DJ Travisto has best of both worlds
Nerdy boy threw books away for music and to be in that ‘happy place’ over the air
HE’S cemented his status as a household name on the South African music scene. And he’s fast-becoming a well-known international DJ, too, having played sets poolside in Ibiza, as well as gigs in Mozambique and Namibia.
Travers Solomon – better known to his fans as DJ Travisto is a radio producer by day and a music DJ by night.
The 46-year-old resident DJ at the weekly Sundowner session at the Southern Sun Hyde Park Sandton says he now calls Jozi home, although his roots are still firmly rooted in Cape Town.
Growing up in Mitchells Plain, Travisto attended Parkhurst Primary and then West Ridge High school. He describes his teenage-self as a bookworm with a keen interest in sport.
“I was the nerdy boy always with his nose in a book, but I also tried my hand at a lot of sports – athletics, soccer, volleyball, squash, and my favourite, baseball.”
His love affair with music started when he was young. “My parents’ love for music played a key role in my development. As a child I loved to record music from the radio and make mixed tapes to play back on my tape recorder.
“My dad’s excellent jazz and pop record collection had a solid impact on my taste in music. Disco, pop, jazz and later house would always be my happy place.”
And that “happy place” Travisto speaks so fondly of now manifests itself in a live set online every Friday at 1pm.
“Last year on a whim I decided to live-stream one of my practice sessions from the studio (on Facebook live). I should have been working, but felt the strong urge to play music, so I hashtagged the session, #FuggitDrukanommer.”
Since then, Travisto’s become an internet sensation. His audience has grown from a handful of friends to thousands tuning in live every week, with several thousands more replaying the set later.
He gets responses from fans as far afield as South-East Asia, the Middle East, Australia, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.
The Eye Radio, an online radio portal, heard the broadcast and approached him to stream on their platform.
“The show has a unique interactive audience and it’s a highlight of my week because I play the music I love for people who are very involved and appreciative.”
When Independent Media visited Travisto’s Joburg studio during one of his recent mix sessions, the DJ danced non-stop throughout his set, and sent shout-outs to most of his listeners and viewers who comment on his Facebook feed.
Seeing his love for music, it’s difficult to believe that initially Travisto never gave music or radio a second-thought as a career. “Music never seemed like a viable career choice. Because of my love for books, I went on to study English at UCT with the plan to become a high school English teacher.
“Fate of course had other plans for me. In my third-year at varsity I signed up at UCT Radio and this changed my trajectory. I met people there who would go on to be lifelong friends and shape my career path.”
Travisto soon dropped out of his course and then volunteered his time at community radio stations like CTFM and Peace FM, before landing a job at the iconic Spaced Out Sound Studios in Zonnebloem.
“I worked under the owner, Tully McCully, as his engineering assistant and learnt how to operate the gear and edit audio. I also got valuable lessons in how to not take s**t from advertising people.”
He re-enrolled at UCT in 1995 and finished his degree with a teaching diploma – all while “on the job”.
“I knew, however, that teaching wasn’t on the cards for me and the studio was my future.”
In the late 1990s, Travisto started a freelance stint at the biggest radio station in the Cape at the time – GoodHope FM.
In 2000, the opportunity to join popular Joburg youth radio station, YFM, came knocking. The offer was too good to pass up and the DJ soon packed up his stuff and moved to Gauteng.
“This was a seminal time, as I got to work with DJs like Fresh, Khabzela and Bad Boy T.
“YFM in the early 2000s was an incredibly creative place to be and my work space was situated directly outside the live studio. Bands like Boom Shaka, Bongo Maffin and artists like Brenda Fassie and Vinni da Vinci were regular passers-by. I was in awe on the daily.”
Three years later, Travisto was on the move again, this time back to the Mother City to become the full-time station producer at GoodHope FM.
In 2006, he returned to Jozi to work at national radio station 5FM, as producer of DJ Fresh’s afternoon show, The Fresh Drive.
Since then Travisto has had his hand in the production of some of the biggest radio shows in the country – on both 5FM and Metro FM. “I’ve worked with serious radio talent including Fresh, Roger Goode, Glenn Lewis, Unathi, Catherine Grenfell and most recently, Thando Thabete.”
Travisto’s work day starts when most of us are still (sound) asleep.
“I’m in studio by 4am to work on Metro FM’s Fresh Breakfast, which runs from 5 to 8am weekdays. I ingest coffee intravenously while I prepare for the show and produce audio packages while the show is on air.”
A quick breakfast break at about 9am after putting the show’s podcasts online, is followed by preparation for 5FM’s Thabooty Drive show from 3 to 6pm. Then Travisto heads home for family time where “I’m usually droopyeyed at the supper table.” He’s in bed by 8.30pm.
Travisto is married and has two children, Ela, 8, and Leo, 6. He admits balancing work and family is a “juggling act”. “But we manage to keep the balls in the air. My wife handles the school run in the morning and I operate daddy’s Uber in the afternoon.”
Talking about his job gets Travisto excited, and he speaks of his colleagues with high regard. “Fresh and I have shared some of the best times anybody could hope to have at work. He’s pushing hard on this new platform with the team on Metro FM, which means I’m sprinting between studios to get things to air on time and sounding hot. It’s rejuvenated my love for what I do.
“Thando Thabete and her crew of young talent on the Thabooty Drive are the future of radio in SA. They make me grateful to be doing the creative work I love.”
As for f uture p l a n s, T r av i s t o remains tight-lipped. “Some innovative stuff with the show on The Eye Radio in the not too distant future, but I can’t say too much about that till plans are finalised. I’m well excited to do some international travelling with my family later this year.”
Travisto will be back in Cape Town on June 3 doing what he loves most – playing house music for a crowd. He is the headline act at an event Daghood at the River Club in Mowbray.