Endorphins, serotonin, all that kind of stuff,” he adds.

Even after a career that began with the chart-topping ‘Pass Out’, Tinie wants to keep pushing himself artistically. “I really do see myself as one small blip in the universe,” he says, describing himself as one of thousands of artists trying to add to the tapestry of British music.

In conversation with CLASH, Tinie Tempah discusses nightlife culture, collaboration and why we still need to go out.

What inspired you to make an album about nightlife as a cultural experience?

I think nightlife is an institution, especially within the UK. There are so many scenes that have emerged out of nightlife culture. If you think about drum and bass, dubstep, grime – essentially pirate radio – as it started to grow, it was nightlife that helped build the scene, to champion the DJs and the MCs. We were able to see an aesthetic, there was a distinct dress sense, there were certain hairstyles.

Clubs and small venues are where, in my opinion, most artists . You go through the motions, get cheered, get booed, and see your name slowly climbing up the lineup. It’s also where relationships are formed, even between artists. We’re all on the same bill, now we’ve got a friendship, now we’re going to go on tour together. It’s where that special connection between the artists and the audience is created – outside of social media.

So as I learned that this was being lost in our culture and dying out, I felt it would be good to make a conceptual album about a night out with all the excitement and memories and real experiences that come with it. We’re now in an era of social media where you can sustain a living, and I think the idea of being an artist has evolved somewhat. If you ask most young people what they want to do nowadays, it’s probably to be a content creator. But when I think about the core elements of being an artist, making music is one part, and being able to perform in front of a crowd in a live setting is also a core part. That’s why we have legendary performances that are remembered decades later such as Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. 

Nightlife really is where so many ideas, friendships, and connections are made! What is your favourite part of a night out?

I would say the “afters” is definitely my favourite. For me it’s meeting new people and someone says “Oh, you know, there’s this afters happening.” A random and mixed group of people goes there, and then nine times out of ten, it’s better than the main event. The main event was still amazing, but this afterparty is another thing. I like it because you’re a little bit more relaxed, it’s more intimate. There’s an element of adventure and spontaneity there that I love. 

Agreed! There is something truly unique about connecting with new people over shared music and just seeing where the night takes you. What was the 1st song you made on the album where you were like “I know where this project is going”. 

Well, the first tracks I made were ‘Studio Ghibli’ and ‘Cause It Feels So Good’. then probably they’re probably the first two that I made. When I made Studio Ghibli, I didn’t know what I was trying to make, I just loved the record. It wasn’t until ‘Cause It Feels So Good’ that I started to get a feel for the album.

Conceptually, that song is about a young girl coming from a small town, trying to find her  feet in a big city. She gets into nightlife and mixes without the wrong crowd. It kind of becomes the only thing that’s important to her, you know, it’s where she feels important and finds her status. Then fast forward, she gets to 30 and she’s still partying. I’m not saying that at 30, you know, you can’t go out, you can’t have a good time, but in this scenario it’s a toxic habit and pattern of behaviour. She sees the 21-year-olds come into the clubs that were like her when she first moved to London or wherever it is.

I guess that’s kind of how it resolves – like the realisation of “damn what am I doing? I shouldn’t be here anymore.” So I think when I made that record, I thought “yeah I know what I’m trying to make now.

I think from the trained ear I was listening to your album, and through the trained ear, I was hearing a bit of  EDM, Afrohouse, UKG – lots of different influences and sounds. What is your favourite genre of electronic music? 

Tech house is up there for me, and I really like this future garage sound too. I love Afro house. Ultimately, house is Black music, and that’s another reason I made this project. When I was putting out songs like drinking from the bottle, the records did pretty well, but I felt misunderstood, like I wasn’t staying true to what I am. It’s good for people to understand that house music’s origin is Black music. So when the term Afro house grew in popularity, it got me really excited, and I was happy to get into that space. The genre’s come is pretty amazing, there are some real big bangers in that space. Where it is now, I think it’s going to go through an evolution, but I like that too.

Is there a venue that you love performing in or even going to see stuff in?

Yeah, I think some of my favourite venues to go to as a partygoer are DC10 and Hï Ibiza. I think Pacha is definitely up there, I remember some really exciting performances like Swedish House Mafia or David Guetta.

In terms of performing, it will always be KOKO as it’s where I did my first ever big scale London headline show, so there’s a lot of memories there. When I started touring again more recently, we sold out KOKO which was so cool. The venue has a special place in my heart and I love the theatre structure it has.

I saw you recently did a talk about the connection between art and music. All facets of creativity intercept and connect, but where does your passion and taste for art come from?

I think it was the realisation that most of the things we buy or interact with, have an artistic influence behind them. Look at Supreme and Barbara Kruger, a lot of her artwork is where the iconic Supreme logo came from. Everything comes from somewhere. It’s been remixed and inspired by something, and if you go back far enough, you’ll find a true artistic reference. That goes for fashion, style and music videos too. When I was coming up, someone like Kanye showed me that this concept was the same in music. He came from a similar world to mine, but he has an incredible attention to detail with everything he does. He wasn’t just on the block and I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. I understood it from an early age, then started collecting art and developing my taste and appreciation for it. 

That’s why I was having that conversation in Ibiza. On the last album, ‘Youth’, I collaborated with Romero Britto, a Miami-based artist, who did the vinyl artwork, and I was really gassed about it. On this album I collaborated with David King Reuben, and the chalk etchings and the cover are all him. I’m big on collaboration. When you have a collective of creatives all pouring their energy into something very intentionally, it gives it more credence and makes it a more powerful entity. That goes for producers, the photographer, Marco, or an artist. I like my work to feel important and special, and I think collaboration elevates it to that place.

Is there an artist coming through right now, who you think people should be paying attention to?

I really like Capital A, I think he’s a strong artist. KWN has blown up so she’s not really up and coming anymore but she’s someone I think is awesome. If you listen to house or dance music, I think Rahh is definitely something special and talented, so everyone’s looking out for her. 

‘The Night’s Not Dead’ is out now. Catch Tinie Tempah on tour across the UK this November.