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ARTICLE
Visitors to ‘BPM – the Show for DJs’ in October of last year were treated to a rare and bespoke set by one half of the Video Geeks, Kel Sweeney. Rare, because along with his video jock partner Ben Adams (Ben Jammin), Kel is usually only seen doing video work at big festivals and bespoke events as he created his set especially for a DJ audience. Pro Mobile’s editor, Peter Holding, caught up with Kel to find out more about how he went from DJing as a student to festival DJ.
Q. What inspired you to become a DJ?
Music, in a word. I was brought up on music. My dad was into Clapton and jazz, and my mum was into Donna Summer and George Michael. From a young age, I bought music with my pocket money, and I started to listen to pirate radio in the late 80s. I thought, oh, they're mixing stuff together – so I had to get two turntables, not just one. Although, I didn’t realise that you needed to be able to change the speed, so I bought some crap belt-drive ones first, with the pitch control. I slowly got to grips with mixing, then eventually used my first student loan to buy the pair of Technics that I still have today.
I wandered into the campus on my first day at university and asked if there were any gigs going for a DJ. I was told they had a gig the following week – £25 for playing 7pm to midnight.
I turned up with my records and they had a double decks console. The place was rammed because they'd had a dance event on, and I managed to keep the audience there. I was offered a spot every Wednesday, then I got one on Fridays, and not long after that, Saturdays too. After running the entertainment for a couple of years I got links to outside clubs and I became a fully-fledged full-time professional club DJ for about 15 years, working four or five nights a week all over the place.
Q. Did you complete that university course?
Yes, I've got a degree in sports science and I'm a fully qualified personal trainer. I was up to level 4 personal training, which is for cardiac rehab classes for people who’ve had heart attacks. I used to deal with quite high-risk people. Occasionally I’ll still do personal training plans for people, but not all that often. I'm still a big fitness person though. I spend lots of time in the gym, so it's still a passion.
Q. How did your family feel about your DJ career?
Some parents would ask you when you’re going to get a real job, but mine were...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
Q. What inspired you to become a DJ?
Music, in a word. I was brought up on music. My dad was into Clapton and jazz, and my mum was into Donna Summer and George Michael. From a young age, I bought music with my pocket money, and I started to listen to pirate radio in the late 80s. I thought, oh, they're mixing stuff together – so I had to get two turntables, not just one. Although, I didn’t realise that you needed to be able to change the speed, so I bought some crap belt-drive ones first, with the pitch control. I slowly got to grips with mixing, then eventually used my first student loan to buy the pair of Technics that I still have today.
I wandered into the campus on my first day at university and asked if there were any gigs going for a DJ. I was told they had a gig the following week – £25 for playing 7pm to midnight.
I turned up with my records and they had a double decks console. The place was rammed because they'd had a dance event on, and I managed to keep the audience there. I was offered a spot every Wednesday, then I got one on Fridays, and not long after that, Saturdays too. After running the entertainment for a couple of years I got links to outside clubs and I became a fully-fledged full-time professional club DJ for about 15 years, working four or five nights a week all over the place.
Q. Did you complete that university course?
Yes, I've got a degree in sports science and I'm a fully qualified personal trainer. I was up to level 4 personal training, which is for cardiac rehab classes for people who’ve had heart attacks. I used to deal with quite high-risk people. Occasionally I’ll still do personal training plans for people, but not all that often. I'm still a big fitness person though. I spend lots of time in the gym, so it's still a passion.
Q. How did your family feel about your DJ career?
Some parents would ask you when you’re going to get a real job, but mine were...
To read the full article, you’ll need to have a physical copy of the magazine which you can sign up for here for 6 issues delivered to your door from just £16!
https://store.promobile.online/products/pro-mobile-magazine-6-issue-1-year-subscription
You’ll also get full interactive access to this and the last year of magazines via the Pro Mobile Magazine App which is available from both the Apple App Store and Android PlayStore
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 123, Pages 52-54.
