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.

I am neither afraid of showing my emotions nor to include them in my music - Stimming

Few people bring a truly original sound to house music. At a relatively young age, Hamburgs Martin Stimming did just that, demonstrating a sophisticated yet accessible sound that is beyond his years.

Two years after hooking up with Solomuns Diynamic Music, his 2008 breakthrough hit Una Pena made the electronic world sit up and take notice, and before long acclaimed labels like Freerange, liebe*detail, Buzzin´ Fly, Green and Poker Flat were snapping up his work. 2009 saw him release his immaculate debut album Reflections to great acclaim, cementing his reputation as one of the most exciting new producers of his generation. 

His second album, Liquorice, eschews the normal kick-clap/snare template by and large to explore more interesting and progressive territories, but always with that trademark magpie-like sense of texture, emotion and discovery. 

His productions are filled with a multitude of his own unique, charismatic field recordings, and he never uses the same sample more than once. 

2010 saw him pick up an award for Best Newcomer at the Ibiza DJ Awards, following on from his live show (Stimming does not DJ) stunning the crowds at the islands legendary Pacha, and the finest danceries around the world Πfrom Berlins Panoramabar to Sao Paulo´s D-Edge, Brussels Fuse, London´s fabric and Paris Rex, and plenty more beyond. 

Remixes for the likes of Sascha Funke, Claude VonStroke, Deadmau5, Stephan Bodzin and Tom Novy to name but a few have further spread his influence amongst the discerning house and tech community, and cemented his reputation as one of the scene´s most exceptional producers.

Clearly, Martin Stimming is a precious talent indeed. But then again, not everyone loves liquorice...

Social Studies 
 is Natalia Rogovin, Michael Jirkovsky, Jesse Hudson, Benjamin McClintock, and Tom Smith.

www.facebook.com/socialstudies101
North American Booking: Philip Barrett/AMG 
philip@atomicmusicgroup.com 

Keshav Bat Shield Ramsamy is following