One of Cape Town’s biggest electronic exports, DEAN FUEL is part of South Africa’s DJ elite: boasting a stratospheric career highlighted by intuitive performances that inspire, connect & ignite dancefloors around him.

With roots as a vinyl DJ, he has rocked the top festivals and underground clubs all across Africa and beyond for the past 20+ years, embracing his passion for electronic music, making it a life long pursuit! 

Instinctive and versatile, Dean adds ‘fuel’ to dance floor fire every time -- his distinctive intercontinental fusion of genres has travelled the world: from Cape Town through to far-off destinations including: Dubai, Hong Kong, and Macau, and put him alongside literally the world’s biggest names time and time again.

Collaborative releases on various international labels plus top selling local DJ mixes allowed a rapid rise into the highest ranks of his home country – where he continues to break new ground, especially now as founder and label boss of his own boutique imprint - SMAAK Music - shaping the scene he loves – pushing the message – #LetsGoDancing

Kid Fonque has become a vital part of South African electronic music and club culture over the last 20 years. Uniquely accomplished in both influence and scope, he is an over-achiever in every one of his roles; DJ, Producer Label Owner, promoter and more recently, Radio Presenter.

Firmly established as a tastemaker in South Africa, Kid Fonque’s influence can be felt and heard in the music of the many artists he has helped nurture with his role as label manager of Africa’s seminal dance label Soul Candi Records and now his new venture with Jullian Gomes in their new label Stay True Sounds.

Kid Fonque’s talent is the type that refuses to acknowledge boundaries of any kind – be they genres or borders. The respect he is paid by the industry is a result of his no compromise attitude to playing and making music. Rather than following trends, Kid Fonque has always done things his own way. Importantly, every record he reaches for bares all the hallmarks of the Kid Fonque sound - a golden thread that ties all his sets together somehow. 

Like a painter dabbing his brush into different hues, Fonque’s palette embraces everything from bass and broken beats to bossa nova, hip hop and every shade of house - and with this open-minded approach, he’s been deconstructing dancefloors at home and abroad for well over a decade. Over the last couple years he’s played dates in Hong Kong, Dubai, the UK and Switzerland.

Kid Fonque has just recently started his own radio show called Selective Styles on South Africa’s very own 5FM.  Selective Styles has given Kid the platform to showcase the hidden talent from all over South Africa electronic, house, soul & Hip Hop Community while delving into international releases weekly.

In 2011, Kid Fonque launched his long-running monthly night, #2SIDESOFTHEBEAT as a platform to showcase underground music from all genres at the same venue. Dubstep and house rubs shoulders with hip hop, broken beat and everything in between. Kid Fonque handpicks the line-up which has seen esteemed musos like Dego, King Britt, Swindle, Mala, Nightmares On Wax, Zaki Ibrahim and local stars like Jullian Gomes, Cuebur, Kenzhero and The Brother Moves On all on one stage.

In 2014 Kid Fonque moved into the producer’s chair and released his critically acclaimed debut artist album Kid Fonque and Friends and a string of remixes. 

Two singles from the album “BE”, “Usangikhumbula” and a recent collaboration with D-Malice “All This Time” did serious damage in the charts – all claiming the number 1 spot on the YFM Urban Top 20. His recent studio output has paired him with luminaries like Clara Hill, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Nia Andrews, Jonny Miller,  Kev Brown, Okmalumkoolkat and Atjazz. 

2016 has been music as usual and the year started with a Boiler Room set where he was asked to represent his newfound label ‘Stay True Sounds’ and got to share the platform with label partner Jullian Gomes with a back-to-back set recorded and played in Cape Town’s Langa.

2017 sees plenty of new projects on the horizon for Fonque including a full length collaboration with UK’s D-Malice under the alias rkls due for release on r2 London which features a rich and varied cast of artists including Kev Brown, Melo B Jones, Sio, John Robinson and many more.

Whether he’s behind the decks, running Stay True Sounds, preparing for his weekly radio show or in studio making otherworldly music, Kid Fonque’s sonic adventures continue to fill dance floors and thrill earholes, pay attention!

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Tale Of Us are Berlin-based musical partnership Karm and Matteo who are currently re-writing the rulebook for deeply moving, emotional electronic music.

AJ Tracey is an independent multi-platinum selling artist, instrumental in pioneering the new sound of UK rap. 

His sound has a versatility that extends across grime (‘Thiago Silva’), drill (‘Bringing It Back’) and hip-hop (‘Little More Love’), among other genres. Collaborators have been equally wide-ranging: T-Pain, Kehlani, Skepta, Popcaan, Mabel, Digga D, MoStack, Aitch, Dave, Gorillaz and Mahalia — to name a few. 

AJ’s boundary pushing reignites and reimagines established genres: one example being the triple-platinum single 'Ladbroke Grove,' which sparked a resurgence in the sound that endures to this day.

AJ Tracey's open-minded approach continues to have positive cultural impact and reach a new generation of rap fans. In 2023, he was honoured with the Brits Billion Award, celebrating 1 billion streams in the UK alone. This accolade stands as a testament to his unwavering commitment to pushing artistic boundaries, without compromise.

Pacha Recordings / Strictly Rhythm / In House / Gold Rcrds / King Street Sounds / Tactical Records / Groove On / Hotfingers ...


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