Ahead of this Friday's storming Prohibition vs Reunite The Carnage, we pitted two of Hard Dance's favourite sons, Phil Reynolds and Kevin Energy, head to head with each other in a cracking interview - see just what makes Kev tick when it comes to Hardcore versus Hard Dance, Sunday Roasts and his alleged love of geeky gadgets!!

Phil: Whats your earliest memory of the dance scene?

Kevin: For me it was listening to DJ’s like M Zone and Mark EG in 1996 in north based events. They used to play a lot of sets in the Hardcore scene which really captured my attention. I then started to go to Strawberry Sundays in London with my friends as a social rave up. Darren Pierce really stood out to me there. I than moved onto partying at Pendragon in about 1998 which really inspired me to start producing hard dance as well as hardcore music.

Phil: You're heavily involved in all types of hard dance - what’s your preference?

Kevin: I have no preference really. I like each for their own stand out reasons. The faster freeform styled music captures more energy and drive but the slower UK hard trance style captures more groove and pace in the individual sounds. Both have different crowds that bring a different vibe to each style.

Phil: We recently seen a resurgence in hard dance over the last year - why do you think that is?

Kevin: I think the quality of the music has risen because more new producers have had a chance to break through following the slight fallout the scene had. New blood like MDA and Spherical have injected the scene with some really fresh ideas. The digital age + social networking has made the distribution of tracks between people a lot quicker and easier so it’s a lot easier for the public to pick up on the great new music.

Phil: How was NEC born and where do you see the brand in the future?

Kevin: It was born from a single record label back in 1998 and has been a slow but steady journey building from the input of other artists and labels over the years. We have just launched a superb new site to represent the artists and labels www.nuenergycollective.com The site proves that we have a lot more legs in us yet! We hope to continue supplying both the hardcore and harddance scenes with fresh music from fresh talent. We’ve had a part in helping a range of producers launch their production careers including Technikal, DBD, Lost soul, Eryk Orpheus, K Complex and loads more. We aim to continue spreading fresh music with a more professional edge – who knows where the future will take us hey ?!

Phil: I bumped into you at Freeformation the other night – with a shaven head. Why was that?

Kevin: Most people have not recognized me as it happens! I had it shaved at the event to raise money for Leukemia research and have so far raised over £700!

Phil: You seem to be constantly holed up in the studio, who have been your influences and are there any collaborations to look out for?

Kevin: I sure do. I’ve been inspired by many people over the years the likes of yourselves (Phil) to Scott Project. Collaboration wise I’ve just finished a peachy track with live act SQ which crosses Psy trance with a UK hard NRG drive. It’s an awesome track that I will play this Friday of course ;)

Phil: What's your ideal Sunday, still rockin' with the best of them or a nice roast with the grand parents?

Kevin: I haven’t had a good rock out session for a while as my weekend schedules seem to be more and more hectic! I’ve usually done about 900 miles by the time I reach my home on a Sunday so I’ve been opting for sleep and a roast recently. I need a nice easy weekend where I can continue the Sunday mash up! I’m certainly missing those classic moments.

Phil: I always see you with little boys toys and gadgets…is there any one essential item any dj/producer should have?

Kevin: Do you? You music be wearing your go go gadget glasses as I’m not one for such things. The only gadget I’m likely to have with me is a beer and some headphones! Unless of course you’re referring to my Magic Mic? It’s a portable hard disk recording device that I’ve been recording all my recent sets with so people can hear them at www.nuenergycollective.com. It’s really neat because it can record audio through a good quality mic so you pick up all the crowd noise.

You can catch both Phil Reynolds and Kevin Energy at Prohibition versus Reunite The Carnage this Friday - click the flyer below for more info!!