Mark Stefanos
BLOND:ISH, the DJ, producer, and founder of the Abracadabra party series, is bringing her boundless energy back to LA, fresh off a summer at Pacha Ibiza where she was the first woman to have a headlining residency at the legendary club and set the record for the biggest Wednesday night attendance in its 52-year history.
Now she’s setting the stage ahead of her upcoming LA show at California Plaza this Saturday, Oct. 4, with “Energy Week,” a lead-up packed with pop-ups around the city. Events kicked off Sunday with BLOND:ISH on the Beach, and kept going yesterday with a high-octane DJ takeover at Barry’s Bootcamp in Santa Monica, followed by a Soul Surprise with BLOND:ISH at Soulcycle.
Are you pumped yet?! There are two more chances to amp your energy up before Saturday’s show — a pop-up rave at EarthBar, Friday at 3 p.m., and later that day from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. will be an evening for creators and builders with BLOND:ISH and Rob The Bank, dubbed Million $ Brand Club Mastermind. For more information and to RSVP, visit blondish.world/energy-week.
BLOND:ISH performing in California Plaza Sept. 14, 2024 (Courtesy of BLOND:ISH)
It’s all part of BLOND:ISH’s mission to blur the line between wellness, fun, and community. Below, she shares a rundown of everything she’s been up to, and drops some hints about what to expect coming up.
Energy Week features events with Barry’s, SoulCycle and EarthBar — what inspired you to bridge wellness and dance culture?
BLOND:ISH: You guys, and my DMs, and observing everything that happens at Abracadabra with the energy of it. The whole thing came from this question I always come back to: How can we help people live their best lives? And this model of partnering with micro communities around the city was much easier than creating full blown out festivals, it all happened organically from doing these one-off popups before Abracadabras like in New York at Joe’s Pizza.
For people who haven’t been to Abracadabra, how would you describe the vibe?
It’s a party on the surface, everything you know as familiar, that will always be there. But there is a lot of pure intention weaved into the DNA. We put all that good juju into Abra so y’all can discover your own magic. Funny thing is we’re registered as a church in the U.S., cause apparently we share the faith of magic. So do what you want with that.
But it works. Abra LA — it’s more like entering a portal. From the second you walk into California Plaza, you’ll feel it. The music, the crowd, the visuals — they’re all designed to unlock living your best life and tap into energy. There’s a method to the madness. I’m always there early giving hugs, eye gazing, cracking jokes. It’s inclusive, elevated, and full of surprises. That’s it, already told you too much, come without expectations for the best experience.
With so much momentum coming off Ibiza, your new album Never Walk Alone, and Energy Week, what can we expect from you coming up?
We’re just getting started, def signed Abra Ibiza residency again *shhh.* Currently trying to figure out how to release 69 different tracks that I’ve made this past year … all different vibes, from pure house music to Jamaica tapes to dance and more wide pop country shit. Don’t know how to describe it but it’s fun, mushroom tapes.
ABRACADABRA is going to new cities, South Africa, Argentina, Mexico City. Doubling down on community! Launching my token this week on pump.fun and live streaming all week during Energy Week.
And with Bye Bye Plastic, we just figured out at NYC Climate Week how we’re gonna remove 42 tons of plastic in 2026 through a Zero Plastic Club, which is a bunch of clubs getting together. It’s a movement we spearhead that we already have proof of concept for in Paris where over 25 clubs joined and are killing it. The present and future is living our best life.
BLOND:ISH (Courtesy of BLOND:ISH)
How do you weave that philosophy of “living our best lives” into your music and everyday choices?
It lives in everything from the core. I’m always asking myself at every step of the way if the thing I’m doing lends itself to that mission. Don’t get me wrong, when I’m writing bangers, there’s also a use case for that, you need to feel all extremes and emotions. Even in my everyday, I try to live by example. I’m big on nervous system regulation, healthy food, tai chi, running, breathing, and memes of course. I test things on myself first because I just got this crazy amount of energy. I think it’s drive, more than energy, not sure how to explain it.
