Roger Michael de Sousa,

Portuguese in descent, is a born & bred Pretoria boy, connoisseur of House of the deep flavour & funky variety, superlative South African DJ, prolific music producer, remixer extraordinaire, graphic designer & entrepreneur. Better known & more easily recognizable
 to revelers as Roger D’Lux, his DJ alias, he has long been heralded by peers as one of the most naturally gifted & underrated spin doctors to emerge from this rainbow nation.

Like many an aspiring beat pimp his voyage into music began early. As far back as 1995, Roger’s bedroom was deemed the fit to serve as the venue for his education in the art of mixing & eventual rise in status to that of qualified bedroom DJ. Later, neighbourhood
house parties were the practise grounds for future DJ performances & the apprenticeship
to earn him fledgling residencies at two Pretoria nightclubs, After 7 & the legendary DNA. Kudos as an upcoming SA DJ in his hometown, luckily, did not interfere with Roger’s continued conventional education. He completed a bachelor’s degree in information
design at the University of Pretoria & started his own design business ‘Feels Good Media’ without even reprising his role alongside Lady Lea & Morgan as co-owners of
Flipside Records from 1999 to 2002.

It was during his early career that Roger met then unknown, diva in the making, Tamara Dey with whom he embarked on a 2-year relationship. Tamara, an aspirant songstress used to sing to Roger in the car en route to gigs & parties, mesmerising him with her voice on every occasion. Intent on exposing her extraordinary talent, Roger played the pivotal, supporting role & catalyst in the launch Tamara Dey’s singing career. His decision to switched from mixing house to spinning drum ‘n bass in 1998 whilst also adding Tamara as MC accompaniment for his 4 deck DJ performance was a natural progression that stemmed from both their personal involvement & a shared love of drum ‘n bass. With a debut performance at Pretoria hotspot, Café Brazil, Tamara’s star catapulted firmly into the ascendant upon the first note she sang in public. Still today their relationship remains mutually beneficial. Roger was accredited as co-producer of “S’Groovey Baby” on Tamara’s 2003 album release & 2005 saw him commissioned by SA dance act, Flash Republic Ryan Dent, Craig, Massiv & Tamara Dey) to remix their forthcoming album release & accompany band appearances with his own live scratching performance.

Roger’s intent pursuit of a unique, individual sound spanning a period of almost 15 years has seen this champion of the underground develop his signature repertoire of chunky, funk fuelled house & sleazy grooves sometimes deep, sometimes tech edged but always undeniably bass driven & above all underpinned by a raw & wickedly infectious energy. Reliably brilliant & refreshingly versatile Roger panders to his followers with jam sessions that ooze instant dancefloor sophistication & bear testimony to a penchant for seemingly effortless performance. Over the course of his carreer Roger has played at events, alongside internationals, held residencies & had nightclub gigs too numerous too mention in full. Standout performances have been in support of

Whether Roger flies solo behind the steel twins, scratches & cuts up his set as one half of ‘Milk ‘n 2 Sugas’ the moniker for his ’99 – ’01, 4-deck, 2-mixer collaboration with DJ Juanne or wreaks tough electro tinged havoc in tandem to Deepgroove in ‘Headphonics’, the 4 deck – 2 mixer – FX unit DJ tag team, he can without fail, inevitably be found week upon week whipping an unsuspecting SA dancefloor into complete frenzied submission. Upon sight of Roger’s surreal mixing ability & mind bending scratching skill, challengers to the D’lux dynasty have been known to bow their heads in shame, pack away styli & run for cover faster than your average DJ can beatmix. And one would expect nothing less than this as reaction to runner up of the 1999 DMC National Championships, second only to 1st place garnered by the inimitable Ready D. Roger’s achievement is of immense notoriety & no mean feat by any white boy’s standards!!

Never shy to indulge his God given musical talents, Roger was swift to embark upon creation his own music, a calling he believes born of a curious, questioning mind, strong self belief, raw musical talent & an irrepressible need to use blessings bestowed upon him to also give back. A prolific producer of electronic music since 1998, Roger has no less than 38 tracks etched under his belt, singles on various compilations & vinyl for the likes of USM, Agents of Sound, Grooved Records & Sheer Music. Roger D’lux’s studio output has become renowned for quality, diversity & a guarantee for moving any crowd. Not satisfied, however, Roger has also gone on to cut countless remixes added his unique funk treatment to each & boosting his ever- burgeoning profile with the title of remixer too.

In the decade since birth of Roger’s DJ career, he has accomplished more than most DJ’s hope to in an entire lifetime. Surveying Roger’s body of work thus far, the phrase Jack-of-all-Trades, Master of None might spring to mind for those choosing to remain ignorant & uninformed. Trying to be all things surely incases one in an envelope of mediocrity. Unfortunately for his rivals, Roger has yet to suffer this scourge. Oblivious, 2005 has been about taking Roger’s game to the next level.

A recent affiliation with DJ partner in crime, Deepgroove spurned the creation & co-ownership of a record label, Casual Kickback, also intended as the vehicle for worldwide release of homegrown music. The Casual Kickback imprint just celebrated it’s first production outing from ‘Fuzzy Logic’ moniker for Roger D’Lux & Scotty’s collaborative efforts. The track titled ‘Purple Cola’ has been made available internationally on the site ‘djdownload.com’.

In 2004, Roger D’Lux’ first excursion beyond the 12 inch format was through compilation & mixing of the first Sutra CD compilation. A fitting choice that Roger be the one to add his distinctive flavour & lend those impeccable mixing skills to the virgin release for a club that had practically become his second home. Next on the agenda is a long overdue ‘Deeper Sounds of Roger D’lux – My Phunktecnique’ on USM planned for February 2006, followed by a scheduled ’Headphonics’ double CD compilation in April 2006 & culminating the July 2006 launch of a full length Roger d’Lux Artist Album featuring produced music & Roger’s collaborations with top SA artists.

Hardworking, down to earth & easygoing, Roger is refreshingly devoid of the arrogance & narcissism so rampant amongst the DJ fraternity. His no-attitude attitude belies self-presentation that has less to do with ego than with artistic sensibility. Roger D’lux has paid his dues & the widespread respect & admiration has been hard earned. With a sterling record such as this one might be so bold as to surmise that Roger D’lux purposefully shunned the spotlight. In truth let it be told he has merely bided his time. True brilliance lies in patiently waiting in the wings for the time to be exactly right. Pretoria’s finest is guaranteed to please devotees, convert critics & shake up any night with a delicious rhythm driven house music odyssey that has pure funk coursing through its veins, The next step in the D’lux path - World Domination!!!