As electronic music raves dominate Lagos’ nightlife, DJ and community manager Axara stands out with her distinctive Afro House blends. Between her day job in music administration and late-night parties, she continues to fuse African rhythms with electronic beats, crafting a fresh wave of sound in the city.

The night unfurled with the usual craze of electronic music raves, hundreds of partygoers uniting under the groove of dance-paced tempos. The atmosphere at the House of Utopia, in Lekki, was charged with excitement. Barely minutes after Axara took to the stage, her hearty Afro-House mixes swept the crowd into a thrilling trance.

Beyond being one of the female disc jockeys lighting up Lagos’ nightlife scene, Axara—real name Ugochi Silas—fuses contemporary Afro-pop influences with electronic music, striking a sweet spot between tradition and innovation. She also maintains a career as a community manager at CIIFA, where she lends her administrative talents to the Music Business Academy. 

Her signature events include Dance Dance Dance and Chunes with Axara, where she boldly champions electronic music. Yet, she remains versatile, occasionally taking on open-format DJ gigs. 

As electronic raves proliferate across Lagos, Chinonso Ihekire of Guardian Music sits down with Axara to discuss her journey, Afro House exploits, and how she navigates her day job alongside a burgeoning DJ career.

How did you get the name Axara? 

Axara came from the movie series, Lucifer. There’s a character in the show that is a musician. I was just watching the series then and I was consciously trying to change my name. I used to have a name before. So I then searched for the meaning of the name, and I realised it was from South Africa, and it meant beautiful so I just told my best friend that this is my new name from now on. 

What drew you to DJing? 

I never actually nursed a dream to become a DJ. Back in secondary school, whenever I returned home from boarding school, I used to catch up with my best friend who loved music and always came around to discuss trends and all. Also, I was the type that sang and danced in class. At university, I was looking for an extra skill and my best friend suggested that I learn modern disc jockeying. She learned how to use Virtual DJ and she taught me. Then I just continued practising until I started playing shows in school. 

What is your niche as a DJ?

I wasn’t really intentional about genres back then. I just wanted to make sure that people danced. After school, I moved back to Lagos and tried to enter this scene but it was really tough and competitive. Now, the scene is more collaborative; everybody’s trying to help each other. It wasn’t like that, even some years back; it was very weird trying to see DJs helping themselves then. 

When I came back to Lagos, I started a residency at a place where I had to play from 8pm to 3am, without break. Also, I also wanted to do a corporate job in a 9-5,ted, I love the office structure and stuff, so I had to also look into that as well. I often had to make money too as well, because DJ wasn’t paying as much back then. I was working, I was living as well, and then I needed to plan a comeback, because I needed to also get a DJ Deck and all these things that I needed. I was working for a tech company during that time, and then eventually when I was ready, I came back. I think I came back into the scene in late 2023. 

How do you curate your Afro House mixes?

A couple of them are already pre-recorded by other people. I also do some on the spot. I typically play a lot from my favourite producer, Kevin Lndn. I am also an open-format DJ, so I play everything and anything. I play whatever it is that the crowd wants.

Would you ever consider a niche in electronic music?

I don’t enjoy only one type of music. I love Afro House and I would definitely take gigs for it. In fact, I sometimes take less-paying gigs just because the music policy is Afro House. But I typically can play everything. 

How do you organise your music library?

SoundCloud helps me discover a lot of gems. I also use Spotify and YouTube. I spend a lot of time listening to what I really want to hear and add it to my library. When I have an event coming up, I just focus on the mission. For example, if I have an Afro-Caribbean scene event coming, I just go to any of these platforms and listen intensively. I also do some research on artists in that particular genre and then I go through their discography to pick the ones I love and the ones I think people would like as well. Another way is by actually going out to other DJ sets to discover new music. 

How do you juggle corporate work with your DJ career? 

Personally, I love to DJ. I am always trying to push it. Also, my boss is a very nice guy. He makes work environments easier for me so that I’m not extremely exhausted to a point where I can’t do anything other than my 9-5. Balancing it all can be tough, but that passion keeps me going.

Finally, tell us three fun facts about you. 

I love to party. A lot of times after DJ’ing, I stay back to enjoy the party. I also love to just vibe and party when other DJs play. If I’m not staying back, it means I’m exhausted. I am also trying to build two personalities at once. So I’m trying to use Ugochi Silas as my professional name for my 9-5, and I’m trying to build Axara as well.