Composite: Photos by Gisela Jane (courtesy of Primavera Sound) and Aminé for Teen Vogue

There aren’t many things that’d make Adam “Aminé” Daniel frustrated, but losing his luggage the day before he’s set to perform his new album, 13 Months of Sunshine, live for the very first time is one of them — and that’s exactly what happened at Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025 earlier this month.

“I didn't have any clothes for that entire trip," Aminé tells Teen Vogue from inside his car a few weeks after the festival, still visibly bummed about the mishap. "I had white tees and that was about it,” he adds, a smile fading on his face as the prospect of what could have been flashes through his mind. Nevertheless, he persevered.

Related: How Primavera Sound Got Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and Charli XCX on Its Killer All-Women Lineup

As a preface to his Tour de Dance, which will kick off this September during his very own Best Day Ever music festival in his hometown of Portland, Aminé took to the Cupra stage at Primavera Sound Barcelona for his first official performance of 13 Months of Sunshine, his new dance-filled album that came out in mid-May.

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Sonically, the album picks up the baton from 2023'sKaytraminé,with singles “Familiar,” “Vacay,” and “Arc de Triomphe,” the latter featuring a sample by The Streets, already positioning the project as the soundtrack for the summer. However, lyrically and thematically, 13 Months of Sunshine also serves as an ode to Aminé's Ethiopian roots, with introspection taking over the latter half of the album.

Celebrating the advent of summer, Teen Vogue caught up with Aminé below to chat about his experience at Primavera Sound Barcelona, bringing 13 Months of Sunshine to life, what to expect from his tour, and more — with some exclusive behind-the-scenes pictures from his time at the festival to boot.

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Teen Vogue: You are now officially Doctor Aminé. How does it feel to have that title?

Aminé: It's pretty cool! I think it's kind of funny. It's definitely a huge honor and surreal. I've never gotten that many awards in my career, so getting [the honorary degree at Portland State University] was really special. I'd never done a speech before, so that was very nerve-racking. It was a lot of new feelings for me to be able to experience that.

TV: Are you going to raise your hand now if people are like, “Is there a doctor in the room? We need a doctor”?

Aminé: Yo, my friend and I joked that. [Laughs.] That'd be so f*cked up if I were the guy who raises my hand on a plane. I think that would be a good skit, though. That honestly should have been my skit to announce my getting my degree. Super genius. Damn, I wish I did that.

Aminé poses backstage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

TV: Before you did your speech, you were referred to as the Pride of Portland. How did that feel?

Aminé: It was sick. I didn't know she was gonna say that. It's hard for me to accept compliments. I always cringe a little bit inside because it just feels like more pressure the more you get called things like that. I definitely love where I'm from a lot so it isn't crazy to call me that because I am obsessed with my hometown — it's too much at this point — but there are a lot of other people from Portland, too, that have done amazing things, so I just don't wanna be singled out. It's definitely the hugest compliment, but not something I like to think about at all.

Aminé poses backstage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

Aminé poses backstage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

TV: This is your 13 Months of Sunshine era. I wanted to ask about the title of the album. It's an Ethiopian tourism slogan.

Aminé: It's been around since the ‘70s, and it’s also the nickname for Ethiopia in general. When you Google that phrase, it'll pull up like 20 different images of these classic Ethiopian tourism posters, one is actually on the album cover. We've had these posters in our homes as Ethiopians since the day we were born. You see it at your aunt's, your uncle's, your cousin's house… It is a very famous poster, so putting it on the album cover for me was an “if you know you know” kind of thing. It was very special.

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I saw the poster my whole life and always heard the nickname… then I was like, "Oh, this would be an amazing album title too." It felt [perfect] for the music I was trying to make for this album. I was like "Oh, this is a perfect match."

Bringing more of my Ethiopian heritage into the art direction and music videos was something I had always wanted to do, but I wanted to wait until I had the biggest platform to showcase my culture on that level. I also wanted to do it right. I think it's hard to do cultural things that are so important to your heritage the right way, you wanna be really delicate and make sure you're respecting the traditions and not messing things up and leaving them for interpretation. It's nice to know exactly what you wanna do with your heritage.

TV: You worked on the album for three years. Why did it take that long?

Aminé: To be honest with you, I will never do that again. I will never spend three years on an album. I was having tons of rollercoaster moments. This album was supposed to come out before Kaytraminé was. There was a point in time where I thought this album was ready and then I doubted myself. [The fact that it took three years] wasn't intentional. It wasn't like I was like, "Yeah, this is gonna be my passion project for the next three years."

It was just me doubting myself and not figuring out what I wanted to do exactly, and then figuring that out a little later in the process. Sometimes it happens like that — but most artists don't really tell you that it happened like that. [Laughs.] Because everything is supposed to seem like the most genius idea I had three years ago, you know what I mean? So, yeah, that's the truth of why it took that long. I dont think it's a flex.

TV: When did you snap out of it and decide to just put it out?

