Chicago’s NEZ, with a little help from his friends, discovered how to create dance music during the pandemic by creating his own ‘nightclub’

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CHICAGO — It should come as no surprise that NEZ is a Chicago-bred musician. On his new solo EP, “Midnight Music,” the artist and producer crafted three perfect dance music tracks that sound and feel rooted in the city’s tradition of late nights and dance floors. One track, “Lift Off,” was even created with Chicago house music legend Felix Da Housecat. But the journey to “Midnight Music,” an album dedicated to the spirit and mood of parties and togetherness, involved a surprising revelation and change of course during the socially isolating pandemic.

Born Nesbitt Wesonga Jr., NEZ said he grew up in a very musical household. Both parents were big music fans, playing everything from soul and blues to jazz and rap. His mother is also a gospel singer. Wesonga said their musical interests soon translated to himself, and his parents began purchasing instruments for him to play. At age 8, he became a drummer at church.

“That’s when I really knew I wanted to actually do music, like forever, because I like the feeling of being able to just freely perform and make music,” Wesonga said. “When you make music in church, it’s a lot of improv and a lot of feelings. You really get a chance to just vibe out.”

But it wasn’t until a friend introduced him to the free music software Fruity Loops that he finally felt like he unlocked the creative process.

“I think being able to compose your own music, it just did something to me. Like, I still enjoy playing instruments, but being able to create your music to me was just a super dope form of expression,” said Wesonga. “Even when I was playing instruments, I always wanted to be able to get my own ideas out, I just didn’t have the means to.”

Since then, Wesonga has worked steadily in the industry, racking up credits with an illustrious array of artists like Schoolboy Q and A$AP Rocky. However, defining his artistry as a solo musician was a different task. Chicago’s musical traditions were a major driving force in how and what he created.

“I grew up in an era [with] footwork and the ghetto house scene and going to the rinks and the halls and all the other parties that [were] going on when we were in elementary and high school,” Wesonga began. “I felt like that has [had] a big effect on me [and] is making my progression and evolution as an artist. I’m planting my flag in dance music.”

Early work on “Midnight Music” began pre-pandemic. “My Love,” the second track on the record, was influenced by Prince and Frankie Knuckles. “I wanted something that was kind of sexy. You know, something that you want to play at night. You know, you’re in a place that [has] dark mood lighting. Smells incredible in there. Everybody you want to see is in there,” said Wesonga. “That’s just like what I love to create for myself.”

But the many months spent in social isolation made the creative process more difficult. Pre-pandemic, Wesonga was used to often working solo. This creative isolation made it easier for him to transition to the new restrictions of the pandemic.

But like most of us, this routine could only work for a limited amount of time. Once the time of quarantine and lockdown grew from a few weeks to a few months, even the creatively secure Wesonga felt burned out. “I had a little stint where I wasn’t able to make music. I also like to have the opportunity to go out. Like before the pandemic, of course, I was too cool. You know, ‘I’m not gonna go to that,’” began Wesonga. “[But] then the pandemic hit and you’re like, ‘OK, it’s five months in and I haven’t seen anybody. Now I’m going crazy.’”

Instead of resigning himself to his emotions, Wesonga pivoted. After renting a house in September 2020, he invited a few of his creative and musical friends to safely join him. They “redressed” the space to feel like a club.

“It just felt like you were in this other world. It brought a whole different type of energy. People were just happy to be around people again, and that inspired something different in the music. That’s what allowed me to even really finish this EP because I’m making dance music, but we can’t even go out and dance,” Wesonga said. The time away became a sort of “musical camp,” a common practice in the mainstream music world often utilized for big name artists like Rihanna.

Although made in the height of cultural isolation, Midnight Music arrived for audiences at the perfect time — right as the world has begun to rollback restrictions on large-scale gatherings. It may still take a while until the major dance clubs open here in Chicago or around the country and globe, but the warmer temperatures and an increasingly vaccinated populous means the joy, excitement and sensuality of an evening spent dancing is not merely a thing of the past. And Midnight Music just may be the ideal soundtrack.

“My Love” sounds pulled straight out of the early '80s warehouse scene. Closing track “To The Money” is an intelligent blend of the emerging hybrid R&B, hip-hop and house sound bubbling under the surface in global dance communities. Featuring rising artists like viral TikTok sensation Flo Milli and a chorus 8AE, the track is an irresistible earworm sure to get any party started.

“Community is everything. I think that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned in this entire process,” said Wesonga. “How I approach my artistry is how I approach throwing a party. And when I’ve got a party, my whole goal is to get people from many different walks of life into one spot and to get them to forget their differences and realize they [are] really all the same.”