REWIND: RAYDIZZ LOOKS BACK ON MILLER SOUNDCLASH

In the second of our spotlight features on last year’s Miller SoundClash finalists, we land in Zimbabwe to catch up with charasmatic finalist RayDizz to see what he has been up to since leaving Las Vegas last summer...

What have you been up to since leaving Las Vegas last August?
“Since August I have been pushing to build my brand back home in Zimbabwe and neighbouring South Africa. I have dropped two singles. One titled ‘If Found Please Return To Harare’ featuring Smylie. He is a very popular dancehall artist here in Zimbabwe and that song has received some radio play. I also released my single titled Party featuring Simba Tagz produced by Kyle Abrahams. Kyle is a Zim born producer based in the UK who has worked with Angel, Jessie J, Kid Ink and Chipmunk. Tagz has worked with Ice Prince, Sarz and Zubz and radio seems to love it. ”

“We also released the video which has footage from my Vegas trip. That has received a lot of love online and hopefully should be getting play listed on Satellite TV soon. I also have remix for If Found done by DJ Macson dropping soon. He’s one of Zimbabwe’s biggest EDM producers and DJs, so look out for that. Performance wise I have been doing a lot of work here in Zim. I did a 4 city national tour when I got back. I am also working on doing a campus tour. I am performing regularly in Harare’s biggest night clubs which is blessing. Most notably I just performed at HIFA – Africa’s biggest music and arts festival. My show was so full and entertaining the festival director asked me to perform the following night and open up on the main stage for the headline acts who happened to be Blinders and Bass Jackers. That was probably the highlight of my year!”

Wow! You have been busy! This has clearly been successful year for you musically...
“Most definitely. Mostly because of all the radio play my own music is getting. I can see more people recognising me which is great. People I would never guess listen to my music or mixes come up to me and say hi in the street. It’s a great feeling knowing your work is far reaching and in some way I help entertain them.”

What have been your event highlights?
“Yes I have. As I highlighted earlier playing twice at the Harare International Festival of the Arts and once on the main stage was the highlight of my year. I also got to play at The Shoko Festival main stage in September last year.”

Do you feel like your fanbase has grown, since Las Vegas?
“I feel like my following has grown since Miller SoundClash. My management did a good job of maximising press exposure and with that comes more people recognising you. Now the focus is to appeal to potential fans outside Zimbabwe’s borders in Southern Africa then the continent as a whole. Winning the Soundclash in Zimbabwe and finishing in top 5 at the finals really helped propel my name to the masses at home.”

You must have had a great response when you returned from Las Vegas...
"The response and love has been very positive. When I came back from Vegas we held a Black & Gold party to celebrate my return and also my birthday. The club was sold out with a line of people still waiting to come in. It was a great night!

What was the highlight of your Miller SoundClash experience?
“It’s a toss-up between meeting Tiesto and performing at Marquee. Tiesto is one of my heroes and the crowd during my performance were insane. The energy was intense!”

What would be your one tip or recommendation to those guys currently creating their mix for Miller SoundClash 2015?
“Be original. Don’t copy. Find your sound and style and stick to it. People won’t buy a copy when they can easily find the original.”

What DJs from your country should look out for in the competition?
“I am not sure who will be competing this year but I definitely feel either one of my brothers – DJ Rax or DJ Rawse could do very well in that competition.”

Finally, what is next for RayDizz?
"More music, more videos, more mixes. Just more of RayDizz everywhere really. I also launched my new website so be sure to check that for updates on what I am doing.

You can enter the DJ Mag Wildcard competition for a chance to compete in Miller SoundClash 2015. Enter here!