Cheiron Studios Milestones
After identifying a void in the market for suitable dancefloor versions of the latest international chart hits, six of Stockholm's most popular DJs, including Dag "Denniz PoP" Volle, formed SweMix Productions to make those remixes themselves. Eventually, the DJs discovered their musical abilities and started to record their own songs as well.
SweMix Records was formed with the aid of Tom Talomaa, who owned Ritz, one of Stockholm's nightclubs, which had staged performances by such artists as Duran Duran and LL Cool J.
In 1989, Volle scored his first commercial hit with Dr. Alban's "Hello Afrika." Volle later became a mentor and producer for Ace Of Base, a band that was neglected by the entire Swedish recording industry and subsequently signed to Mega Records in Copenhagen.
In 1993, he started Cheiron together with Talomaa under a deal with BMG. Volle was approached by Max Martin, who played in the heavy metal band It's Alive and needed a remix of one of their songs. (The remix was never released.) Martin joined Cheiron as co-songwriter/producer and did songs for such acts as Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 3T, Rednex, Robyn, and Five.
Talomaa, Volle, and Martin inked a joint venture deal with the Zomba Group in 1997.
Volle, a self-professed fan of games (treasure hunts, charades, computer games, softball) and design-, film-, and photo-production software, often arranged gatherings for Cheiron staff and the Swedish music industry. He was reportedly always on the winning team (except for the occasional water fight in the studio). However, Volle lost his battle with cancer on Aug. 31, 1998.


