katz Beats&Bass

Katz and I first met back in 2014 at Solanis Shisanyama while we were both there to DJ. We became friends and kept in touch over the years. I was based in Pretoria at the time, and whenever I came back home to visit, we would reunite and play. In 2017, Katz and Jazzinsoul formed the Beats & Bass Podcast, a platform to share music-to-music lovers. They invited me to make a Guestmix for Show 4, and within the same year, I featured on their Show 7.

At the time, I had my own Podcast called Deep House Sessions. August 2017 I decided to join their movement as an active member. It was an easy decision for one to make because they had a much better following in the kingdom than I did. Secondly, I felt like we shared a similar vision and ambition music wise. Lastly, we have a similar music taste, so it made perfect sense to work together. In 2018, we started working as a duo, Katz and I. We have never looked back ever since.

What are currently your main challenges as a DJ?

I would say not being able to play frequently is a major setback. Not only because of the current COVID-19 situation, just in general. As we grow older, we have more responsibilities to focus on and being a DJ ends up being the least of your priorities. In addition, doing so ends up limiting your growth while your peers progress in harnessing and perfecting their skills. Making an investment to buying your own equipment to practice with at home would be ideal, but a good set up is excessively pricey. The non-paying gigs are not helping the situation as well, so one needs to find a balance that works well for him/her to stay afloat.

What do you usually start with when preparing for a set?

It all comes from listening to a lot of music from my own collection and wish list in order to understand the current sound in the market. I spend days listening to a wide variety of music, and as soon as I get the sound I want to portray, I then populate a list of what I might use. Some tracks do not make the list simply because they do not tell the story I want tell on that particular day. I am a firm believer in giving people a great new musically experience. Therefore, in my spare time, I search for new music for the show and compile for later usage when called upon to deliver. - Nusoulhub Radio