Vinny Da Vinci
Last night a DJ saved my life
Vinny Da Vinci is someone I’ve only had the pleasure of dealing with once in the life of untitledmusic - but he was a fan, and I of him. It’s a name some will have heard of via his House Afrika project, but one many will be unfamiliar with.
Vinny has come a long way from playing at school functions in Pretoria: today he holds the reputation as one of South Africa's leading house masters. Held in high esteem alongside The Godfathers of House and an elite list of international DJ’s gracing South African venues with their spin on house music every week. As a pioneering DJ, partner in House Afrika Records and producer, and over the past 20 plus years Vinny Da Vinci has cemented a reputation as a major name on the South African dance music scene – and all without compromising his deeply underground principals.
Raised in Pretoria he began buying vinyl after watching his mentor, Dj Correy working his magic on the decks at a club called Ship Ahoy in the late 80s. He got his break when the resident DJ at another Mabopane club, Cherry’s, failed to show up and his big break came. Having impressed the owners he was later offered a residency, quitting his day-job at a clothing store to become a full-time DJ.
He went on to work at Club Gemini (another club in Pretoria that changed the face of music in South Africa). Gemini at the time was an institution that was instrumental in breaking house music locally - and at Cherry’s, then he hit Johannesburg, securing a residency at The Arena in Hillbrow in 1995. From The Arena and Ellesse through to Carnalita and Pacha, Vinny has spun at the most seminal nightspots and played alongside the best DJs, playing a major part in the evolution of SA’s dance scene to this day.
During a period of radical political and musical change that included the emergence of kwaito and “bashes” that hosted anywhere up to 20,000 attendees, Vinny formed a friendship with deep house Dj Christos (then resident at Caesar’s Palace in Braamfontein) which culminated with the formation of production unit Djs At Work in 1998 producing five critically acclaimed, platinum-selling studio albums and a slew of top-notch deejay mixes under the House Afrika Records label (of which he is co-owner) has dominated the deep-house scene, "pioneering a new wave of minimal, bassline-heavy, Afro-flavoured rhythms that have bewitched dance floors”.
More recently his ventures include his concept club nights, Deep Soul Sessions, which he hosted at uber-underground haunt OneOneFive downtown Johannesburg and lately at venues like Capital Music Café – these are widely regarded as some of the best club nights in the country’s history.
Vinny has also formed a collective with Djs Oskido, Christos, Fresh and Greg ‘The Maestro’ Maloka called DJU (United DJs), which focuses on big event organization and most importantly empowerment - giving tips, tricks and knowledge to the younger generation and ensuring a solid future for the South African dance music industry. Including the annual South African Music Conference, (www.samc.dj), which they’ve hosted since 2005.
But it’s still as a Dj that Vinny Da Vinci is best known. Continually educating and entertaining his audience, he’s played alongside the biggest visitors to South Africa, including Louie Vega, Frankie Knuckles, Dennis Ferrer, Charles Webster, Alix Alvarez, Mr V, Alexkid, Frankie Feliciano, Kenny Dope, Franck Roger, Jojo Flores, Jazzy Jeff, Jef K, Rocco, Ralf Gum, Manoo and more.
As European and USA DJ’s continue to gather attention, Vinny Da Vinci continues to redefine house music in South Africa and is one well worth checking out if you’re trying to understand the history and passion of house music in South Africa.
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