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This new banging CD contains 12 hot
traxx featuring Thebe, Bruce 'Dope Sebitlo'
Oskido, TC and Stoan (Bongo Maffin).

produced by Bruce 'Dope' Sebitlo and Fistaz
Recorded at Bad News/ / Bass Line Studios
Gallo Manor

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This Weekend: Mali Blues (Cape Town)

This CD is a follow up of DJ Fistaz - It's time CD
(1999) that sold units in excess of 20 000. After 2 years of rocking and rocking hard this CD launches this spring and should be playing
in your stereo as soon as you get your hands on it.

are your speakers turned on ?

Biography

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	When renowned South African DJ, DJ Fistaz, set out to create his own album, he knew that the end product had to be something different from anything currently on the market - and with Something Different, he has more than succeeded. Far from joining the current crush of DJ mix albums, with Something Different Fistaz (real name Fistaz Mixwell) has dug deep into his musical roots and psyche to come up with a slew of tracks that herald the birth of a real musical talent. From the instant Something Different swings into action with the party-track ""Tse Monate", Fistaz and his collaborators - primarily Oscar "The Big O" Mdlongwa, vocalists Khanyo and Thebe and rapper, TC - give notice that here is a highly accessible and listenable dance album that will be relished by straight ahead dance fans, house fans, kwaito fans and more. A brief glance at Fistaz's life tells you that this 25 year old grew up in the North West - in Mmbatho, which has proved something of a musical hotbed (other South African artists who hail from this area include Thebe, Crowded Crew and Stoan from Bongo Maffin and DJs like Glen Lewis and Bob Mabena.) Fistaz says the fact that Mmbatho was part of the Bophuthatswana homeland at the time played a large role in stirring the musical consciousness of the youth. "They were trying to move the youth away from being in the street and away from politics so there were loads of variety and talent shows and we all grew up with music." Growing up in Mmbatho also influenced Fistaz to listen to a broad spread of sounds - a musical upbringing that's compellingly visible on Something Different. Says Fistaz: "When I set about planning this album, I knew that I wanted to do something different and that all my musical loves should come into play. When you walk into a record store usually the only thing you find from a DJ is a compilation, one after another, with many having the same tracks on them. And I believe that South Africans want to hear quality dance music with an intrinsically African sound." That Fistaz has such a thoughtful and considered approach to his sound should not surprise. Here is an individual who, after all, nearly became a civil engineer - he studied at the University of Witwatersrand in 1994 and then moved to the Wits Technikon in 1995. It was in the mid-90s that music began taking over Fistaz' life, causing him to abandon his studies. (He now works as a graphic designer when not creating or mixing music.) Finding the musical scene in Johannesburg really starting to happen and making contact with the likes of Vinnie Da Vinci, Fistaz was soon playing the club scene, earning himself a name as an inventive and intuitive DJ. "I started at the campus radio station at the Technikon, in the mobile studio doing parties and other functions. From there I started getting gigs in big clubs like Da Joint in Yeoville where the whole of Joburg used to go and I would play with Vinnie Da Vinci. Now I play all over the country - in Cape Town and Durban. It's great." Fistaz puts his DJ popularity down to his creativity on the decks. "I try to be as loose and fluid as possible. You cannot plan a set beforehand because you must be able to read a crowd. But I also try to be an educator. If you're a DJ you must do that - you cannot play the same things people see on MTV. I like playing deep sounds and when I do, if people are feeling them, why stop?" Fluid and loose is also how Fistaz approached Something Different - his second album after the gold release, It's Time. Recorded at Bassline Studios (owned by Oscar), it's 12 tracks of pure sonic pleasure. Speaking of his work with Oscar, Fistaz says: "I like his sound, his studio and the way he works. He's very down to earth. I also worked with Bruce (Sebitlo) who I was in a band with when we were growing up. I think their approach fitted well with mine - we wanted a very natural feel throughout the album and have used many live instruments which I think has added greatly to the sound. Throughout the album we've tried to keep things pretty understated and simple. We didn't want to put too many things in and get a complicated sound. We wanted the album to be unpredictable so that you don't know what's coming next." The DJ's love of deep house grooves is on superb display on slamming dance floor tracks, like "Z'Phelile" (featuring Khanyo) and "Fizzys' Groove" - the latter boasting an intelligent smooth jazz vibe sensibility which is not surprising when you consider one of the artists' Fistaz would most like to work with is none other than Jimmy Dludlu. "Buena Vistaz" takes the Latino vibe of the moment to new heights with its lazy-days-of-summer groove that's set to turn this slice of sonic joy into one of summer 2001's hottest numbers. Likely to prove just as tasty this season is the hip-hop inflected "No Party", boasting the lyrical rapping of TC and a bang-on-the-nose gentle rhythm that's just plain enticing. Factor is funked-up, fresh-sounding dance floor tracks like "Wola Ola", "How You Coming", "Midnight Deep" and "Cosmic Science" and you have an album that'll let Fistaz's music take control of you. No doubt.

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