Aminé: My manager Justin, who is one of my best friends, too, had a call with me maybe a year ago. He was just like, “Look, bro. This album’s gotta come out. You are taking too long to put this piece of work together.” And I honestly believed him. I needed to hear that because I think I would've just worked on it forever otherwise.

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I used to be so much more decisive with my music when I first started. Nowadays, I just have so many more albums under my discography where the possibilities to create a new album are endless. You can always go in so many different directions, and each one feels exciting, and you need to snap out of that and just pick one. That's what I ended up doing. I just ended up picking songs that made sense because I didn't wanna put an album together that felt like I was trying to hit every genre.

I had really fun rap songs that I loved that didn't make this album because I didn't think they made sense with the rest of the music. It just felt like an easy cop out to be like, “Oh, I'm just gonna put all my best songs on one album.” That to me doesn't feel cohesive or intentional, so that's what the pressure was for me with putting this album together. I was just trying to make sure songs made sense together in the same world sonically, so it didn't feel like I was just taking a lazy route.

TV: Do you think those songs that you wrote are ever gonna see the light of day?

Aminé: I think they have the possibility to release for sure. "Arc de Triomphe" on this album was a song made forTWOPOINTFIVE,and it didn't make it because I thought it was too dancey. TWOPOINTFIVEwasn't meant to be a dance album; it was just meant to be rap and hyperpop together, but this album was strictly for dancing, and that came up three years later.

Sometimes old songs come up, and I'm like, “Oh sh*t, this makes sense with what I'm doing right now.” And then other times I'm just a bit fatigued from working on a body of work, like when I finished Limbo. I was excited to make a song that sounded completely nothing like that. That's what it is for me every time I work on new music after an album releases, I can't make the same music I just did because it doesn't feel fun. When you walk into the studio, it's like walking into a blank canvas. You can do literally whatever you want. You can decide to be a rockstar that day if you want and that part is really exciting — to not know what you're gonna make.

Aminé interacts with fans by the stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

Aminé performing on stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Photo by Gisela Jane, courtesy of Primavera Sound (edited)

TV: You talk about albums like these cohesive units. When you're putting a live show together, how do you make sure there's a balance of the new, the old, and everything in between? How do you find that cohesiveness on stage when the records are different?

Aminé: From a technical standpoint, we're looking at BPMs, like "Familiar" and "Sossaup" feel really good together just next to each other randomly, My DJ MadisonLST, who's really good at BPMs and just DJing period, is the one who's helping me decide most of that things. Half the time it's really hard for me to decide what songs to perform because I have all my favorites but then I know fans have their favorites and you wanna please everybody.

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I'm always trying to balance putting in the new stuff. We did a lot of the new stuff at Primavera. That was our first time doing a lot of the songs so it was nerve-racking but cool and just fun to test out what songs work for shows. It's funny because some tracks that you don't think are good for shows initially, do really well at shows and then it becomes one of your bigger songs because of the tour. Tours always help you decide what kind of songs to make for your next album, too.

TV: Was there a song you performed for the first time at Primavera that you were not sure about and it really hit?

Aminé: Yeah. I didn't know how "Familiar" would feel in front of a festival crowd. I always imagined it to go well but I was nervous about it being the first song and that went well. It was really fun, I saw a bunch of people dancing and jumping around so that that was a good sign to me. That was my first ever performance in Barcelona.

TV: How did it feel?

Aminé: Primavera was way more fun than than I thought it would be. I wasn't on the main stage, so I didn't really know how many people would be showing up for my set but it was packed. There was a kid in the front who said he is my number one fan in Spain and he had a poster from my first mixtape on Soundcloud from, like, 2015. I thought that was really impressive. Like, I believed he was my number one fan in Spain because he knew a deep cut that, clearly, most people in the crowd don't know.

TV: How does it feel when you spot those types of OG fans?

Aminé: That's my favorite. Those are the people I perform for. I feel like those people deserve more of your attention at shows because they've been waiting for years. Sometimes people in the crowd are a little dead, or they're just too cool to really wild out, and if you see that one person wilding out, then that's all I need in order to do a good performance.

Aminé interacts with fans by the stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

Aminé interacts with fans by the stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Aminé for Teen Vogue

TV: Obviously you filled the Primavera crowd in on the fact that your luggage was lost. Was that the Rimowa bag that you got gifted?

Aminé: Dude, yes. I'm so happy you said that because the pain in my heart from this Primavera trip is insane. I've been depressed for two weeks. You don't know what it's like to just have all your clothes gone. All my favorite face washes and sh*t. The things you need to have a start of your good day, you know? I have sensitive skin. If I gotta just buy some sh*t at the random mart, I'm not having a good day. I'm gonna look ashy the rest of the day and I can't be happy.

TV: What are the brands that you use for your skincare?

Aminé: Oh, I'm a bit bougie. [Laughs.] I use a whole La Mer set — toner, moisturizer, face oil… All those things. It's a five-step process that I have and I need because it just makes me feel good, you know? And that was a lot of money lost. I was very depressed about it and it ruined the rest of my trip. Every day I woke up and I looked at my luggage and I was like, “Man, all I got is white tees from H&M and some black pants and that's it.” Every day? I couldn't do it.

