Vinny da Vinci is one of the most important figures on the South African music scene, and has helped galvanize deep club culture in his various capacities: as a partner in the inimitable House Afrika emporium and executive producer of many of their top-selling compilations (including the 'House Afrika: Deep House Sounds' and 'Africanism' series, which he has mixed); as a producer alongside DJ Christos in the groundbreaking DJs At Work and as a deejay on the leading edge of deep and jazzy underground house.

Vinny is in his early thirties and was raised in a musically-inclined family in Mabopane, Pretoria. He got a feel for compiling while preparing tapes to play at house parties and school functions - these were engineered in a cut-and-paste manner as he had no mixer. His deejaying career took a back seat after he matriculated and had to work in a clothing store to pay the rent. But he developed an even keener interest in deejaying at a club called Ship Ahoy in the late eighties. Vinny began investing in vinyl after watching a friend blend records together on a pair of Technics turntables, and his break came when the resident of another Mabopane club, Cherry's, failed to pitch and Vinny was asked to stand in. He impressed the promoters immensely, landed a residency and soon quit his day job to become a full-time DJ.

Vinny then did stints at the legendary Club Gemini, an institution that was instrumental in breaking music by the likes of Mr. Fingers and Frankie Knuckles in the townships from 1988. With DJs including the late Ian Segola, Metro's Boogie Harry and Oscar, Gemini was the Pretoria club until 1992 when it closed. Cherry's wasn't far behind and shut its doors in 1993; Vinny's entire record collection (sans a box he'd packed for a gig) was locked up in the store room after their closing weekend and later flogged at flea market by the unscrupulous owners. Many lesser talents would have thrown in the towel there and then, but Vinny persisted, borrowing records from friends until he got himself back on his feet.

He struggled on and eventually secured a residency at The Arena in Hillbrow in 1994. It was a period of radical political and musical change: kwaito emerged when house became embroiled with local ghetto-centricities, and bashes with anywhere up to 10 000 attendees became common. Vinny moved to Jo'burg and hooked up with Christos Katsaitis, who was then resident at Caesar's Palace in Braamfontein, dishing up deep house to a predominantly white crowd. Their friendship culminated with the formation of DJs At Work in 1998 - their intention: 'To change the face of music in this country.' This they've achieved with the release of two critically acclaimed, platinum-selling albums and a slew of top notch deejay mixes. Amongst Vinny's accomplishments are the aforementioned 'Africanism', 'What's Phat Pussycat: The Sweet French Hours' and DJs At Work's 'Summer Rawkus'.

Da Vinci became one of the partners in House Afrika in 1996. House music was enjoying a resurgence of interest with the arrival of Y FM, and along with his new crew, Vinny contributed to this upswing with his involvement in House Afrika's first landmark CD collection, 'Fresh House Flavas Volume 1'. He further aided proceedings with a residency at South Africa's equivalent of the Paradise Garage, Pretoria's Club Ellesse, which became both the hub and driving engine of local house culture. DJs at Work were a permanent fixture at Ellesse - a spot where 'you could get away with playing almost anything' - until its closure in 2000.

After a decade-and-a-half behind the decks, Vinny continues to specialize in his patented deep house style, continually breaking new music and educating his audience. He's deejayed with the biggest visitors to our shores, including 'Little Louie' Vega, and has played in nightclubs across the country, from Cape Town's Gyjima and Durban's Spank to Bloemfontein's Absolute and Jo'burg's Calabash, as well as venues in Port Elizabeth, Pietersburg, Lesotho and Botswana.

Vinny's skills have been recognized by international entities as well, and he's worked and wowed the crowds with Chistos at Ibiza's world famous nightspot Pacha (alongside names like David Morales, Carl Cox and DJ Gregory) a few times. Vinny's music tastes are wide, but he's renowned and revered for spinning a brand of smooth, easy and individual house that's simply fathoms deeper than the competition...