Biography

e·klek·tik (adj.)

"Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles."

Kevin 'eclectik' Mowbray was born in Ontario, Canada in the 70's. He grew up in a very musical family and started collecting records in the third grade. His early influences were classic rock, motown, and the funk and soul music popular in the 70's. His vinyl collection really started to grow when the 80's arrived, and he started making 'mixtapes' of new wave and punk music. In 1984 he bought his first dj mixer - the classic 'realistic' brand from Radio Shack and with two old turntables started to mix music of different genres such as rock, punk, new wave, 80's, funk, and soul.

In 1987 early Run Dmc, Grandmaster Flash, and Beastie Boys music started to emerge and eclectik was hooked. He met with artists such as Ice T and Maestro Fresh Wes who supported his style and motivated him to take his skills to the next level. At this point he proceeded to refine his techniques of 'beat matching' to blend music seamlessly, and he experimented with 'cuts and scratches' - the early versions of tricks now made famous by turntablists and battle dj's worldwide.

His first official gigs were highschool dances, house parties, and famous outdoor 'bush parties' with sound systems run by generators in some of Ontario's vast forests. Up until this point he was known as 'Mix Master Mowbs' but once he started university his extremely mixed style of rock, funk, soul, old school, breaks, hip hop, rnb, house, and top 40 provided him the dj name 'eclectic'.

In the mid 90's he bought his first pair of the industry standard turntables (technics 1200's) and a proper mixer and started to turn out underground mix cd's of hip hop and the funk and soul tracks that they were sampled from. These mixes caught the attention of local promoters who started to give him his first club gigs where he would rock large crowds.

In 1997 eclectik needed a vacation. He toured south east asia for 22 weeks straight, hitting every country from Cambodia to Indonesia and playing gigs along the way - noteably in Boracay, Philippines where he also appeared on a local entertainment TV show.

Upon his return to Canada he set his sights on Vancouver, BC which he now calls home. He works days as an Optometrist and specializes in overnight corneal reshaping to reduce nearsightedness in myopic children, and continues to work nights as a club dj. He has played Urban Well, Plaza, Caprice, Backstage Lounge, Lola, Skybar, Voda, Doolins, Tantra, Tokyo Lounge and the Pit Pub among other spots locally. He has shared the stage with world famous dj's and hip hop artists and also appeared several times on MTV Canada as the on air dj personality. He still plays occasional gigs out of town and now has expanded his services to spin tunes at weddings and private parties.

City TV in Vancouver has done a news spot showcasing his 'double life' - doctoring eyes in the daytime and doctoring sick beats after dark! He plans to dj until his last breath and if you are interested in hiring him please visit the events & bookings section of this website for more details.

Did you also know Kevin Mowbray works as a professional photographer? Please visit his photography website for more information: www.eclectikimaging.com