South African selector DESIREE opens the new year by bringing MMiNO back to the Mother City. On 8 January, The Alley in Cape Town hosts the latest edition of her fast-growing event series, joined by Cape Town star Queezy and Brazilian artist Omoloko.
Now entering its third year, MMiNO’s South African editions remain its foundation. What began in Johannesburg’s underground in 2023 has grown into a travelling platform with touchpoints in London, Ibiza, and Kenya, all while maintaining a deeply local spirit. Cape Town now stands as one of MMiNO’s most anticipated stops, a space where community, music, and radical presence converge.
MMiNO’s signature no-phones, no-flash, full-presence ethos has become central to its identity, creating a dance floor culture grounded in intention. And in Cape Town, where the city’s creative underground thrives in its own way, the ethos takes on new dimensions.
Queezy, a multidisciplinary force known for world-building through music, performance, visual art, and bold queer expression, brings the unmistakable energy of Cape Town’s drag and club lineage. Their sets carry theatre, sass, and unapologetic expression, transforming space in a way only Queezy can.
Joining from Brazil is OMOLOKO, one of the artists pushing Belo Horizonte’s underground scene onto the world stage. Through parties like 101Ø and the Afro-inspired Mathosa series, he has helped create some of Brazil’s most inclusive and genre-fluid dance spaces. His sound, a melting pot of disco, broken beat, house, techno, Kwaito, and Afro-diasporic soundscapes, brings warmth, colour, and cultural memory to every dance floor.
“Cape Town has its own heartbeat,” DESIREE says. “MMiNO is about community and presence, and this city understands that deeply. Every year we return, the energy grows. This is how we start the year, connected.”
Johannesburg led the homecoming on 15 November. Cape Town closes it on 8 January at The Alley.
EVENT DETAILS
Venue: The Alley, Paared Eiland
Date: Thursday, 8 January 2026
Doors open: 9 PM till late
Lineup: DESIREE, OMOLOKO, Queezy
Tickets: https://fixr.co/event/mmino-tickets-621778029?ref=cpt
Instagram: @mminomusic @desiree_rsa @omoloko_@queezybabaz
ABOUT MMiNO
MMiNO, meaning music in siPedi, has grown from intimate club gatherings into a global movement celebrated for its energy, inclusivity, and cultural depth. The series has expanded to include London, Kenya and Ibiza, and now returns to South Africa to continue its exploration of sound, identity, and ritual. With its no-phone dancefloor policy, MMiNO invites audiences to be fully present, an embodiment of DESIREE’s philosophy that music is both a spiritual and communal act. The Johannesburg show will serve as the first in a two-part homecoming, followed by MMiNO Cape Town on 8 January 2026.
ABOUT DESIREE
Recently named one of Mixmag’s “Top 25 DJs Who Defined 2024” and a nominee for BBC Radio 1’s Essential Mix of the Year, DESIREE continues to elevate South African electronic music onto the global stage. Her performances at Panorama Bar, Glastonbury Festival, fabric London, and Coachella 2025 have cemented her as an ambassador of house music’s emotional and cultural resonance. Through MMiNO, DESIREE continues to cultivate a platform for connection, a space where music, identity, and spirit meet on the dancefloor.
ABOUT OMOLOKO
OMOLOKO is part of the new wave of artists who are leading the Brazilian scene from the front. His colourful 101Ø party in Belo Horizonte is one the most exciting in the country thanks to its exchange of artists both nationally and internationally. Having lived all over Brazil, his own music is infused with all the various niche scenes and sounds you would hear if you travelled the country, from disco to diaspora sounds, techno to broken beat. His reputation has seen him booked at landmarks like Panorama Bar as well as our own festival in Amsterdam, and now he joins our podcast ranks with a mix that represents his open-hearted, free flowing style perfectly.
