DJ Shannon- One of Cape Town’s most sort-after Fem Dj’s. With skills on the decks, brilliance in her form, a no-nonsense attitude to her work … all complimented by her beauty, great sense of humor and love for all things music, she is on a go-get it train to making people dance land. Hop on!

If you could choose one musician/DJ to collaborate with, who would it be, and what kind of music would you create?

My husband Jonno Sweetman, He’s a mad skilled drummer, I haven’t seen a collaboration with drums and a DJ yet, so I’m very interested in putting something cool together. I would go the swing genre for collaboration like that. I won’t say much more, you gonna have to follow my movements to find out more.

It’s fair to say that DJ-ing is a pretty creative process. What is it that feeds your creativity?

So much! You know that feeling you get when you hear a song for the first time, you don’t quite know if you should scream or laugh, that feeling alone inspires me to get involved. I want to share it with everyone I know, every floor i play at, it reminds me why I’m in this game to begin with, and it makes me want to produce music all day long. And of course hearing musicians perform live is a huge boost for me. I watch quite a lot of jazz bands perform, and the musicality that is performed is something quite special. And at times, silence feeds my creativity, with a clear mind great things can happen.

Out of all your mixes, what is your favourite track and why?

I have the album of royksop on vinyl, id have to say that stands out the most to me at this point, i have’nt played it for quite some time, but i find the vocal incredible and think the production is brilliantly done. But, that is a REALLY tough question, so many good tracks out there!

DJ Shannon – Tech Mix by DJShannonSA

Have you ever experimented with live instruments in your mixes or will you?

I have loads of ideas and plans, i have had other musos’ perform with me live, mostly sax. Iv been wanting to play keys for a long time while mixing, i did sing while performing at opium back in the day, dont think i’ll do that again in a hurry.

You have played at some of the most popular venues in Cape Town. What has been your favourite?

HANDS DOWN Opium! Such great memories and i know people reading this are all agreeing with me! For me it was extra special because it was the very first club i performed at , had a weekly residency, and was brand new to cape town, so i met most of the friends i have today, there. Oh, and i was still playing vinyl back then,and dirty dirty basslines, haha, GOOD TIMES!!

For every musician there’s always a critic. What has been your biggest challenge?

Well, for those who know me, know that if i have an idea, and my heart says yes, i jump in the deepend and make it work. That’s exactly what i did with Djing. The only struggle i found was gaining respect from the guys who had been playing for years. Back then there werent many girl djs, so i found i had to really be constant in who i was for them to respect me and trust me. Now we all mates and it’s rad!So my advice to anyone keen to get involved, is GET INVOLVED, just do it, and do it with a good heart, good intentions and a strong foundation in who you are.

She’s hardworking, spontaneous and ready to share her gift with others. DJ Shannon is definitely worth looking out for and is certainly not done surprising us just yet. Her “dirty bass-lines” will get you pop-grooving until the early hours up on the dance floor. Check her out every Saturday and Sunday at the internationally renowned Moyo in Blouberg.

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INTERVIEW: Sarah Robyn