Africa’s electronic music platform
Since 2012, Sub Sahara has been repositioning the African continent on the global electronic music stage — through events, experiences, radio, and a record label across three continents.
Photo: Jonx Pillemer
700+
Artists booked since 2012
50+
International headliners hosted
8,000+
Guests annually
“It was an experience unlike anything — I took my wife and two kids and Richard and his team delivered more than we expected.”
Marcel Dettmann
Headline act, Sub Sahara x fabric London 2026
“It was the perfect way for me to see and play in South Africa for the first time. The bush is hard to explain and the scene in Johannesburg — wow!”
Ben UFO
Headline act, Sub Sahara x fabric London 2025
The platform
01
Events
Cape Town · Joburg · London · Ibiza · Berlin · Nairobi · Kilifi
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02
Experiences
Safari · Cape Culture · culture · Sub Sahara Trails
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03
Radio
OpenLab Ibiza · 106.4FM · global broadcast
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04
Amplification
State of Art · Sound Advice magazine · cultural reach
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05
Label
SUB00 · cross-continental collaboration
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06
Brand partners
Pillar 01
Events
For over fifteen years, Sub Sahara has produced some of the most distinctive electronic music events on the African continent — and beyond. Our flagship Cape Town season anchors an annual global programme spanning Johannesburg, London, Ibiza, Berlin, Nairobi and Kilifi. We have collaborated with the world’s leading music institutions and hosted over 50 international headliners.
Starting with Seth Troxler and Resident Advisor in 2012, Sub Sahara has produced over 70 festivals and 40 club nights. Notable headliners include Marcel Dettmann, Ben UFO, Gerd Janson, Nick Warren, Ralph Lawson, DJ Tennis, Rebolledo, Bicep, Midland, 2manydjs, Kruder & Dorfmeister and many more. Full alumni list available on request.
Scale
7 festivals, 10 club nights, 8 cities. 8,000+ guests annually.
Global footprint
Active in Cape Town, Johannesburg, London, Ibiza, Berlin, Nairobi and Kilifi. The 2026/27 calendar spans 3 continents across 8 months.
Institutional partnerships
Co-presented events with fabric London, Bridges for Music, He.She.They, OpenLab Radio and CTEMF — globally recognised music institutions and brands.
2026 / 27 Programme — by date
Sub Sahara x Bridges for Music at SXSW
Pre and after-parties, multiple central London venues — feat. Bridges for Music artists and alumni
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Sub Sahara presents: Seasons Tour feat. Rebolledo
Pachanga Boys / Kompakt — Joburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, Kilifi + London (OpenLab)
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Sub Sahara x Bridges for Music showcase, Ibiza
Sub Sahara takeover — Las Dalias and Akasha
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Sub Sahara x Feinstoff feat. Freudenthal & Frivolous
Crack Bellmer, Berlin
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Sub Sahara x fabric London: South Africa vol.3
Truth JHB, Joburg + Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town
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Sub Sahara x Sheer City presents: Sheer City 2027
Flagship event — multiple venues, street closures, Cape Town + Play Braam, Joburg
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Sub Sahara Season Closer
Official end-of-season party — Cartel Rooftop, Cape Town — feat. surprise acts from the season
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Pillar 02
Experiences
Sub Sahara’s experiential offer is what makes touring artists stay longer, come back sooner, and speak loudest. Safaris, Cape Culture, township culture and inner-city discovery — these are the moments that become stories. From July 2026, through Sub Sahara Trails, this offer extends to guests: all-inclusive packages built around our season, curated the way we curate it for our headliners.
Safari
Handpicked safari experiences for visiting headliners and guests. Curated and off the tourist trail — deliberately extraordinary.
Cape Culture
Boutique estate visits, private tastings and off-menu restaurant access. The kind of hospitality that doesn’t appear in any tour guide.
Johannesburg culture
Inner-city tours, township music culture, contemporary art and nightlife that reframes the city for those who think they already know it.
Content value
Every experience generates organic multimedia assets. Artists describe these tours as career-shaping. Tours become stories in our hands.
Sub Sahara Trails — from July 2026
For the first time, the same hospitality we extend to our headliners is available to guests. All-inclusive packages to South Africa over season — event tickets, hotels, restaurants, wine tours and curated itineraries, all handpicked.
