Chris Taylor is a Cape Town based DJ, who has engraved his name in the South African dance music scene over the last few years. Brought up in Harare, Zimbabwe, it was here that he started DJ’ing at house parties and birthdays at just 15 years old. Chris soon outgrew the small party scene in Harare and decided to move on to pursue his passion for dance music in Cape Town. In March 2012 Chris was announced as the winner of the Avicii SA Tour DJ competition, a huge milestone in his career, he has since performed alongside some of the top DJ’s/Producers in the world.
You started DJing in Zim – tell us a little about how you got into it?
I started playing at house parties when I was 15 off a laptop, I played my first club gig at 17 and got my first residency at 19. I think my big break was when I won the Avicii SA Tour Dj Competition.
Do you have any crazy stories/ memories from some of your first gigs?
I remember playing at a club called Dukes in Zimbabwe, it was an outdoor venue and it rained during my set but everyone kept partying, people where splashing each other with mud and just having a good time.
What made you decide to move to CPT and what was your first notable gig
I moved to Cape Town to study sound engineering at Cape Audio College. My first big gig was definitely the Avicii SA Tour show in Cape Town.
Tell us a little about how you came to enter, and ultimately win, the Avicii SA Tour DJ competition?
I actually approached Avicii’s management as soon as I found out Avicii would be visiting Cape Town, they told me to contact the promoter, and the promoter just never responded to my e-mail, within a week the competition went live on social media and I figured that was my best chance at performing alongside my idol. I still remember when DJ Fresh announced the winners for each city on 5FM I was in tears when I heard my name. Just writing about this is actually making me emotional. I never knew Tim personally but I met him and had a conversation with him, and that coupled with my love for his music made his sudden passing earlier this year a very sad time for me.
Can you name some of the most famous DJs you’ve shared the stage with, and who was your fav?
Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Skrillex, Zedd, Hardwell. I think Martin is still by far my favorite, he is so incredibly humble and he remembered my name, which came as quite a shock considering the amount of new people he meets every day.
Which gigs are you most looking forward to this upcoming Summer season?
I’ve got several international shows which I am still finalizing and hopefully Wonderland in Johannesburg, Rage Festival in Durban and Plett Rage book me to play again this year.
