SPINALL: “If you stay in a nice hotel, you carry that vibe to the stage”

“The first thing I do when I walk into my hotel room is jump on the bed, because a hotel bed has this kind of ‘Come to me, baby’ vibe,” says Nigerian Afrobeats DJ and producer SPINALL, aka Oluseye Desmond Sodamola. “It’s nice to just breathe because, you know it’s about to get crazy with the sound check, the show starting. So that little two minutes of ahhhh is always nice.” 

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With six studio albums behind him (including last year’s Top Boy), as well as appearances at the Coachella, SXSW, and Glastonbury festivals, SPINALL has traveled the world, writing and recording music, DJing clubs—and hopping from hotel to hotel, making an art of mixing business with pleasure whenever he can. “One of my favorite hotel bars is at The New York Edition,” he says. “You know, producers and bars, we go hand in hand. I had just checked in and I look to the left and I saw the bar,” he recalls, thinking he’d pop in for a few minutes. “I sat for almost six hours. I got my laptop out, I was working, I was trying new whiskeys. I was able to create a set for one of my events, attend to stylist requests, make phone calls. That was really cool.” 

But it isn’t just hotel bars that SPINALL has turned into creative office spaces. “At The George in Lagos, they have this poolside that is so calm, so beautiful. It’s really fresh. I have a special table there, the first on your left, where I can catch a vibe,” he says. “I made one of the most special songs I’ve ever put out at The George, Palazzo with Asake. Big song, beautiful song. Shout out to the management because they never once called to say, ‘Hey, turn the music down’—that would’ve killed the vibe.”

A frequent collaborator, including with artists like Burna Boy and Wizkid, SPINALL seems to find the space and inspiration he needs to create in hotels. “Honestly, I did not intend to make music there. It was just the convenience of being at The George and the other artists were available. So I’m like, ‘You know what? Let’s do it here.’ And we made something solid. It was really cool.”  

In terms of the perfect in-room atmosphere for making music, SPINALL admits it doesn’t always hinge on what he brings to the session. “Sometimes it’s the room that creates the atmosphere and I just apply pressure. Sometimes you walk into a room, you just want to sleep, honestly. And sometimes you’re in the room and the little door slam can ignite something in your head, and you want to put it to work right away on your DAW [recording equipment],” says Spinall, who earned a degree in electrical engineering before pursuing music. “And I think in that room that day, the fact that the other artists were around, I had a few instrumentalists around as well, it was just blissful, it was just beautiful.” 

Even if you’re not a world-renowned DJ, SPINALL encourages travelers to pick a perfect somewhere that fits their vibe, and their reason for traveling. “Hotels are really, really important. They set the tone for the reason why I’m in the city, so if you stay in a nice hotel, you will be able to carry that vibe to the stage,” he says. “I always recommend people to choose the hotel that gives them that—it makes you feel at home and at the same time is super-fresh with great hospitality.”

Finally, SPINALL suggests that even if the purpose of your stay is work, leave time to cut loose and have a little spontaneous fun, like he did on a recent trip to the Los Angeles SLS. “My advice is when you get to the rooftop, just order a bottle of champagne. Don’t worry about your problems right now. Just order a bottle, sit by the pool where you can see everything happening,” he says. “We’ll discuss the price of the champagne later, but get it first!” 

Martina Sheehan

Writer

Martina Sheehan is a Chicago-based travel writer-editor who has written for the New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, Budget Travel, Forbes Travel Guides, and Time Out guidebooks, among others. She has traveled to 38 countries and 46 states, and never leaves home without a good map app, a themed playlist, and her daughter.