About
Kid Fonque (aka Allan Nicoll) has played a vital role in South African electronic music and club culture for the last 20 years. With a career spanning production, DJing, presenting and heading up one of the genre’s most respected labels, Stay True Sounds, Allan’s most recent chapter sees him front and centre of legendary house music institution Defected Records as the newly appointed Head of A&R.
From humble beginnings, DJing in the yard of Johannesburg hotspot 206 Live, Allan soon established himself as the go-to for South Africa’s deep house and electronic rhythms. Parallel to spinning alongside the likes of Gilles Peterson, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Tom Misch, Bonobo, Skepta, Henrik Schwarz, Âme and Rich Medina, Nicoll helped propel the Soul Candi imprint to seminal status on the African content. His first compilation CDs – the eclectic, Saladomundo Volumes 1 & 2 arrived on USM Records followed by ‘Kid Fonque And Friends’ featuring Theo Parrish, Cuebur, Charles Webster, DJ Whiskey and more on Soul Candi in 2013. ‘Be’ with Zaki Ibrahim and ‘All This Time’ with Clara Hill and D-Malice landed on UK- based imprint of esteemed producer Atjazz in 2015.
Founded in 2015, Allan’s own imprint Stay True Sounds has been a jump-off point for some of the current leading lights in SA house music, including Bruce Loko, Fka Mash, Dwson, Zito Mowa, Jazzuelle, SculpturedMusic, BillowJazz, China Charmeleon, Sio and many more. Homing records from the scene’s much-loved pioneers, the label’s repertoire includes 2016’s ‘Bossa Over?’, ‘Life Is Real’ with collaborator D-Malice and Kid Fonque’s own acclaimed debut album ‘I Move To A Different Beat’. The 2019 feature-filled LP with Ty, former Liquideep vocalist Ziyon, Jonny Miller and Card On Spokes received five-star reviews from tastemakers Alex Barck (Jazzanova), Worldwide FM founder Gilles Peterson and Rainer Trüby. 2021’s collaborative album with Jonny Miller titled ‘Connected’ earned him Album Of The Month on Apple Music Africa and Album Of The Week on Traxsource.
With an expert knowledge of the South African electronica scene, it came as no surprise when approached by national radio station 5FM to host for one of the biggest niche broadcasts in the country. Broadcast weekly for the last seven years, Kid Fonque’s show Selective Styles is a curation of the finest across the house spectrum featuring an array of local and international artists, including Felix Laband, Jazzuelle, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Till Von Sein and countless others. Its deserved win of Best Dance Radio Show at the 2019 Dance Music Awards South Africa cemented its reputation as the go-to for music discovery. The demand for Allan’s discerning ears didn’t stop there – in the same year he hosted Kid Fonque Presents True Music Sessions. Sponsored by Ballantine’s and broadcast on leading music platform Channel O, the series saw Kid Fonque interview some of the scene’s key players including Sio, Daev Martian, Lemon & Herb, Kususa, and Gina Jeanz.
Free of boundaries – be they genres or borders – Kid Fonque’s latest move to the UK, heading up A&R for one of dance music’s leading outputs will see him play a pivotal role in bringing exceptional house music to a global audience. A pioneer for the scene, he will continue to present his award-winning Selective Styles exclusively for Defected’s 24/7 platform Defected Broadcasting House, bringing to the forefront the best of South Africa’s underground sounds.
