DJ MidTempo spends his working life making high stakes decisions in the boardroom. But at 33 000 feet above the ground, with a laptop open and headphones on, the South African business executive enters another world entirely, creating music.
The artist, producer, DJ and vinyl collector is preparing to release his 12 track debut album, Cheza Kidogo, on September 11 via his creative platform, Tahoe Studios.
The album is more than the debut of a producer. It is a meeting point of personal experiences, countries, cultures and identities that have shaped DJ MidTempo real naem Theo Mseka’s life, from his father’s roots in Tanzania and his birthplace in Greece to South Africa, Berlin and the skies in between.
Remarkably, DJ MidTempo estimates that about 70% of Cheza Kidogo was produced while travelling, much of it during flights between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Berlin.
A studio at 33 000 feet
For many travellers, a long haul flight is an opportunity to answer emails, watch movies or catch up on sleep.
For DJ MidTempo, it often becomes a studio session.
Working thousands of metres above the ground, he has transformed flights into creative spaces, developing ideas and building productions while other passengers watch films or sleep.
One of the album’s most unusual tracks, Bu Islak Sokaklarda, was created entirely at approximately 33 000 feet.
The Turkish language song draws on lyrics taken from a poem written by a close friend during DJ MidTempo’s five year chapter working with Turkish real estate platform Hepsiemlak.
It is a reflection of the increasingly international life he leads: a South African artist travelling between Johannesburg and Berlin, creating a Turkish language record in the sky while developing an album deeply rooted in African electronic music.
South Africa remains at the heart
While DJ MidTempo’s life and career are increasingly international, South Africa remains central to his musical identity.
His sound moves between Afro House, Afro Tech, Amapiano, 3 Step and wider electronic influences, with Cheza Kidogo featuring a strong line up of South African collaborators.
Among the tracks being positioned strongly for the local market are Zimbali with Deestar ZA featuring Luvintage and K.D.M Luminous, Nobody Else with August Muzika, Wade Yarrow and Maijor Habe, Sabela with Kamza HeavyPoint and Yarah Lerah, Zaka with August Muzika and NATASHA MD, and Durban Nights with Rocktea and Still Matah.
The collaborations also reflect DJ MidTempo’s ambitions beyond his own career.
Through Tahoe Studios, he wants to create opportunities for African talent while helping African and hybrid electronic sounds reach wider international audiences.
Between Johannesburg and Berlin
The geographical movement behind DJ MidTempo’s music is central to his sound.
South Africa provides the musical heartbeat through Afro House, Afro Tech, Amapiano and 3 Step.
Berlin brings another layer, shaped by electronic experimentation, club culture and a different creative environment.
Rather than choosing between the two, DJ MidTempo is attempting to occupy both spaces, allowing the sounds and experiences of each city to feed into his music.
That philosophy extends across Cheza Kidogo, which moves between South African collaborations and songs connected to Tanzania, Turkey, Germany and the wider African continent.
A deeply personal journey
Behind the international collaborations and electronic productions is a story that is deeply personal.
One of the album’s most meaningful tracks, Kalemela, pays tribute to the village of Kalemela in Tanzania’s Mwanza region, where DJ MidTempo’s father comes from.
The name also echoes the Greek word “Kalimera”, meaning “good morning”, creating another connection to Thessaloniki, Greece, where DJ MidTempo was born.
The significance of the track goes even further.
DJ MidTempo was born on September 11 at 3:05am, meaning his debut album will be released on his birthday.
He has also developed a personal DJ ritual around Kalemela. Whenever one of his DJ sets continues beyond 3:05am, the track is intended to play at exactly 3:05am.
It is a moment that connects his birthplace, his father’s homeland and his life behind the decks.
A new beginning
For DJ MidTempo, Cheza Kidogo represents more than a collection of 12 songs.
It is the story of a man moving constantly between countries, cultures and creative worlds while finding ways to bring those experiences together through music.
The album’s lead single, Nobody Else, brings together DJ MidTempo, August Muzika, Wade Yarrow and Maijor Habe, pairing Afro driven production with English language vocals designed to travel beyond one market.
Across its 12 tracks, Cheza Kidogo documents DJ MidTempo’s emergence as a producer while tracing the personal journey that has brought him to this point.
From his father’s Tanzanian roots to his Greek birthplace, from South Africa’s dance music culture to Berlin’s electronic scene, and from airport terminals to studios built inside aeroplane cabins, the album brings together the different places and experiences that have shaped him.
And sometimes, somewhere between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Berlin, at 33 000 feet with a laptop open and headphones on, DJ MidTempo finds the next song.
Cheza Kidogo will be released on September 11, 2026, via Tahoe Studios across major streaming and digital music platforms.
