Craig De Sousa presently finds himself amongst Cape Town’s top 5 djs, nominee for dj of the year in SA City Life Magazine. His delectable mix of ‘percussive funk’ can be best described as organic sounds with interesting changes. He has been able to carve himself a niche within the ever-growing ‘deep house’ scene in Cape Town.
The Early Years
To answer the question of whom this Cape Town boy really is, one needs to examine his roots in Johannesburg. Craig’s first dj gigs were at venues ‘15th Precinct’ & ‘Insomnia’. From here he was able to take it a step further and join forces with Shayne Manne, Ryan Dent, Tim Smith and Gareth Wharton with a series of parties called ‘House Connection’. The first ‘Kinky Friday’, consisted of a 16k rig, intelligent lighting, an industrial warehouse and 150 friends, hey it was the beginning! The second and third parties grew by reputation and are recognised today as the springboard for their djs success. Everyone has to pay his or her dues in Cape Town and Craig was no different. The first venues where he played consisted of the ‘Piano Lounge’ (Castle St), ‘81 Deli’ and ‘The Gallery’. Then came the big break. Craig was able to show his ability at one of Cape Town’s foremost parties, ‘The Kimono Affair’. To quote a punter," Craig tore the arse out of the chicken that night." Then came his debut at the Function and the rest as they say is history.
The ‘deep house’ scene in Cape Town
" Craig has held residencies at most of Cape Town’s house clubs. Sutra (2002- Present) The all-new #1 nightspot in the city bowl has taken Cape Town nightlife to the next level. Craig project managed the development phase and presently is daytime general manager. This means, of course that he gets to play many sets there at night. MORE (2000- 2002) R.I.P. one of Cape Towns top Deep House clubs. Foo Funk resident for 2002. A regular at Cape Town’s Gurnie award winning house club, featuring at Jeff K Global Groove, Classic, funk Deluxe, Disco Babies, Rock in da House, Merge and the hugely successful, Spy vs. Spy. His style of music is well at home at MORE. Fez (1998 – Present) In the early days the Fez is where Craig was able to explore his love of French house where influences include the likes of Bob Sinclair, Daft Punk as well as Cassius. Craig was able to demonstrate his versatility by not being boxed in by the constraints of the scene at the time, so doing popularising the French House sound. He has represented the Fez best playing at their Famous Street Parties an honour bestowed upon very few. Beat Boutique (2001- 2002) Wednesday night resident carving up raw funk. Lets not forget the infamous Essential Mix sets tearing up the floor with tech funk. Club Soda (1999- 2000) Not content to play for other promoters and club owners, the next step was taken, along with partners Ryan Dent, Tim Smith & Nic Conradie. The creation was Club Soda. Craig’s involvement was diverse ranging from plastering skills to marketing and of course DJ-ing. The skills gained have enabled to Craig to see the scene from a broad perspective. Funktion (1998) The legendary house club, which still has many clubs trying to emulate its success. Craig started off playing on Saturday afternoons and progressed to playing with residents Gareth Wharton & Ryan Dent. Rhythm Divine (1998- 2001) Starting off with Kimono Affair, the crowd at Rhythm has always responded well to Craig’s energetic performances. A regular with Sleaze Syndicate’s Essential Mix and appearing regularly at Rocket & Paradise Garage parties. The loft (1997- 1998) Guest appearances with Ryan Dent & Ryan Eber on their Friday night slot. Baraza (2000- 2002) Sunday sunset Ibiza style with Camps bay as the setting. A weekly resident showing his versatility to play the deeper side to House. Jet Lounge/ Baseline (1999- present), Moomba (2000) Chilli ’n Lime (1999-present) Resident at the hugely popular Hip-Hop vs. House parties. The Lounge (2000- 2001) A stalwart in Cape Town’s nightlife Craig was a resident at “Monday Night Madness” in late 2000 & 2001. Onverklaar Bar Hermanus (1999- present)/ Aquafunk 5-hour epic sets where the underground is still alive. The Lab (2002- 2002) Thursday night resident back to back with Shayne Manne exploring the live sessions. " Cape Town parties are a critical part of the house scene and give rise to the underground." Foo Funk Resident 2001- present The most energetic parties in the scene to date, with quality production by Mo Funk Productions. Even the most reserved punter will be caught with hands in the air releasing cries of joy. Vinyl Frontiers Earth & Saturn 4 Deck Mixing. A true test of technical abilities on display with 4 turntables @ Club MORE. Believe Resident Craig plays at every one of these events held every month at the famous Bijou in Observatory. In true underground House style. Spy vs. Spy Resident True back to back style all night with only 2 djs. Tripsonic Resident 2001/ 2002 The famous Peter Stuyvesant house parties over the season in true style. Keep It Real & Double Happiness Voyage & Life @ Bardeli Synergy New Years 1999/2000 , 2000/2001 & 2001/2002 Future Sounds of Cape Town Essential Mix Gurnie award winning club night 2001The future
Not just happy playing other people’s music, Craig has taken the next logical step. At present he is learning the “ins and outs” of producing. Craig hopes to do his first live performance this year as well as releasing a couple of tracks on Platform Recordings. His remix work is impeccable. Watch out for his remix of Reds Angle & “Steady On by Mood Phase 5.” His mix compilation release on U.S.M. “The Deeper Sound of Craig De Sousa” includes his own release “The One”. He has just returned from a short European tour including London and Paris and will return in June this year. The next year holds lots of promise for Craig; with the various contacts he’s made this will hopefully translate into more opportunities in this hard industry.
