DJ Octopuz leads the way

Cutting edge sounds … DJ Octopuz is a local producer who is on the pulse of deep house music.

E’khayeni Pub & Grill’s resident DJ and house producer Mojalefa ‘DJ Octopuz’ Tsotetsi is a self-taught and much sought-after musical genius that has mastered the art of producing internationally recognised songs and remixes.

He scratches up the decks at E’khayeni over the weekends, while on weekdays he can be found at his studio creating his deep house beats.

According to DJ Octopuz, he believes in doing his homework and has a treasured collection of house material which he houses in his studio.

This talented producer was born and bred in Bloemfontein and completed a Business Management course at the University of the Free State’s South Campus.

DJ Octopuz’ passion for house music emerged at an early age when his brother would collect tapes and play them to him.
“I wanted to know how to recreate the beats I heard.”

Back in high school, DJ Octopuz called himself Dope Dazzy but realised the name had a hip hop slant to it and opted for something that would have an impact on the house scene. The name Octopuz was inspired by his fascination with the animal.

“I was going through names and I was fascinated by this sea creature that captivated me. While watching it on television, they were explaining how intelligent this animal was, and I realised I could relate. I am a DJ, a house producer, good with computers, as well as solving complex problems. I guess that is why I decided to call myself DJ Octupuz.”

He has done a number of remixes for international artists such as Heather Walker, Kai Torres vs Flizzbeat, Deepface, Hiroaki Kato and Axel Go, House Tribe Records artist George JJ Flores, and George Vibe. His tracks are popular on download sites such as Traxsourse and Afrodesiamp3.

The renowned DJ released a digital download album called Patients in 2010.

He said he has gained a lot of insight from his mentors Christos and Vinny Da Vincy who advised him on how to produce quality house tracks.

DJ Octopuz’ track was a winner of an international competition in 2007, when it was named demo of the month.

“This was an eye opener that proved to me that I was on the right track.”

He works for a US-based label, Soul Shift Records. It outsourced most of his tracks.

His own label, which is a sub-label to Soul Shift Records’ B-Loud Records, was started in 2003 and has signed many young local talents.

B-Loud Records manages the likes of Peacey P, DJ GDM, O’rayley, D2, Mr. J-Bu, and GoldFinger.

DJ Octopuz plans on expanding his label and releasing his next album this year.