Without New Voices, the Future of Music is at Risk – Adedotun Adekanmbi

With a career straddling Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Dotun, widely known as Dotun on a Mission, has carved a niche as one of the leading curators of live music and cultural experiences for African and diaspora audiences. From his early days in Fadeyi, Lagos, surrounded by the sounds of Kwam 1, Ebenezer Obey, and King Sunny Ade, to creating stages like Lemon Room and Couch Pot8toes in Manchester, Leicester, and beyond, Adedotun Adekanmbi‘s story is one of grit, vision, and purpose. In this interview with ThisDay, he speaks about his mission, the intensity of curating live shows, building platforms for emerging voices, and why music remains one of the most powerful cultural bridges of our time.

Your brand name Dotun on a Mission suggests purpose. What exactly is the mission behind everything you do in music and events?
 
I believe my mission has always remained, adding value and memorable experiences to the lives of everyone I encounter. Curating and delivering positive experiences to everyone result in actions that people perceive as beneficial and valuable.
 
You’ve built a career working across Nigeria and the UK. How has your Nigerian upbringing influenced the way you approach live music experiences abroad?
 
Live music was always a part of my growing up. As a young kid that grew up in the bustling streets of Fadeyi, Lagos – You couldn’t walk down 3 blocks without seeing corner street performances from live bands or hearing loud speakers especially from those shops that sold Cassettes and CDs of Live performances from Kwam 1, Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade, Tunde Nightinghale, Barrister, to mention a few. Those moments shaped my ear for live music and now, I approach every show we do across cities in the UK and Nigeria with the same grit and candour. Music transcends borders and languages don’t matter when the music is right.
 
Live events have become a strong part of your identity. What is it about curating shows that excites you the most?
 
I think it’s the intensity that goes into the little details of planning and executing a memorable experience. Making sure the sound is right, the instruments, vocals and ambience is comfortable for everyone who comes for a great time. I love putting myself in positions of “would the attendees love this?”
 
With TRACE, you’ve worked on Trace Live and Trace Sessions featuring some of Africa’s biggest stars. What goes into making those intimate shows stand out?

I have to give it to the team at Trace. The idea of creating such intimate live experiences takes a dedicated team of music lovers and over-achievers who, above everything else, want to always see the Live music culture thrive. I worked with some of the best project and production managers in the organisation including Lanre Masha, Bassey Aniefiok, Anthony Opara, Nosa Omoregie, Faith Thompson and Toyosi Olatunji to mention a few. The team always worked collectively to make sure that there was no minute detail missing. From set design, promotions, rehearsals, artist management to the full show production, Live broadcast for TV and attendee experience, the dedication to work was always unmatched. There were days when things wouldn’t go according to plan and we thought some shows wouldn’t hold but we would still end up creating the best experience ever for people that came. That was always something that gave us the resolve to make it stronger.
 
Can you share a moment during Trace Live that felt like a turning point for you professionally?

I had just joined Trace in January of 2017 and was an integral part of the team when the formation of Trace live was in the works. I remember the expectations from the managers for the first ever edition with Omawumi was very tasking. I had the responsibility of massively promoting the event across all forms of media, forming new partnerships with media houses, and live streaming of the event to a global audience. As a newbie in the business of music and entertainment then, I had little time to think and it was all about action and results. With the help of a professional team at Trace, I put my foot on the pedal and never looked back since. Other editions of Trace Live and Trace Sessions with Artistes like 2Baba, Runtown, Reminisce, Wande Coal, Adekunle Gold, Falz, Zlatan, Mohbad etc. have really shaped my professional experience working with artists and curating exceptional live music shows.
 
LemonVinyl’s Lemon Room has gained a reputation for spotlighting emerging artists. How did the concept start and what makes it different from other showcases?

Great question! The Idea was way before we established LemonVinyl and it started from a content-piece we had done a while back in Trace. It was called Trace Mint. Myself, Lanre Masha and my colleague – Barbara, had sat in a room thinking of the best possible way to create something magical for the Trace platform that would highlight the next generation of music artists and would take Afrobeats global. Trace Mint became a social media content hit in 2018 where we spotlighted the emergence of artists such as Zlatan, Bnxn fka Buju, Blaqbonez, Fireboy DML, Oxlade, Joeboy, King Perryy and a lot more others who have now, fast forward to 2025 – become global superstars. I still also maintain a good relationship with these artists and some are even my close friends. That single act of creating a space for the emerging talents with a big platform like Trace as of 2018 will always continue to pay-off for my passion in music. When we established LemonVinyl, the decision to keep giving emerging artists a platform was a no-brainer. In an industry where only the “Big cats” get 90% of visibility, airtime, show appearances, and platform engagement, someone needs to continue the work of platforming new voices and talents. There are platforms like “Basement Gig”, “Bogobiri Open Mic” that have always done that in Nigeria and I commend them for that. Our mission is to ensure that outside of Nigeria, emerging diaspora artists of Sub-saharan African descent continue to enjoy part of that vision and that is why we continue to focus on the diversity outside of Africa.

