Cornelius Tshepo Mashilane, better known by his stage name Cornelius SA, is a South African music producer, remixer and DJ. He creates house music containing elements of Electronic dance, deep house, techno and Afro house.[1]
Cornelius SA | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Cornelius Tshepo Mashilane |
| Also known as | Cornelius |
| Born | Atteridgeville, Pretoria |
| Origin | Gauteng, South Africa |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels |
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Biography
editEarly life
editCornelius was born in Atteridgeville, South Africa. He grew up in Atteridgeville, before relocating to Soshanguve in Pretoria.[2] He fell in love with house music when he was in Primary School. He was taught how to DJ by his friend, first with vinyls and was later introduced to CDJs at the age of eighteen after completing his matric.[3]
Career
editIn 2015, he won the Bridges for Music, CTEMF 2015 Loco Dice Tour by Loco Dice. His single "Falling Again" which was released through DHN Records got the recognition from Tim White by featuring his music productions on his mixes. His EP titled Ambition also played a role in his music career, when his single "Endless" was featured on Vadim Balaev's DJ Top10 on Resident Advisor.[3]
In 2016, American record producer, Kenny Dope, signed him under his record label, Dopewax. Under Dopewax Cornelius released his single "Heaven", which featured Honey Molasses. The single created an international audience for him as he received support from musicians such as Jullian Gomes, MAQman and Tortured Soul.[4]
In 2018, he participated at the Red Bull Music Academy’s 20th Anniversary [1] and in Berlin, where he headlined the night with music producer Pearson Sound.[5] In that same year he worked on a project with Stay True Sounds and released his single "Feel It" featuring Zimbabwean-born singer Jackie Queens,[6] which was nominated in the 2018 Dance Music Awards South Africa for Best House Record of the Year and Best EDM Record of the Year.[7] His single "Keep Your Mouth Shut" has been featured on major local radio stations such as Metro FM, 5FM and The Deeper Shades of House hosted by Lars Behrenroth. He has performed alongside local musicians such as Kat La Kat, Jazzuelle, Sean Munnick, Swizz, Da Capo, Dwson and Bruce Loko.[8] He has also performed in music festivals and venues such as ERA in Cape Town,[2] House22 in Pretoria,[2] Kitcheners in Braamfontein,[2] Bushfire Festival in Swaziland,[9] Oppikoppi,[10] Black Coffee’s Summer Residency at Shimmy Beach in Cape Town, Ryan Murgatroyd’s SWOON at Wonderland Club in Cape Town, Cape Town Electronic Music Festival and the Smoking Dragon Festival in Drakensberg.[2]
In early 2020, he got signed to Armada Music becoming the first black African artist to sign under the label, and only the fifth in South Africa, joining Goldfish, Goodluck, Kyle Cassim and Protoculture. Under the label he released three single tracks, "Diamonds", "Faith" and "Free Your Mind".[11][12] His single "Diamonds" charted on the UK’s Music Week top10 Cool Hits and later got recognition from International electronic music artists such as Above & Beyond featured it on their Groove Therapy radio show, Eelke Kleijn's Days like Nights Radio, Jono Grant’s Anjuna Family Radio, Chicane’s Sun:Sets Show, Maxim Lany’s residency on BBC One, Shane 54’s International Departures and Armada Music’s Radio Show.[13][14]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dance Music Awards South Africa | Best House Record of the Year | Nominated[15] |
| Best EDM Record of the Year | Nominated[15] |
Discography
edit- Ambition (2015)
- Boogie Woogie (2017)
- Studio Experiments (2018)
- Tell Me (2018)
- Feel It Now (2019)
- Diamonds (2020)
- Free Your Mind (2020)
References
edit- ^ a b "Meet South Africa's Red Bull Music Academy Participants". redbull.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Pta Central self-taught DJ and producer a force to be reckoned with". rekordeast.co.za. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Cornelius SA finds his groove". Pretoria News. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Cornelius SA wants to carve Soshanguve's name on global music scene". iol.co.za. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Cornelius SA, Jakinda to make appearance at the Red Bull Music Fest in Berlin". iol.co.za. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Electronic Soul from Cornelius SA and Jackie Queens on Feel It Now". 5mag.net. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "The nominees for the Dance Music Awards South Africa are out". Live Magazine. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Spotlight on: Cornelius". redbull.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "MTN Bushfire 2018 releases full line-up". bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Red Bull Studios Live: Oppikoppi Nomakanjani". redbull.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "CORNELIUS SA JOINS THE RANKS OF THE ELECTRO-ELITE WITH NEW SINGLE "DIAMONDS"s". Texx And The City. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Cornelius SA drops new track, Free Your Mind this month". IDM Magazine. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "CORNELIUS SA IS KEEPING THE MOMENTUM ROLLING FAST WITH HIS LATEST TECHNO SMASH TRACK "FREE YOUR MIND"". Texx And The City. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ "Cornelius SA Returns With A Smash Single Titled 'Free Your Mind'". Sho Magazine. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ a b "And The Dance Music Award Nominees Are!". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.