Based: Johannesburg
Charismatic, Captivating and Magnetic THATO “DJ FRESH” SIKWANE
DJ Fresh boasts a diversity of talents that have seen him making major waves in the South African entertainment industry for over 30years. He is a sought-after television personality, popular social media sensation, an international club DJ and prolific radio head.
What started off as just love for music at age 13 where Fresh found himself deejaying at school socials in boarding school rapidly propelled into what is now his career. Fresh was born in Botswana and had his first radio show there in 1992 on RB2. His passion for the entertainment industry then led to him leaving his law studies to pursue Media studies and Journalism full time in 1994.
In 1997 Fresh made his debut on South African airwaves on YFM. With many years of hard work, setting trends and creating a brand of his work; Fresh became a household favourite with a growing fan base with over 22 years of radio across the biggest radio stations in the country.
Throughout his entertainment career, his love of house music has pushed boundaries and led to the release of numerous classic albums including the popular “Fresh House Flava” series – which have been highly instrumental in the consumption of House music throughout South Africa. He has also been a lead influence on launching some of SA’s household DJ such as Cleo; Sbu; Monde; China; Fingers etc.
His electrifying ability to mix house music has landed Fresh on International stages throughout Johannesburg, Miami, London, Cape Town, Moscow, Brisbane, Ibiza, Leeds, Durban, Gaborone, Birmingham, Dubai, Montreal and Melbourne where he shared the DJ booth with “Little Louie” Vega, Armand Van Helden, Oskido, Jazzy Jeff, Ready D, Vinny Da Vinci, Christos, Gregory, Black Coffee, Kshmr, David Guetta, DJ Snake, Dash Berlin, Headhunterz and Martin Garrix.
Unafraid to always reinvent the game it is no wonder that Fresh has been able to branch out into various projects aligned with the entertainment industry and build a successful business structure under his name. As a multifaceted personality, Fresh has efficaciously run his own company Big Dawg Productions; partnered with Euphonik to create the mega brand property FEu; which has hosted over 10 sold out MSC cruise parties and formed part of a collective of DJs’, producers, media personality and musicians called DJU. Inspired by international conferences such as The Miami Winter Music Conference, DJU established the Southern African Music Conference in 2005 which held crucial talks for deejays and producers and DJs – it is a critical platform for Southern African dance music industry practitioners to keep pace with, and eventually lead global developments.
Catch DJ Fresh weekly on WAW! What a Week with DJ Fresh, which is a fast-faced podcast, wrapping up your week without fear or favour. The podcast is available worldwide across all streaming platforms and YouTube.
