How DJ MidTempo balances boardroom life and music stardom

For most business executives, a long-haul flight is an opportunity to catch up on emails, prepare for the next meeting or finally get a few hours of sleep, but for DJ MidTempo it’s where the music starts.

By day, MidTempo, real name Theo Mseka, works as a CEO and managing director of Immowelt and AVIV Germany GmbH, a digital real estate portal, and after hours he’s a producer and DJ whose music moves between afro house, afro tech, amapiano, and 3-step.

As he gears up to release his debut album, Cheza Kidogo , on September 11, TshisaLIVE spoke to DJ MidTempo about his budding music career:

You are a CEO of a technology-driven business and an artist. How do those two worlds coexist, and what does the artist in you provide that the boardroom simply can’t?

Everyone needs an outlet — mine has always been music. I’ve been a DJ and promoter for 20 years, and only in the last few years did I start producing. Some people head to the pub after work or watch football with their mates; I head to the studio. I’ll chase a new idea or throw a vinyl on the turntable and let it pull me somewhere. I’ve always believed in working hard and playing equally hard — I’m just lucky that my “play” lives in the arts. Music drowns out the noise of everyday life. A great song can change your mood before the first 16 bars are done.

You’re an artist whose life and career regularly take you between South Africa and Berlin. How has living between these two very different worlds changed the way you see South Africa, both creatively and personally?

Europe is hungry for the South African sound, and we’re perfectly positioned to deliver it.

Berlin has taught me an enormous amount; the city is crawling with world-class creatives, and its electronic music scene is rightly considered one of the best on the planet. I’ll admit I haven’t made it to the legendary clubs yet; work has kept me busy. But the real revelation was looking back at South Africa from a distance and realising just how deep the talent pool at home runs.

Most CEOs talk about struggling to find time for family, exercise or hobbies, yet you managed to make a 12-track album while running major companies. Where does that level of creative energy come from, and when do you actually switch off?

Making music at 33,000 feet, or on the train between Berlin and Nuremberg, simply became my normal. The internet up there is terrible — but as long as my headphones have battery and my DAW loads, music can be made anywhere. Honestly, I only get four or five hours a week with music, so I’ve learnt to make every minute count. I got divorced five years ago and don’t have a family of my own — so rather than roam the streets as a senior bachelor, I’m in the studio.

You’ve achieved significant success outside of music. Are you able to make decisions differently because DJ MidTempo doesn’t have to chase every trend, booking or hit record to survive?

It flips the usual script. Most musicians work to get out of the industry once they’ve made it — it’s a brutally hard space to sustain success in, because tastes never stop moving.