Author: Dumani Moyo

“Power cuts and lockdown restrictions are hitting us big time,” said musician Ciar Diko about the challenges  he and his collaborator DJ Tweelite Webster are facing as local artists during the period of lockdown, which is heavily accompanied by constant power cuts.

“We are currently operating in a situation whereby we cannot generate any income, and due to power cuts, it is difficult to work on music production,” he said. “It is a situation when some people get depressed,” he noted. “However, the lockdown made me more creative and I also managed to grow my social media platform. The sad thing is that all my bookings were cancelled.”

On the other hand, Deep House music producer, DJ Tweelite said he managed to keep his production going on while at home. “I have been working on many projects from home,” he said. “I managed to get in touch with a lot of artists from local and overseas. I am currently working with Beverly Jainely and Shaz Deep.”

Inspired by Black Coffee, DJ Tweelite has been working with quite a number of artists from countries like Australia and Finland. He said he is hoping to work on a big project with Ciar Diko.

“I like Ciar Diko and he has a very good voice,” he noted. “He has a very good, growing fan base, and I think we can come up with something that can be pushed locally and internationally.”

The duo said that despite the challenges of the lockdown and power cuts, they are ready to start their project as soon as possible.

DJ Shaz Deep is a rising force in the underground scene, best known for her creativity as a producer and her skills behind the decks.

Born Thabisile Sharon Mthombeni, DJ Shaz Deep was raised in Siyabuswa village, KwaNdebele in Mpumalanga province. The 24-year-old started DJing at the age of 16.

“I developed a love for music at an early age,” she said. “My brother is a DJ, and he used to go with me whenever he was performing in the township events. I could learn a lot from him in terms of being a DJ.”

Being a DJ is nice, but hard for a teenage girl, she said. “At first, it was not easy for me because I was very young to perform in the clubs, especially at night. It was also not easy to become a licensed young, female DJ.”

In 2015, DJ Shaz Deep began to produce music, mainly focusing on Afro-House and Deep House music. Being a female music producer is very challenging, she said.

“Men usually take advantage of women in the music industry,” Shaz Deep said. “It takes a lot of passion and hard work to survive as a female producer. It is really challenging. I would like to encourage other upcoming female musicians to stick to their passion, instead of sleeping with men in order to make it in the music industry. We have to fight hard as female artists because men look down on us.”

 DJ Shaz Deep has performed live on Eyethu FM and SABC’S Ligwalagwa FM. She said she got inspired by Black Coffee. She recently released her EP titled Queen of The Ocean with five Deep House songs.