DJ Swivel talks D-Pryde, Jay Sean, and Mixing Music

DJ Swivel is no amateur to the music business. At 27, he has achieved in a short amount of time what many mixers and producers hope to achieve in a lifetime. Within 5 years of graduating a sound engineering program, Swivel has worked with a handful of A-list artists.  His biggest achievement to date is becoming the full-time audio engineer to global superstar, Beyoncé Knowles.
 
He’s a humble guy too. In his spare time, he’s been known to help out D’Pryde. He recently extended a helping hand in mixing Pryde’s newest single, “Bottom Dollar,” off the June 3rd Flagship mixtape.
 
Swivel gives Jackfroot the slice on artists he has worked with, insight into his profession, and words of advice on opportunities and success in the industry.
 
What’s the story behind linking up with D-Pryde to produce “Did It On My Own” for the Mars Mixtape?
 
I linked up with D-Pryde through a friend of mine named Jason Martin, who owns an independent label that D-Pryde is signed to [Mars Music].  Jason came by one of my sessions one day and showed me this new artist he was working with.  I liked what I saw, so I invited him to the studio.  We worked on a few things, one of them being “Did It On My Own.”  It’s good to be able to help out some of the younger generation of artists, and show them the ropes a little bit.
 
(Note: DJ Swivel has hinted on Twitter that he’s helping out with D-Pryde’s newest single “Bottom Dollar” which leaked on YouTube earlier this month from Pryde’s upcoming mixtape Flagship. We thought about previewing the leak, but we figured the final product would be worth waiting for instead.)
 
[“Did it on my Own” YouTube link: http://youtu.be/KxlQugs7XW4 ]  
What projects have you worked on for Jay Sean?
 
Ah Jay is my family!  I started working with Jay Sean in 2007 or so, on the My Own Way album.  His producers (Orange Factory) are good friends of mine, and this was a project they were working on, so it began as just some regular sessions like anything else.  Since then we’ve grown to be great friends and I’ve been involved with a bit of mixing and engineering on all his projects since My Own Way, including mixing his top 10 single, “Do You Remember” off his debut album in America, All Or Nothing.
 
What can an aspiring producer, mixer, and engineer expect from a typical workday or project in your profession?
 
The great thing about what I do is there is no “typical” work day.  I love the fact that one day I could be working on production, the next day I might be mixing a record, and the next day I might be recording an artist.  Though one thing that is consistent is it’s always long hours and late nights.  When I’m working on one project for an extended period of time I’m usually able to get into a routine.  For example on Beyonce’s last record ‘4’, I recorded the whole album.  So for roughly a year we worked almost every day.  We would usually start sometime in the afternoon, 2 or 3pm maybe, and we would work until 4am, or even later.  And on occasion we have very long sessions that can last up to 40 hours straight.  It all comes with the territory.
 
What elements do you think contributed to your success working with high profile artists like Fabolous, Beyonce, and others?
 
I think there are three main things that really helped me get to where I am.  To start, it was working for free.  A lot of people don’t understand the business and they get in thinking something is owed to them and they’re going to be making large sums of money right away.  It doesn’t work like that.  You need to prove your value, before anyone is willing to invest in you.  I interned unpaid for nearly a year before I ever got a paying gig, and when I did get paid gigs, they were for very little money.  But I didn’t think about any of that.  I loved what I was doing so much, so I’ve never felt like I wasn’t moving towards my goals.  I understood what it took, I mentally prepared myself for it, and I just had fun.  That got me in the door, then the next thing was my work ethic.  When I was interning I was putting in 80-100 hours or more in the studio every week, day in, day out, for 3 years.  I worked when I was sick, I was worked when I was tired, and if I got a call and was out doing something else, I would drop whatever it was to come into the studio.  I worked hard, I never complained, and I just did my best to get better and better at what I do.  The last thing I think is my personality and ability to connect with artists.  I think as a whole I’m relatively laid back and easy going.  I also work in genres of music that I enjoy, so I understand the culture.  This is a very important thing.  If you don’t know how to speak to an artist, you’re not going to be able to connect with them.  Artists go to the studio to be free and comfortable.  It’s a very personal space for them.  No matter how talented you may be, if you’re unable to connect on a personal level, they probably won’t care to work with you enough to discover your talents.
 
Do you have any words of advice for our readers?
 
My advice is simple.  Do what you love.  No matter how big the barriers may be, go after it relentlessly.  Nobody ever got what they wanted without trying.  If you don’t try, you’ve lessened your chances by 100%.  It’s the simplest task, yet tends to be the most difficult for people to grasp.  Once you’re doing what you love, work harder than everyone else, and don’t settle.
 
Links:
http://djswivel.com/
Twitter @djswivel

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