Sho Mag Afro House Magazine
His music has reached internationally acclaimed house music gurus such as ‘Bhoddi Satva, Ralf
Gum, Hallex M, Oscar P, Paso Doble’ to mention but a few who have been touched by his ‘pure deep house sounds’. He has in the past released ‘banging jams’ through music labels such as ‘Herbs & Soul Music, Open Bar Music and Sound Slaves Music’. Kicking off this week ‘On The SpotLight’ with one of South Africa’s up and coming producer/deejay ‘France Deep’.
ShoMag: Thank you for taking time out for this ‘one on one’. The first question which jumps into mind at the mention of that name ‘France Deep’ for me is, what is ‘France Deep’ real name and where is he from?
France Deep: France Deep is a Durban, South African born and bred versatile Producer/DJ whose real name is Musa Percy Xaba.
ShoMag: For the benefit of those who are not familiar with ‘France Deep’. What do you do in the music industry? Are you a music producer or a deejay?
France Deep: Well, I started off as a producer but, I felt the need to ‘put a face behind my sound’ that is where the deejaying part took shape. I also enjoyed dishing out good sounds on the dance floor. ‘I mean the energy out there is to die for’, seeing people become one through such a magical art form.
ShoMag: Growing up, did you always have ambitions of being a musician? And why did you choose to be part of ‘House Music’?
France Deep: I like this question. You know growing up, my big brother and I would go to the back yard and start ‘Free styling’. The songs we made up would’ve been bestsellers. So yes, a part of me already knew from a very young age that ‘music is what I want to do’.
Funny enough I started off doing Hip Hop, I was pretty popular around my neighbourhood. Watching ‘DJ Fisherman & Soule Villain’ do their thing, I realized that house music might just be my calling. I loved how one could ‘turn literally nothing into something’ which the world could relate to. More like converting your emotions or feelings into sound. That’s why I chose house music.
ShoMag: What would you list as your ‘biggest break’ within the music industry and why?
France Deep: I was approached by ‘DJ Vumar’ from ‘Gagasi FM’ to produce and also feature on his single ‘I Just Wanna’ which also featured ‘Zanda Zakuza’. I think then the South African market took notice of me because later on I went on to produce and also feature on ‘DJ Sonic’s’ single as I was only making waves overseas.
ShoMag: Your biggest challenge in your musical journey. What would you say was your ‘biggest challenge within the music industry’ and how did you conquer that challenge?
France Deep: I think the biggest challenge I’ve faced in the music industry so far is keeping up with time. ‘It’s a rapidly changing industry’ and one needs to stay afloat but with this also comes the risk of losing your sound just to stay relevant so I decided to ‘stay on my lane and move on my own pace’. See, we do this for the love and for the people we should always keep that in mind.
