‘On The Sho Spotlight’ this week we have ‘Simo Lucas Mbete’ better known by his stage name ‘Simtox’. ‘Simtox’ is a South African record producer and a deejay though he doesn’t regard himself as one. From his humble beginnings growing up in the Eastern Cape, South Africa in a small town called ‘Engcobo’ he clearly knew at a ‘tender age’ that he was destined to be part of the music industry. Already with an ‘international remix’ under his belt and an exciting ‘EP’ out early next year, ladies and gentlemen I present to you ‘Simtox’
Sho Mag: Before anything let us thank you for taking some time out just for us. Let’s jump straight to the question on everyone’s mind. Who is ‘Simtox’ and where is he from?
Simtox: Thank you for hosting me. Uhmmm… ‘Simtox’ is just a humble gentleman who happens to love music. I’m from a small town which is in the Eastern Cape, South Africa called ‘Engcobo’.
Sho Mag: So “Simtox” this music journey tell us about it. When did you decide to be part of the music industry and what brought about that decision?
Simtox: I actually never thought I’d ever be part of the industry, you know the society we live in, you are always labelled a ‘wannabe’ and people will treat you as if you are crazy once you have those kind of dreams, but then music got the better of me and I found myself hustling, that’s how it happened for me. *laughs*
Sho Mag: We always hear some people saying “Music is a calling” and personally, ‘I am a firm believer of that statement’. With that said, do you believe in that statement too and with all the music genres out there to be part of, then why did you choose ‘House Music’?
Simtox: I also believe it’s a calling, looking at the way it came to me, the way it ‘kept on haunting me’, being in love with it at a tender ‘age of three’, that makes it quite obvious. ‘I love music’ in general but there’s actually something different about house music and my connection with it was quite stronger than any other genre and on top of that, house is quite a ‘flexible genre’, you can quite do a lot with it and I should say it was quite easy for me to learn producing it even before I knew anything about music production.
Sho Mag: If one would ask you. What is it that you do within the music industry? Are you a House Music Dj or a Music Producer or maybe do you do both?
Simtox: I’m actually a ‘Music Producer’ and that’s how I regard myself, being a DJ is something that ‘comes secondary’ as I have to showcase what I do and get to ‘connect with the people’ I make the music for. It’s never the same when your song is performed by you vs when it’s performed by someone else. People need to feel that connection and get to ‘experience the energies that made you create the song’. I don’t only produce house music though, I try a bit of everything with different people, I don’t wanna be known as a DJ but a Music Producer, I love music, not just house music and that’s what I’ve always wanted to be.
Sho Mag: You are also part of ‘house music movements’ such as ‘Deep Afro-teq Experiences and Deep Culture SA’. What are those movements about and which role do you play within such movements?
Simtox: Both movements are about ‘promoting, making, sharing of good music, spreading the love, good morals and uplifting one another’, I do not have a specific role that I play except to portray ‘leadership in every way’ I can and to give motivation to those who need it. People think I’m a good producer and so ‘I strive to help others become good at what they do’.
Sho Mag:With that in mind what would you point out as your ‘ultimate musical highlight’ since being part of the music industry?
Simtox: Well in the past year I was granted an opportunity to remix a very popular ‘EDM’ song from ‘White Zoo by Audiophile Records’, an international record label and I had to make it deep soulful and they were very excited about it. Apparently there were three of us and I luckily ended up taking it. I don’t know when are they planning to release it though. That got me going because I was later approached by some overseas artists ‘asking for collaborations’, as a result I have a line up of collaborations coming up in a year or so.
Sho Mag: Looking into the future just for a moment. Which musical projects are you currently working on? Are there any projects on the pipeline for ‘Simtox’ we need to look out for?
Simtox: Yeah, next year March ‘God willing’ I’ll be releasing my first ‘EP’ ever, as to how many songs will be there I am not yet sure but it’s gonna be a good project, I’ve also worked on some projects with ‘Vibes, Crazy-Tunez and Anga LXV’ which I’m hoping to include in there if nothing changes. It’s basically gonna be something different from what people know of me.
Sho Mag: ‘Music is a very challenging and highly competitive industry’ in general. What would your best advice be to a young musician who is looking at following a career within the music industry?
Simtox: Well like they’ve always been saying, ‘believe in yourself, stay original and don’t follow too much trends, find a way to stand out from the rest’, which is something that’s not very easy but with faith ‘everything is possible’.
Sho Mag: Any last words from ‘Simtox’ for us as we are about to ‘shut the year down’?
Simtox: Well to any young kid out there trying to be something, I just wanna tell you to keep it real, not everyone is meant to be a DJ, just because you are inspired by a DJ that doesn’t mean it’s who you are, ‘find who you are and work on becoming that, nothing worthwhile comes over night, patience is virtue’. I wanna urge everyone to take good care of themselves over the holidays and don’t forget ‘there’s a dream to be chased in the coming year which will be full of new opportunities’. I wanna thank SHO Mag for hosting people like me, it’s not every magazine that gets to recognise the hard work we do, a lot of them expect us to pay something for a feature which is what we find peculiar as we add value to their content and also play a role in inspiring their readers, so with that said, I THANK YOU.
Images By Simo Lucas Mbethe
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