In 2014 Sibusiso Mhlongo, widely known as DJ Merlon, released his EP Koze Kuse featuring KwaZulu-Natal vocalist Mondli Ngcobo. But after the great response, the DJ who hails from KZN’s Umbumbulu seemingly vanished from the scene.
In 2015, he released his album Original Copy, which featured the likes of DJ Black Coffee and Unathi Msengana. Although it wasn’t as popular as Koze Kuse, it saw DJ Merlon travel the world. DJ Merlon says while songs from the album weren’t played as frequently as his Koze Kuse hit, it brought its perks and he was never down and out.
Now DJ Merlon has returned with his latest 10-track offering, titled Pure Black, which he describes as Afro-house.
“The songs on this album feature ethnic sounds. I wanted it to be purely African with an international appeal,” he says. Although he hopes the album will do better than Koze Kuse, DJ Merlon says he’s not driven by instant accolades.
“I don’t want to be a song-of-the-year artist who only releases songs relevant for the holiday season. I want my music to be relevant throughout the year. And I’m no one-hit wonder,” he says.
Of what he’s learnt about staying relevant in the music industry, DJ Merlon says looks to the likes of Black Coffee and Oskido, who can release songs any time of the year. “In this industry, I have learnt that consistency is key. There is no need to change lanes. My sound is Afro-house and all I need to do is keep growing within my genre.”
With his new album, DJ Merlon will be travelling to Greece, Russia and New York. Of these, he says he mostly looks forward to performing in Greece as he’s received a lot of appreciation from other DJs and music-lovers there.