You’ve taken Lemon Room and Couch Pot8toes to Manchester, Leicester, and even Limerick in Ireland. What do you look for when expanding these events into new cities?

We look for audiences, we look for talents and we look for acceptability. These cities you have mentioned all have something in common and it’s the unique diversity of different races and cultures, the youthful and creative energy of the cities and the acceptance of music and global sounds. There is talent everywhere, there is creativity everywhere and we make sure to export and develop into these cities as much as we can. Our events are for all types of creatives and talents and they are usually centered around creating culturally impactful moments.
 
 
Live events can be unpredictable. What’s the most challenging experience you’ve faced during a LemonVinyl showcase, and how did you overcome it?

A couple to be fair but a recent one was when we were preparing for the Manchester International Festival 2025 (MIF25) performance as a co-hort championed by Hakeeb. We gave the showcase platform to 3 amazing artists to perform through LemonVinyl’s affiliation with Factory Sound International but I took ill unexpectedly during that period of planning and execution. My co-founders Hakeeb Ibrahim and Deolu John were incredible with executing the event. That was a health and safety challenge for me and I have now taken personal interest these days in being healthy first before work.

Beyond entertainment, do you see Lemon Room and Couch Pot8toes as cultural statements for the African diaspora community?

Most definitely, we started Lemon Room in Lagos and moved it over 5,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean! Our mission was to create a safe environment for the African diaspora community to continue to enjoy their culture, even though they are away from home. Our pillars of success are built on 3-Key things People, Culture and Community.

The If Life Gives You Lemon music projects are tied closely to the live events. How do the albums and the showcases complement each other?

If Life gives you Lemons, you make sweet lemonade in a Lemon Room ambience while listening to hits from LemonVinyl!!! The Album is a proud project from 2023 filled with only new and emerging acts and no big names. A couple of the artists from the album got signed under major  labels and distribution deals including Boy Delian, Syntiat, Shorae Moore, Xplode to mention a few. The work was thoroughly put together by the LemonVinyl team with an open-house music camp and rigorous planning. Big kudos to Michael-Peace Kenneth, Deolu and Hakeeb who did the thorough work of selection and compilation. I also executive produced the Album. This year, we are dropping the Volume 2 of the project featuring more emerging acts from Nigeria and the diaspora. The lead single from the project titled “Back To Me” featuring Jade, 1stly and Thandiwe premiered at our Couch Pot8toes event back in July and was received with some much enthusiasm from our music community.

For LemonVinyl, what’s your process in identifying and selecting emerging talents to put on stage?

Open mic-calls, online research, attending social events, social media, hearsay etc. We do not have a “one-size fits all” approach but some of these areas have continually helped us identify beautiful talents.

Some say live events in diaspora communities help preserve identity. Do you see LemonVinyl as a cultural bridge for second-generation Africans in the UK?

Totally, I agree! Like the content affiliation we did recently with Afro-Urban entertainment giants -TRACE, we tagged it Discover Diaspora and it’s a dynamic digital content series solely dedicated to highlighting emerging talents and musicians of Sub-saharan African descent who were born in Europe, North America, Asia etc who are yearning for a relatable audience back home. They were born far away from home but their cultural identity can always reflect through music and the audiences they can bond with in Africa. Afterall, home is where the heart is and your culture is your heritage.

What role do you think brand partnerships and collaborations play in sustaining events like Lemon Room?

Networking and partnership is the soul of what we have been able to achieve so far. We are a relatively small platform compared to a lot of other music and events platforms out there but the essential brand collaborations and affiliations we have been able to secure through our value has really been the game-changer for us. Imagine being so sought-after by venues, brands, and communities when we are not even at our full potential yet. It’s honestly mind-blowing and a statement of how we as individuals behind LemonVinyl have a shared vision to create and offer value.
 
You’ve worked with both established names and unknown talents. How different is it producing a Trace Live show for Tiwa Savage compared to curating Lemon Room for emerging acts?

It’s very different! The expectations are very much apart. With emerging acts, their technical rider and requirements aren’t so demanding and they are readily available with you to maneuver different scenarios that may arise. Working with the big acts on live shows like Trace Live and Trace sessions is very much different. There is rigorous planning and a zero window for letting even the minute detail skip past you. Big and global artists also have very demanding technical riders, certain instruments they can use, world-class equipment you have to provide and other high-end requirements. Mostly due to how far and wide they have performed across the globe, they already know what particular sound works best for their live renditions and they would never water-down their standards or do anything remotely less. You have to be meticulous when working on big productions with big artists like Tiwa Savage.

Looking ahead, where do you see LemonVinyl’s live events in the next three years—strictly diaspora-based or moving back to Africa too?

The plan is to circumvent and navigate both worlds but with a clear focus on highlighting and exploring African sounds and culture that have made its way out of the motherland. Maybe If you asked me about plans for the next 10 years, I would probably say Africa! For now, we need to spotlight the voices in the diaspora and continue to be that bridge between Home and global.