Mohalenyane Phakela
PRODUCER and disc spinner Hunky D will, on Monday, release his debut extended play (EP) titled Platform One.
The Mookoli-born house deejay is part of the Entertainment outfit Mindset Music which played host to Swazi disc spinner DJ Peace’s album launch earlier this year. Hunky D started off in 2011 drawing his inspiration from South African heavyweights DJ Fresh and Oskido.
And like most deejays, Hunky D said in an interview this week, he learned how to play using a computer.
“When I started music three years back, I only had a demo version of the beats producing software, Fruity-Loops, which I used to learn my way around production until I got a full version that took me a whole year to master it,” said Hunky D.
“Later on in the same year, I, together with three friends who were also passionate about becoming deejays, formed Mindset Music which to date hosts four annual shows and also intends to form cross-border relations with other artists from countries like Swaziland and Botswana.”
Hunky D has stood out among his peers owing to his versatility, producing different sub-genres of House music such as deep, commercial and electro. His hard-work landed him the slot on popular disc spinner, Sir Schaba’s compilation, Opulance Vol. 1, with his track Got My Eye On You featuring in the track list.
“I have noticed that House, as an independent genre, has a broad international market and it never goes out of style, which is why I fell for it,” he said.
On the EP, Hunky D said he intends to introduce the local market to a “different taste of House music” by fusing Techno with Afro sounds.
It consists of five tracks that he is certain will become club anthems once they hit the market.
Some of the tracks include Its your Life – which advices young girls on making the right choices in life and Imagine the World – which implores people not to give up on their dreams.
“I intend to give fans different versions of House music to show how broad the genre is,” said Hunky D, adding that he intends to collaborate with seasoned musicians like Bhudaza and Stlofa in his next project.
“Once I have made a splash in the market, I will drop a full album which I am eyeing for 2016,” he said.
Hunky D noted that the local music industry is no walk in the park, since it is hard to land gigs, “especially well paying ones”.
Another revenue stream is corporate events, which he said do not happen often. It takes patience, Hunky D opined, to reap the fruits of hard work in the industry.