Safari
Sub Sahara has longstanding relationships with various safari parks and game lodges across South Africa. The experience can be as quick as one night in the nearby Pilanesberg, or 3–4 nights further afield in areas like Hoedspruit near the Kruger Park. Every game drive is personally arranged — no tourist buses, no group packages.
Cape Culture
We have teams of guides and locals on the ground who agree that the way to see the Cape is off the beaten path. Private tastings on farms closed to the public, chef’s tables with extended menus, and qualified tour guides throughout. We also work closely with our friends at Bridges for Music, whose work in the townships adds a genuinely transformative dimension to any visit.
Johannesburg
The original source of the Sub Sahara river — our founder was born and raised in Johannesburg before moving to Cape Town at age 20. This gives us the ability to explore the city without ever having to wonder if you are in the right area or missing out on the culture that bubbles just beneath the surface.
Sub Sahara Trails
In 2026 we are opening up the well-trodden path that we have been showing off to our headline artists to the party-going public. Bespoke packages, expertly curated, are part of the ticket price for those wanting to unwind and wine and dine like a headliner between the principal events. Extremely limited.
Sponsor VIP Hosting
As with the offering in Trails, we are happy to extend this hospitality to our main sponsors, their guests and their colleagues from around the world. This allows for organic product placement, as well as guaranteed consumption of your product on game drives and at dinner tables. A media opportunity that extends far beyond screens and stages.
Pillar 03
Label
SUB00 is the recorded music arm of Sub Sahara — built on the idea that the tour itself should become the album. The blueprint was set in 2017 when Clarian’s visit to South Africa produced field recordings later shaped into his EP ‘Time Safari’, released on Kompakt in 2019. Four electronic cuts made entirely from found sounds recorded on South African soil.
The concept
Touring international act meets local South African artist. They explore together. Back in their respective studios, each makes an original track — then they swap stems and remix each other. The continent becomes the instrument.
Blueprint: Clarian × Time Safari
Field recordings and foley from Clarian’s 2017 Sub Sahara tour, shaped into four techno and house cuts. Released on Michael Mayer’s Kompakt label, 2019.
Release model
Four-track EPs in series. Each release is a cross-continental collaboration — one international act, one African artist, two original tracks and two remixes.
Pillar 04
Radio
Sub Sahara’s residency on OpenLab Radio — broadcast live from Ibiza and across the globe — exists to correct a skewed perception. African electronic music is not a genre. It is a continent’s worth of output that goes almost entirely unheard internationally. This show is the corrective.
The format
One hour. First half: music produced strictly on the African continent, mixed by Richard Marshall. Second half: interview and guest mix by an African artist.
Broadcast
Live every Thursday on OpenLab.fm globally, and on 106.4FM across Ibiza and Formentera. Listeners across all four continents.
The mission
There’s a lot more to African electronic music than Amapiano, Afro-tech and Afro House. The show is an illuminating insight into what’s actually being made here — and it’s extraordinary.
Listener reach
OpenLab is an Ibiza-based radio station broadcasting globally on OpenLab.fm and on 106.4FM across Ibiza and Formentera. Sub Sahara holds a weekly Thursday residency, broadcasting live every last Thursday of the month at 16:00 local time. Listeners across four continents.
1,000–2,000
plays per show
4,000–5,000
avg live audience
2,000+
listens per month
Pillar 05
Amplification
Sub Sahara’s reach extends well beyond the events themselves. Through Sound Advice magazine and a network of international partnerships, we operate as a cultural platform with genuine influence across print, digital and the global electronic music community.
Sound Advice
Launched January 2026 in collaboration with CTEMF and Mission for Inner City Cape Town. The first edition saw 4,000 copies distributed in under a week — with a tangible impact on included events.
Part infozine, part tourist guide from a local’s perspective. International headliner features, behind-the-scenes content, and off-the-beaten-path city recommendations. The phone-free beach read.
Sponsorship in Sound Advice reaches a curated audience of electronic music tourists, culture-seekers and industry professionals.
Part infozine, part tourist guide from a local’s perspective. International headliner features, behind-the-scenes content, and off-the-beaten-path city recommendations. The phone-free beach read.
