FUNKY TIME FOR DURBAN TEENS
HEN you’re young, wild and free, having fun is a necessity. So Durban’s under-18s will be glad to know that they can do just that by attending the first ever Cell C Teen Fusion Party on Friday at the Wavehouse at Gateway.
The event, which is said to be the largest under-18 event in Durban’s history, showcases some of South Africa’s hottest artists.
On the bill are Pascal and Pearce, Gangs of Ballet, DJ Funky G, Toya Delazy, 5FM’s Poppy, Young Prince and more.
I caught up with local DJ Funky G to chat about his career and his gig at the coming event.
He welcomes me as I enter his new production company, New School Productions. We settle down in his office as he explains his style of DJing: “It’s mostly house music. I also play other genres as well. But my love lies with house music, mainly deep and funky house.”
Coming from a musical background, he says he began DJing when he was only 14.
“My brother used to be a DJ and my dad’s a singer so I’ve always been exposed to the equipment and the latest music as compared to just listening to music on the radio.”
Having played alongside international acts such as Deadmau5, Avicci, Skrillex and Afrojack, Funky G says his events company is his latest project: “We’re always bringing in international DJs. Also, I no longer play at the weekly events in the clubs and stuff because I try to be more exclusive now.”
Having walked away with the title of SA DJ Championship in 2002, Funky says this was one of the highlights of his career.
“It’s a competition where about over 100 contestants compete for the title. So that definitely was a highlight because that was one of my goals when I started DJing and now it’s 10 years to the day that I started that I won that. I would also like to play more gigs overseas and tour Ibiza. At the moment, because of my background in DJing at competitions, my set-up is still very technical with a lot of tricks and scratching and stuff which a lot of DJs do not do now. I’m very versatile when it comes to music. I can cater for all audiences. The way technology has gone, a lot of the
WDJs now use DJ controllers and stuff like that where you do not have so much control over what you’re doing. There are a lot of flyby-night DJs and people who think they can DJ because they’ve got equipment, and that saturates the market,” he says.
As for his production company, Funky is very involved in teaching music to underprivileged kids: “Our studios are here to teach. It’s actually a DJ and music production where we offer courses and bring in underprivileged kids, to teach them. There are a lot of people out there who have talent but don’t have the resources and exposure to the equipment.
“But so far, the response has been overwhelming.”
Steering the conversation towards the Cell C Teen Fusion Party, the DJ says: “I seldom get to play for under-18s and their style of music is a bit different from what I usually play, so I’m excited. It’s not often that there’s an event that caters for this age group and it’s quite a good line-up because of the diversity.
“And there will be live acts as well as DJs.”
Catch the Cell C Teen Fusion Party at Wavehouse on Friday at Wavehouse. Tickets available at Computicket.