TV: You still looked cool, especially backstage with that flannel.

Aminé: I'm so picky and nitty about things that I feel like such a b*tch even saying this out loud but… that flannel looks good, but it doesn't fit me right and that depresses me. Sometimes, it's not even about what you're wearing, it's the way clothes hug your body and make you feel comfortable. I just wasn't comfortable and that was the thing that irritated me.

Aminé performing on stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Photo by Gisela Jane, courtesy of Primavera Sound (edited)

TV: What looks did you have planned if you luggage wasn't lost?

Aminé: Oh, dude! [Winces.] Damn, my stage outfits. Let's just picture this: pink tank top with a casino vintage beach shirt from Miu Miu. It was so good. I found it at a random vintage shop for cheap in LA a week before Primavera and I was so excited to wear it. I also had custom shorts that we designed in there. I am bummed… I just realized those custom shorts were in there too, like now I'm even more f*cked.

TV: That sucks. I'm assuming you never got it back?

Aminé: No, I never got it back. I had a Goyard toiletry case in there too… The suitcase, too. I was so sad. I'm in the middle of a claim right now. My travel agent Carolyn, whom I mention in “Vacay,” she's a boss, she's my favorite godmother, and she's [helping me out with the claim because I] had no clothes on stage.

Aminé performing on stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Photo by Gisela Jane, courtesy of Primavera Sound (edited)AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R5tekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R9tekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe

Aminé performing on stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Photo by Gisela Jane, courtesy of Primavera Sound (edited)

TV: You are going on tour in September. What do you have planned for those performances?

Aminé: A lot. I'm really excited about the stage design that we have. Usually I do this thing where I'm designing almost like playsets, physical items on stage that are all crazy built and 3D, and it looks colorful and takes a lot of time to build. For this go-round, I think I'm retiring that, and I'm trying to do a crazy lighting pack, lasers, video walls, and things like that. I'm just trying to make it feel like you are at a dance party more than you are watching a guy rapping on a stage. I want people to pay attention to my performance, of course, but I also want them to dance. I just want people to have a good time and wear their sunglasses indoors.

TV: When you announced Tour de Dance, some people were mad you didn't have a Portland date, but the Best Day Ever festival dates are the Portland dates.

Aminé: Yeah, those are just people who are dumb.

TV: How do you plan to make those hometown stops even more special?

Aminé: I will perform longer in Portland than I will on any other show. It's not just really about the stage design, even though I can update that stage design and make it bigger and better for Portland. But we are doing special secret surprises at the festival, like collaborations and things that people don't expect to be exclusive to Portland only. We're definitely planning to do something really exciting at the festival.

TV: So the people complaining are gonna eat their words?

Aminé: Yeah. [Laughs.] That's the number one thing I hate about being an artist — you can't satisfy anybody. You're so excited to release tour dates and then half of your comments are people being like, “Bro why didn't you come to Guttentong?” Or some random city in the middle of Germany. I'm just like, “Dude, there's only so many places we can tour.” I'm one man. I've just learned that you can't please everybody.

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I also think a lot of people don't realize how tiring touring is. We're talking about four months of someone's life of being on the road, not seeing their family and friends. You gotta be a little conscientious about that. It's for the people for sure, but like, damn, he's on the road for four months, give him a break, you know?

TV: How do you push through during those months when things get hard?

Aminé: I mean, I'm African, so when you know something is your job, it doesn't matter how depressed you are. [Laughs.] The immigrant [mentality] in you is just like, “Yeah, you have to work.”

For my mental health, I do try to make the tours fun on our days off and do things with our crew where we work out here and there, we go and get breakfast in different cities, and try to have a regular routine of a life as well, even though a tour is not a regular routine at all.

Aminé performing on stage during Primavera Sound Barcelona 2025.

Photo by Gisela Jane, courtesy of Primavera Sound (edited)

TV: You went all out for the merch for this album. At Primavera, you even shouted out two people for having LA-exclusive merch. Why was it important for you to have that much merch for this particular album? Are you gonna bring out even more when you're on tour?

Aminé: Yeah. [Evil laugh.] I literally have a tour design call today for our merch for tour. We're finalizing that. I love making merch and I guess it's what I'm known for, too. I will always go all out for merch because I think merch is boring for most artists. Everything is like a photo of the artist serving and looking cute or whatever on a T-shirt and that's it.

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I would rather people wear Aminé merch with their regular day outfits and treat it like it's a clothing brand. Merch is important, and people don't value it enough sometimes. It's just as important as making music for an album to me. [It's not just] a secondary accessory. It's so much fun seeing it out in the wild, too — the more fun you make the merch, the more you see people wearing it every day on the street. I love recognizing it when I'm somewhere random.

TV: Is there anything else you want the people to know?

Aminé: Man, just put an AirTag in your suitcase. That's all I gotta say. [Laughs.]

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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