I want humans to succeed because when we’re born, we have all the possibilities and somehow through life, it gets really weird and limiting for most. That doesn’t balance out for me, so everything I do is for that movement of living our best life — so when something helps hack life, I’ll find a way to share it, and whoever needs it can take it.
Your latest album, Never Walk Alone, was designed as a reminder for people to be their own best friend. How did that concept come about, and what was the emotional process of creating it?
ALL cause of my fans in the DMs. I’m constantly inspired by my DMs. The album was an answer to that. The core idea was to make music that’s meant to feel like your best friend — something that’s got your back when I can’t answer you in the DMs.
That was the inspo TBH because I couldn’t keep up with people DMing really deep shit, and I felt bad. So I was like, how can I make an album so my fans can show up for themself, cause I physically don’t have time, and in that process, they discover they got the tools to deal with anything in life 🙂
I felt like it was a good intention and good use of energy to double down on and experiment.
BLOND:ISH (Raul Sanchez; courtesy of BLOND:ISH)
How do you approach remixing a track, and how do you decide what songs you want to put your spin on?
I just go through the stems, pull out what I love, the weird and the wonderful, then try to understand where I want to play this record, and visualize it and the vibe. If I have chord progressions from the OG to work with, I love building on those, but also if it’s an R&B track like Pussycat Dolls, I go hard on the groove/bassline first, see how I can tease the vocal without giving it away right away. It’s all about people discovering and hearing the familiar coming in themself. I’m more a sampler than a musician, so I love to put the OG track over a groove, see what parts sound good on a short loop, and create new melodies from that.
What did the milestone of being the first female DJ to headline a residency at Pacha Ibiza mean to you personally, and for women in dance music?
Just doing my thing, and whoever can use it as inspiration, please take it. I’m all about energy, and IT IS all energy. When I started to reframe my life as EVERYTHING IS ENERGY, things started to really fall into place. Don’t get me wrong, taking on this residency was the hardest, most stressful thing ever, cause we wanted to go in strong for our first year, but it’s a video game — here’s a little recipe that worked for me:
1. When you get a “no,” it’s not a “no,” you just find another way.
2. Don’t ask, don’t get.
3. You need relentless drive, none of this will happen without it.
How did the energy in Ibiza this summer compare to past seasons, and what do you think drew so many people to your sets at Pacha?
Ibiza wild!!! I might be jaded because it was my first season with an actual residency, but the fact that REAL house music is back and in the forefront, is epic. It’s all the stuff that inspired me to get into this scene in the first place, so it’s my wheelhouse.
People came to Abracadabra on Wednesdays at Pacha for one reason: it offers something different than any other party in Ibiza. It’s energy that no one else brings to the island. I’ve been going to Ibiza for a while, so I’ve had time to dream up what I wanna bring to the island. It’s fun but intentional, it’s wild and free, it’s intense but light, it feels like something familiar, there’s always tricks up our sleeve, there’s a mentalist that can catch you off guard at any moment in time and literally take thoughts out of your head to remind you magic is real, it gives you a chance to discover something about yourself that you might have not known. But the greatest discovery (thanks Coldplay) was the hug cam — it brings the crowd into the Abra story for the night. It’s not just about me, it’s about everyone there.
Special mention to the live keyboard so we can share anything that happens in the night. People online won’t get it, you have to be there and then you understand its purpose and how intentional it is to involve the crowd in the experience. There’s a method to the madness, and it’s all crafted for the energy to stay with you, so you can take it back into your life.
What’s one behind-the-scenes memory from the residency that fans would never expect?
One night when bro Diplo was our guest, Rampa came and Swizz Beatz too with his family (wifey Alicia Keys stayed home). After the party was done, we took whoever was left and our friends to a little side room and did an afters there, but with the mission that Wes [Diplo is Thomas Wesley Pentz] and Rampa played strictly hip-hop and log drums. Random but memorable.
For more information about Energy Week and to RSVP, visit blondish.world/energy-week. Click here for information and tickets to Abracadabra Los Angeles, this Saturday, Oct. 4.