Producer: Kevin Sweeney

Name: Kevin Sweeney
Age: 51
From: Croydon / New Addington

Married: to Michelle Sweeney
Children: 3 Boys  / Daniel, Lewis & Nathaniel

Favourite All-time Song: Gary Byrd Experience ‘The Crown’ 12″
Favourite Type of Music: Soul , Funk, R&B
Favourite Labels: Solar , Stress, Prelude
Software Used / Acid Pro / Pro Tools / Samplitude Pro X / Sound Forge / Vegas Pro HD
Hobbies: Exercise  /  Watching Movies  / Swimming / Weight training
Pets: Dog (Teddy)  2 Cats (Belle & Bonnie)

Favourite Mix:  Too many to mention but one is:

DMC  Dance Decade Vol 3 (1983) by Mike Gray

Favourite Producer : Paul Dakeyne

The Producer I would most like to work with on a project : Rod Layman

Future Ambitions to Concentrate on More of the Remix side of music & treat myself to more Equipment!

I first got into music when I was about 11 years old. (I used to sneak into my older sister’s  room to listen to her 12″ records while she was out lol).
My first Album ever bought was Madness ‘Baggy Trousers’ I remember saving my pocket money for which felt like weeks, just to get my own piece of vinyl.
From that day on, every bit of money was spent on records or tapes. Through the years I began to purchase various pieces of audio equipment. I eventually had my first Mobile DJ Setup when I was about 18 years old. Starlight Disco – lol don’t laugh, well I was  young! I Remember getting my first set of  SL1210 MK II in black, I was so excited, slowly followed by Numark PPD Mixer, DMC Gemini Scratch Mixer, Akai S950 Sampler, Pioneer CD Player, Akai Reel to Reel, I was on my way.
Myself & my Brother Ian, basically lived in our bedroom 24/7, trying out different mixes & learning to BPM our thousands of records & labelling each and every one. We first heard about DMC through Mixmag, a DJ magazine in the 1980s also run by DMC. The mixes DMC produced were groundbreaking at the time. We just had to get our hands on ’em ! We joined DMC in 1984 I believe, where the likes of producers Paul Dakeyne, Mike Gray, Brian Butler, Les Adams, Alan Coulthard and Sanny X lived. I remember at the time thinking I just had to get a mix on the DMC label – it was my dream! By this time I was doing regular gigs all around South London pubs and clubs – even getting collared on holidays abroard to step in and do a mix session for the locals – I honestly didn’t mind as I loved mixing music of all kinds. My first break came in 1991 on the Music Factory label, Issue 58 with a mix called “All Night Long” – I was over the moon, all the hard work
over the years had paid off. I ended up doing Music Factory Music toolkit for a few months after this, then life took hold and my boys were born & I really didn’t have the time or money to spend on my hobbies. I had to sell most of my equipment to make ends meet. Once the boys were a bit older I got into computers in a big way, building systems for people. Then I had to build a power PC for a DJ producer friend – I was shocked how music mixing had basically been taken over by computers (or at least a big part had). No more need to spice tape to make an edit, simply load up the song and cut away. If you made a mistake just hit the undo button –  wow! I had to have a go at this, so i built myself a decent spec PC and started mixing again. After a few weeks of trying I came up with a mix called “Shrek The Dance Party”, so I thought I would give the “Big Boys” a try and sent the mix to DMCs Peter Roberts. I remember it like it was yesterday, on a Thursday evening, the phone went
and it was DMC’s Peter Roberts. He said he liked my mix and could I edited a few things and they would like to release it! I was on cloud 9 for about a week. Just to get my mix on the DMC label was everything
to me. My first actual release was on DMC Commercial Collection 253 February 2004 “Push It To The Max” & I have been producing mixes for DMC ever since then. I provide mixes for Kiss 100FM Booty Shows, Heart 106.2FM Club Classics show on a Friday & Saturday Night and Heart’s New Year’s Eve 8 hour Mix specials for 6 Years, and currently have a Show on Epic-Radio.com on a Monday & Wednesday 8 -10pm. I also produce mixes for certain celeb Radio DJs to play out (but that’s highly confidential lol). I hope this gives you a brief look back over my life and love for music & mixing. Kevin Sweeney.