Since electronic dance music (EDM) has been hitting us everyday like a sonic sucker punch to the head lately, VIBE saw it befitting to check out old schooler and house music pioneer, David Morales, as he celebrated the release of his long-anticipated (eight years in the waiting to be exact) album, Changes.
“I’m excited because it’s a good day! I’m still here and I’m having fun,” the Grammy Award-winning producer told VIBE, Thursday, June 14th during his album release party at club Cielo in NYC. The 50-year-old, Morales worked the room with ease, like some sort of Frank Sinatra/Diddy house music hybrid, with a goatee.
The Meatpacking District’s long-running nightspot hosted the “invite-only” listening party, which soon morphed into a haven for house faithfuls, featuring live sets from electronic heavy hitters Frankie Knuckles, Hector Romero, Quentin Harris, with support from Morales’ own Def Mix and EDM powerhouse label, Ultra Records. Also in association with party-makers Dance.Here.Now, the scene for guest of honour, David Morales was, to say the least, happy and bouncy, with no Chris Brown/Drake punch-outs.
“It’s great that there’s a [EDM] boom in America,” Morales told us during a sit-down interview in the club’s special outdoors section (for the city’s remaining steadfast smokers). “If we go back in time, America was once on the frontline. When it came to clubbing and being first on the block, we lost it a bit. To think, I’ve made all my money and toured everywhere in the world but America…even when I was doing remixes in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was really Europe that put me on the map first. It wasn’t even my own people.”
David Morales says this out of mere disappointment, but he’s not looking for a pity party. The man that has worked with music legends such as, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, the late Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, to name a few, transforming their pop tracks into club-friendly bangers. He’s been around the block and knows more than a few tricks of the trade.
Thus, when it comes to the new DJs, “I’m not gonna name names” (although we tried to get him to!), Morales said the new instant-superstar-DJs simply can’t hang. “If you want to talk about the DJ culture,” he added “the new kids on the block, they don’t have a f**king clue at all. They don’t know how to spin. They can’t play more than two hours! When it comes to playing sets… where’s the foreplay? Where’s the peak? And where is the hugging afterward?”
It’s hardly surprising that when questioned about collaborating with big names, he sticks to his musical morals. “Everyone wants to piggyback off each other,” said Morales. “But if you believe in what you’re doing, you don’t have to.” Adding unabashedly, “I’m like Prince. My longevity goes on. I’m a trendsetter not a trend follower. Would Prince make a record with someone just because they’re hot at the moment?”
He did peg vocalist and Ultra Records signee, Polina, to sing on three tracks off Changes. The glamazon blonde beauty with the voice of a soul sista told VIBE, “Working with David was really awesome because he’s an extremely warm person. He gave me so much creative freedom, so I’m really looking forward to the album.” How did Morales find the 6’ tall Russian darling whose voice can be heard on the tracks of EDM hotshots such as Steve Aoki, Tiësto and Avicii, and the list goes on. “We [Morales and I] met at the Ultra Records offices one afternoon,” she says, “and he sent me one track, then another one and then another one. He really takes the time to make sure that each track is quality.”
After much prodding, VIBE forced Morales to choose some hip-hop artists he would consider collaborating with, aside from songbird Polina. “L.L. Cool J, or even Eminem, he’s fabulous,” said Morales. “If I was going to collaborate with a producer it would be Timbaland because he’s the sh*t.”
And while almost all the old school house DJs have struggled between staying faithful to their vinyl records, Morales “can’t knock the technology. I embrace it because it takes music to another level. I use programs, Pro Tools, Ableton and Traktor. I have the fundamentals so I can take my sh*t to the next level.”
Check out David Morales and Roisin Murphy’s official video for the single “Golden Era” from Ultra Records below.
The hit is available on iTunes. Find this record, and more happy bounce house tracks on his album, Changes.