DarkerThanWhite

In my line of work, the process behind formulating material, usually begins with hearing about a particular artist(s) – then comes the research required to get some background information about them, leading to establishing communication, obviously, in order to get permission for me to stick my nose in their business, which finally results in publishing an article. However that wasn’t the case with Dre and Arnold.

I met the gents last year at a party.

In 2015, Arnold Adriaans and Andre Schoeman interceded, leaving their respective solo careers. The DJ Duo – DarkerThanWhite came to fruition.

As Deep Tech/Minimal specialists, it is not only their preferred genre to be accredited for their synergy. Kempton Park, located in the East Rand region of Ekurhuleni is home to both DJs who modestly described themselves as aspiring Producers. Though down to earth, their humble demeanor was eclipsed by their overbearing talent, landing them a contract with Urban Addict Records.

Recognition did not come about with just spinning the on decks. Mentor-ship from Sheldon Olivier aka ShelO in terms of building a brand, producing and promoting their music is the foundation of their success. Pablo Lundall and Sean Bradley Phillips of Weston and Engine (another DJ Duo) imparted valuable wisdom on them, over a series of lessons and tutelage. Hard work and guidance are necessary conduits towards growth and longevity in a rather capricious saturated industry.

“I would say the genre we play is often frowned upon because it's not often understood or appreciated as much as other genres, so getting bookings at certain venues can be an issue because sometimes promoters want you to compromise and change your style of music to suit their needs, and its often difficult because we would love to expose more people to this sound”, says Andre.

By nature of the music industry, the journey for DarkerThanWhite hasn’t been without its challenges. Each member understands the importance of stepping up to the plate and pulling one’s own weight and have coined an affirmation as follows “teamwork makes the dream work”.

Music is indeed a natural inclination, as Arnold is a qualified metal engineer; Andre on the other hand is in the field of IT and web design. Very savvy with their equipment too, preferably the Pioneer Nexus for mixing and the Allen and Heath mixer is another weapon of choice. Amongst the their favourites in the industry are the likes of Shel O, Grimmy Chronik, Ricardo Pinto, Zandre Van Zyl Jay – Dee Verheem aka Ghoul.

You can catch DarkerThanWhite at some of the festivals and clubs they frequent such as: Earthdance Truth (night club based in Midrand JHB), Vimo and His Ou’s present Billy Kenny. More so, the gents have earmarked that, “…we are to release an EP on a Brazilian record label called Urban Addict Records, and we are working on our next release which we plan on using two local artists to remix two of our tracks”.