Thebe Mabanga South African beatmasters are looking to make a mark on territory traditionally dominated by United Kingdom and Spanish DJs – a club hub that counts Frankie Knuckles and David Morales as virtual resident DJs. For that is what Ibiza is. The clubbers paradise off the Spanish coast is currently experiencing summer madness and for the first time this year, some of the five million tequila guzzlers who descend on the island from all over Europe will get to hear South African DJs in action.
Derek the Bandit, 5fm’s dance DJ, describes the Ibiza experience as an eye-opener. Two weeks ago, he kicked off his Saturday night show from Villa Petunia in Calagarbo, a small town in Ibiza. Thanks to satellite technology, the Bandit was in his trademark topless style -partly because it was hot – and combined it with pre-recorded vox pops and an interview all mixed at the Auckland Park studios. He managed to hop through four clubs in six hours. Most clubs do not open until after midnight and only really get going after three.
His hopping spree included a club called Privilege, where about 6E000 people were crammed into a joint that has a pool in the middle. The Bandit does not seem worried that he could not display his skills to the masses in Ibiza. As he notes, a start has been made – a butt-kicking start at that. The Bandit believes a logical progression for South Africa’s club scene is to integrate audiences, which is why he is dying to collaborate with someone like his neighbour at Metrofm, Glen Lewis. Another DJ who would love to go one-on-one with Lewis is DJ Tira. The 24-year-old Durban native was in Gauteng at the end of last month to compete in the flyweight section of the brilliantly mounted Smirnoff DJ Knockout. He beat crowd favourite Iggy Smallz, who is resident at the Rock’n’Roll Palace in Midrand, to book himself a ticket to Ibiza. Next weekend he flies out to spend a week at the Mecca. During his stay, he will showcase the skill he has been sharpening since his days at the Durban Youth Radio, a campus radio station at the University of Durban- Westville, where he completed his degree. At the DJ knockout, he mesmerised audiences with a very tight 10-minute set that had everything: a thumping bass groove, instrumental variation dominated by drum’n’bass and that all-important female vocal. He spends roughly R1E000 a month on vinyls to keep the set up to date. Tira thinks the nicest thing about being a DJ is the travelling, partying at work and the love from the people. At Ibiza he also hopes to meet some of the people who make the music he plays, including his idol, Paul Johnson of the UK. Tira will not be short of local support. Joining him on the island will be two stalwarts – Vinny Da Vinci and DJ Pepsi – who were among the heavyweights at the Smirnoff event. They will then rock the masses with two gigs at a house joint, Puscha.
Check out the South African version of the Spanish Inquisition.