Charismatic, captivating and magnetic Thato “DJ Fresh” Sikwane, is one of SA’s most recognised energetic and dynamic voices of Radio.

DJ Fresh boasts a diversity of talents that have seen him making major waves in the South African entertainment industry for over 30years. He is a sought-after television personality, popular social media sensation, and prolific radio and international club DJ.

Born in Botswana, Fresh discovered his love for music at the age of 13 where he deejayed at Boarding School. He then went on to do his first radio show in 1992 on Botswana’s RB2. His passion for the entertainment industry then led to him leaving his law studies to pursue Media studies and Journalism full time in 1994. 

In 1997, Fresh joined regional station YFM – where he coined the term Yona Ke Yona - at its inception as the host to the afternoon drive, later switching to the breakfast drive in 2003. In a big and bold move, Fresh joined national radio station 5FM in 2006. This move solidified Fresh as one of the Biggest radio personalities in SA to date with a massive crossover and cross border audience. And now, in a shock move, Metro FM welcomed DJ Fresh onto the urban radio station as host of the breakfast show.

Throughout his entertainment career, his love of house music has pushed boundaries and led to the release of numerous classic albums including the popular “Fresh House Flava” series – which have been highly instrumental in the consumption of House music throughout South Africa. He has also been a lead influence on launching some of SA’s household DJ such as Euphonik; Cleo; Kent; Sbu; Monde; Ryan The DJ; Dino Bravo etc. 

His electrifying ability to mix house music has landed Fresh on International stages throughout Johannesburg, Miami, London, Cape Town, Moscow, Brisbane, Ibiza, Leeds, Durban, Gaborone, Birmingham, Dubai, Montreal and Melbourne where he shared the DJ booth with “Little Louie” Vega, Armand Van Helden, Oskido, Jazzy Jeff, Ready D, Vinny Da Vinci, Christos, Gregory, Black Coffee, Kshmr, David Guetta, DJ Snake, Dash Berlin, Headhunterz and Martin Garrix. 

Unafraid to always reinvent the game it is no wonder that Fresh has been able to branch out into various projects aligned with the entertainment industry and build a successful business structure under his name. As a multi-faceted personality, Fresh has efficaciously run his own company Big Dawg Productions; partnered with Euphonik to create the mega brand property F.Eu; and formed part of a collective of DJ’s, producers, media personality and musicians called DJU. Inspired by international conferences such as The Miami Winter Music Conference, DJU established the Southern African Music Conference in 2005 which held crucial talks for deejays and producers and DJs - it is a critical platform for Southern African dance music industry practitioners to keep pace with, and eventually lead global developments.

Apart from his contagious laugh being heard on radio and being seen on international stages, Fresh also lends his entertainment expertise to reality talent Show – SA’s Got Talent as a trusted Judge.
His loyal fans have continued to grow into the millions on radio and TV; and have followed his every career move. More so, fans have revelled in excitement as The Big Dawg announced his major move to Metro FM as host of the Fresh Breakfast this year. 

It is not surprising that DJ Fresh is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon as his career continues to grow at an exponential rate. Be sure to tune into Metro FM for the Fresh Breakfast every Monday – Friday from 5am-8am as Fresh and his dynamic team continue to entertain, break down boundaries and bring South Africans together.

In a dark kitchen in the middle of a sweaty night in Las Vegas, all 6’4” of Dan Reynolds is hunched over a laptop, slapping beats on the table and crooning lyrics into a tiny microphone. Before long, he and the other three members of indie rock band Imagine Dragons would be playing “It’s Time,” that same laptop-demo-turned-supersized-anthem, from the roof of a parking garage to a wave of thousands of screaming fans. This song title to the single from their 2012 debut KidInaKorner/Interscope release “Continued Silence EP” is an all too apt descriptor of the band’s hard-earned success—but it’s also emblematic of the deep-seated anxiety Reynolds and the rest of the band experienced leaving behind any realistic expectation of a normal job to do the thing they love most.

A third-generation Las Vegas native, Reynolds is no stranger to the adage “the house always wins,” choosing to pave his musical career with a near obsessive work ethic and hundreds of unused demos rather than roll the dice with the first songs that sprung from his mouth. It’s no surprise, then, that he was drawn to guitarist Wayne Sermon, another founding member of Imagine Dragons. Having practically grown up in a recording studio and graduated Berklee College of Music, Wayne had been practicing his guitar through meals and other socially inappropriate situations as long as he could remember; he challenged Dan in a way that was both uncomfortable and exactly what they both needed. When they began writing songs together and recognized something special was happening, Wayne called up his Berklee friend Ben McKee, who promptly dropped out of school with only a few credits left, moving across the country to play bass for the band. This sort of reckless/genius behavior is typical for Ben, who has an uncanny penchant for spicy food and a suitcase full of unbelievable road stories. More recently, the band was joined by drummer Daniel Platzman, another Bostonian schoolmate who seems way too nice to be playing rock and roll until you actually see him in action.

Several tours and three self-released EPs later, Imagine Dragons had made a serious name for itself, particularly in the west coast circuit. Although their songs vary from nearly whimsical and light to brooding and powerful, listeners are drawn to the inherent honesty in the music. The only rule of thumb for the band, it seems, is to write from a true place; the result is songs that literally run the spectrum of human emotion. Attend a concert, and it becomes clear that the live performance of deeply personal songs has a real effect on people. And the band itself is not immune, as demonstrated when Dan literally passed out into the drum set during a finale song, sending cymbals and drum stands crashing while the rest of the band played on until the close.

Great songwriting is bound to be noticed eventually. As proof that the harder you work, the luckier you get, one of those people who noticed was Grammy winning producer Alex da Kid (Eminem, Rihanna). Alex and Dan began collaborating on projects, and soon the band had developed a relationship with Alex and his team. The alchemy resulting from Alex’s hip hop sensibilities and Imagine Dragons’ anthemic rock is nothing short of explosive. The byproduct of this creative collision is “Continued Silence,” a six song in-your-face sonic grenade that breaks musical boundaries and yet is strangely relatable by its improbably diverse audience.

Despite it all, on any given day when they aren’t on the road playing shows, you can still find Imagine Dragons huddled away in a rehearsal room somewhere, banging out song after song in search of the next perfect track. Like most things in Vegas, the band is angled at going big or going bust. For the sake of those who love great music, we hope it’s the former.

Euphoria (Nicky Romero Remix) out now!
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I make music, play instruments and my dog gets all the shine ✨
Label || Protocol Recordings
Radio Show || Protocol Radio

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Where to Start is out now.
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Jason Capper 2 is following