A Moment With dj Sphectacula

Currently one of the prominent club and radio DJs in South Africa, Siphesihle Ngwenya best known as SPHEctacula, has for the past few years been going all out to make a name for himself as a DJ and radio announcer.

Currently hosting The Pre-party on Metro FM, SPHE as he is famously known, has worked his way up from working in campus radio to organising his own parties.
All the hard work he has put in has paid off and today this artist is a force to be reckoned with.
There is no doubt that SPHE is someone who is forever reinventing himself and using whatever he has at his disposal to push his brand.

This week we chat to the DJ about his love for music, the opportunities that are available for DJs and his radio show.

Before we get all serious, why is your name spelt SPHEctacula?

Before we get all serious, why is your name spelt SPHEctacula?
The name that my parents gave me is Siphesihle and that (shortened) is SPHE. So it’s a clever play on the word ‘spectacular’.

So, how exactly did you jump-start your radio and dee-jaying career?

So, how exactly did you jump-start your radio and dee-jaying career?
The day I chose to go to varsity at Wits University instead of UKZN, really. A brief outline of that phase in my life is: Campus Radio, Mobile DJ Unit and then setting up the Wits DJ Society with some like-minded mavericks.

It looks like you had a plan in place to go into radio so you could push your DJ career, is that correct?

It looks like you had a plan in place to go into radio so you could push your DJ career, is that correct?
I fell in love with radio back in my primary school days and I understood then the interpretation of the medium as a ‘theatre of the mind’. That power and ability to stoke a view in each individual person’s mind off just what you say still amazes me to this day. I didn’t know then that I wanted to be a DJ one day so I’m happy that the two have fed each other’s success, but I’m definitely more a radio boy than a DJ and if I had to choose, I’d choose radio any day.

Ok, so what was the strategy you used to break into the national platform as a radio personality and DJ?

Ok, so what was the strategy you used to break into the national platform as a radio personality and DJ?
Very simple, I worked hard on making sure that my credibility and word could never be questioned and that I was very well informed about the happenings in my industry. I made myself and my brand invaluable, as a one-stop solution for many queries about the industry, to a lot of different people on my way to where I wanted to get to. You wanted the contact details for the marketing manager of wherever, you called me.

The title of the hot hip hop, house, or kwaito song that played on radio that morning, you called me. The booking number for whichever DJ or band, you called me. (It meant) I was also always in the know, so that kind of helps when you’re planning your own strategy.

Impressive! Besides waiting for someone to book you, you are very active in organising your own events. How does that help you as a spinner?

Impressive! Besides waiting for someone to book you, you are very active in organising your own events. How does that help you as a spinner?

I have always believed that no one can create as much hype about you as yourself and if you’re still up and coming, no-one will book you to play a main set surrounded by the country’s finest talents but yourself. So doing your own events is a great platform to showcase what you can do and also make some noise about your brand via the reaches of the brands you associate yourself with. Good feedback will always reach the right ears.

Now, let’s talk a bit about your deejaying career; what kind of music do you play and why?

Now, let’s talk a bit about your deejaying career; what kind of music do you play and why?
I am a versatile DJ who plays various genres and that is primarily because I like all those genres and I don’t see why I have to choose one. This also means I can fit into any line-up because I have made sure I stay up to date with all those genres which is not easy, trust me.

How did you find your feet within the music you play?

How did you find your feet within the music you play?
I’m my own toughest critic so I’m constantly changing the way (I play) and what I play to avoid boring myself, and ultimately my audience, to death. So I’m in a perpetual state of personalising what I play so that you end up only hearing certain things from me and the way they are played.

How do you select music to play for all the parties you get booked for?

How do you select music to play for all the parties you get booked for?
With my national platform and my versatility, each gig is vastly different from the next most of the time because of the locations, so being on Serato helps and works for me because I have about 100 gigs of music on me at any one point and my cataloguing on there is up to date and on point. Add lengthy experience to that and it kinda makes it hard to not ALWAYS be prepared then because I have probably come across that kind of crowd before, so I start messing about in the appropriate crate with a little uniqueness here and there.

Nice! How important is it for a DJ to befriend other prominent DJs in the game and how do such relationships help one’s career?

Nice! How important is it for a DJ to befriend other prominent DJs in the game and how do such relationships help one’s career?
VERY VERY important. Networking results in a bigger music sampling and information pool and this is extremely critical when the music is still at its exclusive stages. Not to mention keeping yourself in the loop with industry happenings, having access to big DJ brands for your own events at discounted prices due to the warmth of the relationships, benefitting from peer recommendations for bookings and campaigns when they are not available and also the mutually beneficial access to each other’s social platform reach.

The industry is starting to be overcrowded with DJs, what do you do to keep your brand fresh and relevant?

The industry is starting to be overcrowded with DJs, what do you do to keep your brand fresh and relevant?
I treat what I do like a business and a brand so there are certain strategies in place to make sure the buzz around my brand remains relevant and keeps making sense, even away from the decks. Consistently evolving myself in other mediums also helps to keep me fresh, plus the pressure from the influx of new talent keeps me working hard to stand out.

As one of the DJs on the national platform, what’s your definition of a ‘good DJ’?

As one of the DJs on the national platform, what’s your definition of a ‘good DJ’?
An element of the evening’s proceedings that plays his role to such a great extent that a patron who attended feels like it was worth their time, worth their money, was something that they feel the need to positively feedback about to other people and most importantly, something that they can’t wait to come back to.

How important is it for you to always have new music in your deejaying bag?

How important is it for you to always have new music in your deejaying bag?
It’s important because you never know when you might need it. A DJ’s Mecca is that part of a set in an amazing vibe when you switch to playing whatever you want and the crowd keeps lapping it up until the early hours of the morning.

Technology-wise, the virtual DJ seems to be slowly but surely becoming a monster; what equipment do you use?

Technology-wise, the virtual DJ seems to be slowly but surely becoming a monster; what equipment do you use?
The virtual DJ is already the next generation of deejaying, so if you’re still on CD then your career will stay in that generation too. RIP to it!

Hahaha! Ok, and keeping up with latest deejaying trends?

Hahaha! Ok, and keeping up with latest deejaying trends?
Yes, definitely. Keeping tabs on this means you’re never surprised by new happenings in your industry and you stay at the forefront of the innovation.

Do you feel there are enough platforms for local talents to grab besides relying on DJing?

Do you feel there are enough platforms for local talents to grab besides relying on DJing?
Yes, definitely. It takes a whole lot of people to keep that one guy deejaying at an event. Find out what they are and maybe your true passion might lie in one of those. Not everyone will crack it as a DJ.

Fair enough. Lastly, what role does your Metro FM weekend slot play in your deejaying career?

Fair enough. Lastly, what role does your Metro FM weekend slot play in your deejaying career?
It’s actually more the other way around: the deejaying career gives the opportunity for my listeners to hear what I do live and interact with them personally at events.
Source: MIO

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