Sponsorship in Sound Advice reaches a curated audience of electronic music tourists, culture-seekers and industry professionals.
Digital reach
4,000+
database
400,000+
meta page reach
2,000+
radio listens/mo
A database built over 13 years of events — not aggregated, but earned. Each contact has attended a Sub Sahara event or engaged directly with the platform. Combined with a growing social presence across Facebook and Instagram, the platform reaches a highly targeted audience of electronic music lovers across South Africa, the UK, and Europe.
Partnerships
fabric London
London nightclub institution. Co-presented our flagship South Africa series, vols. 1–3.
Visit ↗
He.She.They
Global LGBTQ+ club brand. Joint takeovers across multiple territories.
Visit ↗
Bridges for Music
Music education NGO operating in South African townships. Showcase & pipeline partner.
Visit ↗
OpenLab Radio
Ibiza-based global radio station. Hosts our weekly Thursday residency.
Visit ↗
CTEMF
Cape Town Electronic Music Festival. Long-running co-presentation partner.
Visit ↗
SXSW
South by Southwest London. Host venue for our 2026 Bridges for Music showcase.
Visit ↗
Airdosh
South African ticketing platform powering our event infrastructure.
Visit ↗
Mission for Inner City Cape Town
Cape Town inner-city development organisation. Co-launch partner on Sound Advice magazine.
Diskotekah
Cape Town partner venue and event collaborator.
Who we are
About Sub Sahara
Sub Sahara is an events, experiences and multimedia company with offices in London and Cape Town. With a radio show out of Ibiza, a record label, a scene-zine and annual events across three continents, through the experiences we curate we are perfectly positioned to be a source of unique content creation that reinvigorates interaction with the real world.
We are primarily an agency for change, affecting the status quo of the positioning of the African continent in the international electronic music scene. Through radio, events, a record label and bespoke experiences, Sub Sahara is driven by disruption and committed to securing Africa its rightful place on the international electronic music stage.
700+
Artists booked
70+
Festivals produced
2012
Founded
The team
Sub Sahara operates with a lean, experienced team across London and Cape Town — with specialist partners embedded across production, bars, ticketing and sponsorship.
Richard Marshall
Founder & Creative Director
Cody Hoffman
Chief Financial Officer
Lelo Meslani
Creative Consultant
Gordon Mackay
Head of Technical
Get in touch
Contact us
Sponsorship enquiry
We’ll come back to you within 48 hours.
Name
Company
Email
Territory of interest
Message
Direct contact: richard@sub-sahara.co
Sub Sahara · London & Cape Town · sub-sahara.co
Sub Sahara · London & Cape Town · sub-sahara.co
Sheer City — Cape Town & Johannesburg
Sheer City
Split over three distinct events per year, Sheer City is a fabulous collaboration of some of Cape Town’s favourite party families. Debuting in 2026 with 2500 people across seven venues, street closures and two days of cultural expressionism — Sheer City is set to become the three-part party series that will attract local and international artists and guests alike. Inclusion, diversity and queer culture are the backbone of the Sheer City manifesto.
Sheer City — January
The Flagship Event
The flagship event that takes over the east city district. Multiple established and pop-up venues orbit the street closures around Harrington, Barrack, Constitution and Canterbury Streets. Over 50 musical acts and performers take stages across the district for 14 hours of art, music and inclusion. Our sister event in Johannesburg is produced with Lelowhatsgood and his company VNJ Ball.
Sheer Disko
The Mid-Winter Warmer
The mid-winter warmer — an intimate and cosy reminder of what awaits us in the summer months, and gives the Sheer City audience something to look forward to between the main events. Taking over the stunning Botanik venue that looks over the Company’s Gardens on Queen Victoria Street, our debut event in July 2026 features Mexican-born Pachanga Boy, Rebolledo. Again, with a sister event in Johannesburg with VNJ Ball.
Disko City
The Season Opener
Our season opener that kicks off summer in Cape Town. A high-concept takeover of Cape Town High School, this day-into-night affair marks the first true weekend of the summer in Cape Town, and is what we consider to be the sign of seasonal celebrations.
Sheer City in Numbers