Master Kev Interview
5: I know the Hoochies, Tamara and Maria. They are good people.
MASTER KEV: Yeah they really are. They have been loyal for a good number of years now and it's really nice to see, especially from a city (Orlando) that was never really House-friendly in the past. They have definitely helped put together a nice small scene there.
5: So describe how you came from being a Househead at Sound Factory and Shelter to spinning at places like Shelter, Deep, etc?
MASTER KEV: It was a long process. I took a break from the scene from the years of 1997 to 1999. I came back at that time and was hired by Tony Humphries to work at his imprint, Yellorange Records. Tony took notice of my DJ skills after hearing from a friend named Raven Fox about me winning an online mixing competition back in 1999. Tony took a liking to me and a great friendship was born.
Tony took me to many of his gigs both overseas and within the US. I started to meet many promoters, many fans and players in the scene. And from there I started to push myself hard as a DJ, both with online mixes on the Yellorange site and also through getting my own gigs more often. I was also playing with Tony on the gigs he took me on. Then I started to build great friendships with many of the up and coming producers like Dennis Ferrer, Spinna, JoVonn, Quentin Harris, Scott Wozniak, David Harness, as well as the staples: Kevin Hedge, Kerri Chandler, DJ Spen and Teddy Douglas from Basement Boys. It was then that I started to get lots and lots of upfront music on CD. I would get the music from all these guys who were giving it to me to give to Tony to play and they would let me play it as well. So I did, and then I started to get lots and lots of people listening to my online mixes as I would mix a lot of these new unreleased cuts and also blend in classics and '90s House classics. As time went on, I was becoming more and more known in the underground circuit. Then I started to make records with partners David Tobon and John Crockett back in 2006 ("Twisted"). That was the record - our first, mind you. That got everyone thinking and going a bit crazy. So I took that ball and started to run with it. Eventually some bigger names and clubs started to contact me, and the rest is history.
5: Many of Chicago's aspiring House DJs read 5 Magazine. There are a lot of unbelievable DJs who will most likely never tour internationally. What would you tell them to do so that they might have a chance to break through?
MASTER KEV: I would tell them to never give up pursuing their dreams and goals. If you work and push yourself very hard, there's no telling what can happen, seriously! It also doesn't hurt to now dabble into some production, but try and do something a little different. It's not easy, but something great hardly ever comes with ease.
5: So tell our readers a little bit about the struggle you went through. What would you say were the toughest times to persevere in pursuit of your music career?
MASTER KEV: It's kind of tough when you are busy for a while and then everything slows down. You sometimes start to think maybe no one wants to book you anymore. Back then it would bother me more. When it happens now I just chalk it up to the fact I need to get back into the lab and try and make another hit. By the time you're finished working on a couple of projects, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised to find the gigs coming back your way.
5: Describe your relationship with radio - both traditional and internet. You have an internet radio show. It seems you've been heavily influenced by radio as well.
MASTER KEV: Radio has really helped cultivate my sound dating way back to the late '70s through the early- to mid-'90s. Internet radio shows, although a dime a dozen now, are really spreading the new music and the vibe much more globally than any other traditional radio station. As for me with radio, I started playing for a friend named Samuel Acosta aka Sammyrock for a small music site called CyberJamz back in 2004. Well, here it is four years later and CyberJamz has grown much more than possibly I, or most, would have ever thought possible.
5: What does your next set of big goals look like? Where do you want to be in a decade?
MASTER KEV: My next set of goals is to make some more good music and of course try to score that really huge hit. Who knows - a Grammy would be nice. [laughs]
Where do I want to be in a decade? Hmmm, good question - preferably somewhere away from the cold and in a more tropical climate.
As far as the music goes, I'm not sure but I figured I would do this until it becomes not fun anymore, if that is even possible. If the fun stops then it will most likely be time for a change, but for now I'm loving the ride!
5: What releases should our readers be on the look out for?
MASTER KEV: Just recently released on Traxsource is a track I did with Abicah Soul called "Kora" on Iwannai Records. Also, a remix I did with Scott Wozniak for a David Harness track called "The Rhythm" was also just released on Traxsource. In the near future Abicah Soul and I will be finishing up a Nuwambe Project remix to shop and I will be back in the studio working on some brand new stuff with Scott Wozniak.
5: Speaking of Traxsource - please weigh in on the issue of digital record stores replacing vinyl stores. I have heard the argument made that download stores have made it too easy to put out a record and have killed the natural selection of the recording industry. (I wont print his name for fear of his Traxsource account being cancelled.) What is your take?
MASTER KEV: Well, I guess that is true in the sense that as much as we should embrace the technology and being able to play sets either from CDs or laptops, in a way it has hurt the record industry.
Now I'm not saying Traxsource, per se - I'm saying file sharing. Traxsource I believe has helped as well as Beatport and many other download sites. With the mass production of the music nowadays, its become much more convenient to obtain so-called "exclusive" tracks up front from Traxsource. Back in the day, one had to wait sometimes months and in some cases a year or more for the vinyl release to drop.
Now if there was something that could be done with random file sharing or people hacking others hard drives for music, maybe there could be money to be made for making records now. It's getting to the point now that the money is just not there anymore and people are making and selling records almost for free these days.
For Master Kev's schedule and latest releases, check out his (frequently updated) calender at myspace.com/djmasterkev.
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