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keven maroda
Biography Before taking up the role of DJ, Keven was a frequent vistor of outdoor raves in his youth. Amazed by the majesty and ambience as one song seemingly flowed into another for hours on end, Keven spent 2 years collecting vinyls at second hand shops before stepping behind the wheels in 1999. He would recieve minor guest spots at various raves and party locals for the next three years, as he attempted to tone his technique while the sound that he brought behind the decks incubated. It wasn't until 2002 when Keven recieved his big break, as he became the resident DJ at two of the biggest college parties in New Haven and South Norwalk Connecticut. However, the "underground" music of his upbringing wasn't favored by the demographic who were flooding the parties, and he had to quickly adapt. "Thats when I learned the most important skill of being a DJ," says Keven, "the ability to read the crowd". The venues would be filled to capacity, as the patrons enjoyed a mix of both the unknown and the sing-along favorites. Yet, the scene as everybody knew it was changing. The demand for commercial hip hop was squeezing out the dance music that was once on everyone's lips and all over the radio. It created a split amongst club goers, and established a polarity that few promoters and DJs alike would be able to please. In 2003, Keven was forced to leave his residencies, and hasnt held one since. He moved back to New Jersey where he dove into producing. "Things were changing and I think everybody was having a hard time transitioning. A popular saying became clubs were either 'too New Jersey' or 'too New York'. Working at the venues had lost its fun and become more of a job. I had always been interested in making music though, I was taught how to read and write sheet music when I was little, the DJing thing kinda just happened." With the money he made from DJing, he purchased his producing computer along with some synthesizers, and never looked back. His first commercial releases would be seen on Tweek'd Records in 2004, which were received with much approval and praise. Keven's next release "Afraid of the Dark" on Amathus Music proved to be his biggest success, finding its way onto the "Promo Only" release series, and also landing a spot on the popular "White Party USA Vol 3" compliation CD. Since then he has gone on to release various remixes and original projects on such labels as Ggressive Recordings, Amathus Music, DJG Trax, Controversial Records NYC, Escuro Recordings, Slanted Black Records, Sound Groove Records, and Fatal Music Holland. In 2006 he released his first full length album "Nacht Muzik" on Amathus Music which was met with high critical acclaim. "Too many people have pre-concieved notions in their head when it comes to dance music," responds Keven when asked to give his take on the current status of 'club-land'. "People like to pick their favorite style and hate on everything else. Nothing enrages me more when I hear somebody say "Trance is for kids" or something like that. One day I'll be in the mood to produce trance, the next day I'll be making a sample based hip hop track...thats how I keep a creative edge on my music career. Its the same when I DJ: one minute I'll be playing a 'modern track', then I'll mix into the track from the 90s that it sampled from, then I'll put on a hip hop track or something out there, just to keep both me and the audience entertained." Top 10 (all-time)
1. De Capo - Esqueleto {Guarjra}
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