Discography Singles: The One Juice Grand South Point Your Finger To the Ceiling Compilations: The Deeper Sounds Of Craig De Sousa Remixes: Redds Angel- She’s The One- Cherry Dipped Moodphase5- Steady On- Dipped Chocolate Career highlights to date Awards: Nomination for best dj 2000 S.A. City Life Gurnie Nomination for best Deep House dj 2001 Support International djs:- Deep Dish
- Jeff K
- Cyril K
- Tim Paris
- Troublemen
- Drop Music
- Roberto Mello
- Filippo ‘Naughty’ Moscatello (TBC)
- Murray Richardson
- Stuart Patterson
- Carl Cox
- Phat Phil Cooper
- Judge Jules
- Gigging experience
- South African Residency’s Craig has had residency’s at most house clubs in and around South Africa. Giving him the opportunity to play his music to fans around SA. * Cape Town* • Deluxe, Opium, Ignite, Sutra, The Funktion and MORE Johannesburg • Liquid Lounge, Natural Groove, Groove Bar, Sutra, H2O, Carfax, Sudada, 115, Aruba and 206 Pretoria • Co Fi, Sweet Sessions and Automatic Durban • Tilt, Delasol, Pop Art, Skyy Bar, Raffles, Zeta Bar, Panama Room and Monkey Bar Port Elizabeth • 52 Parliament, Gondwana, After Party & Tarantino’s East London • Funkey Monkey, The Deck, Highlanders and Buccaneers Grahamstown • The Suite and Equilibrium Plettenburg Bay • V.I.P., Flashbacks and The Lounge Knysna • Stones, Zanzibar and Oyster Catcher St. Francis • The Cellar & The Workshop Pietermaritzburg • 9 Bar and Mur Mur * Supported International Acts:* Craig has supported international acts such as Deep Dish, Jeff K & Tim Paris from Silver Network, Cyril K from Dialect, Bruno Banner & Dj Fudge (Troublemen), Andy Riley & Laurence Ritchie from Drop Music, Roberto Mello from Classic, Ralph Lawson & Murray Richardson from 2020 Vision, DJ Yellow from Africanism, Darshan from Metro Area, Kaskade, Troydon, Inland Nights and many more. Iridium project Iridium Project was born in 2001 when Mario Parmeggiani and Nick Matthews met at a record shop in Bree Street, Cape Town. After a couple of meetings Mario decided that Nick and him should play a gig at one of Cape Town’s more up-market clubs, Rhodes House. On the night of the gig Mario introduced Nick to a very talented musician by the name of Riccardo Moretti and the three seamlessly worked together as a dance floor hit. When 2003 dawned Iridium had started producing their first tracks and laid down the initial concepts for their first album, Stroboscope. Lu Chase was invited to sing vocals and they produced their first single “Smoke & Fly”. Her strong performance both in the booth and on stage enveloped her into what was becoming a frequently requested act at club gigs around Cape Town. By summer the project had performed at numerous private functions between Clifton and Johannesburg In 2004 the project got its first taste of a big stage when they were chosen as the warm-up act at one of The Springbok Nude Girl’s live performances. Many hours of attention were focused in the studio and the second single “Smoke & Fly” was released to high acclaim on local radio stations. The single was included in compilations such as Platform and The Nightwatchmen. 2005 was a very constructive year with the addition of bass player ‘The Passion’. Together the act started playing regular shows at Opium nightclub and an alter ego midweek gig called the Magic Carpet Ride at venue by the name of Strega. The music grew its own shape diriving from elements of Funk, Soul and Blues. The result was a series of incredible live jam sessions that featured many excellent musicians. By 2006 the group recorded more new material and released a couple of singles and a compilation . "Sequenced Funk", the projects second single, charted on South Africa's 5FM reaching #6. Iridium also featured as a support act for Fat Boy Slim and The Stereo MC's and traveled frequently to Durban where their name spread.Near the end of that year the group asked their good friend and one of South Africa's top D.J.'s, Craig de Sousa, to join the project. 2007. The projects most successful year to date. A motivated crew planned rehearsals and recording sessions, Craig flexed his studio muscle and the first result proved to be the groups third hit single, "Lu's Control" which also charted on 5FM. They performed with new featured artists and new toys at many high profile events to packed dancefloors such as the Durban A1 GP and July. Iridium Project's debut album, Stroboscope hit the shelves just in time for christmas and saw the culmination of a 4 year journey with many friendships made along the way. Sous Man - Craig De Sousa
No comments:
Post a Comment