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10 Questions with ... Morgan Page
May 20, 2014
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
- Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/morganpage
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/morganpage
- Twitter: twitter.com/morganpage
1. How did you begin? I hear you started out in radio...
That was the whole draw from the beginning; that's how I discovered electronic music. There weren't iPods; there weren't MP3s or blogs. There wasn't a social push or social media to discover music, so I found it through college radio at the University of Vermont. As a high school student, I would tape all the shows.
2. When you were at the College radio station, did you play Dance music then, or were you playing Alternative music? What were you known for?
I played all Electronic music -- Drum & Bass, Ambient, Down-tempo, House -- and that developed into all the sub-genres of House. At the University of Vermont, there wasn't an age or a student requirement, so you could be an outsider of the school and do a radio show at WRUV. From there I went to WERS in Boston.
3. How did you get the urge to go from being a Radio DJ to a Club DJ and do you remember the first club you played at?
It was really great at WERS because the station was on the streets of Boston; people would press themselves up against the glass. You could see a little bit of an audience. With radio, the one thing that is sort of elusive is that you don't really see the audience; you get the phone calls and you hear from the genuine fans of the show. I loved doing the radio show; I did it every Thursday night and I really wanted to take it to the next step and play the music out live and see what this DJ-ing thing is all about. The first club I played at was Phoenix Landing in Cambridge. It was unforgettable. It's funny because I had been kicked out of there for being underage one time before; it was payback being able to go back and play there. It was like a little Irish pub in Boston. The weirdest thing is that you play the music that you create in your little home studio and it just sounds so different live on a huge system, I didn't even recognize my own tracks.
4. How long did it take from being a DJ in Cambridge to becoming a remixer for Madonna, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Korn and The Police?
It was a long process. I had to work some really bad day jobs. I realized I need to leave the East Coast and I moved out to L.A. Boston was cool; after I graduated college I wanted to go out to the West Coast. All of my favorite producers that were making Deep House, which is what I was into at the time -- and they were all coming out of California. I thought if I was in L.A. I get some music into movies and TV. I did a bootleg album, 'Cease & Desist;' it was a bit of a publicity ploy to see if I could get sued. I didn't get sued; I got remix work out of it. The manager for Tegan & Sara found me through that. Some people got mad; Imogen Heap wasn't pleased that I did a bootleg mix and distributed it. I hired a publicist and I pressed up CDs. It was fun it was a good way to cut my teeth in the industry and get good at remixing.
5. You recently put out "Your Love" featuring The Outfield. How did you end up teaming up with them?
It was a song that I had an idea of how the remix would sound in my head and I just had to get it on the computer and illustrate this vision I had. I was thinking I never heard a good version of it and I wanted to do a current EDM version of it. It's funny because there have been some bootleg versions of my cover that are even better than what I have been playing out live. The Kevin Wild mix is really good. I wanted to do a 2013 re-working of "Your Love" and something a little more current.
6. Your current single "Against The World" features Michael S. How did this song come about?
I hadn't heard "Leaving You" that he did with Audien, which was a great song. I had heard of Audien, but didn't know Michael. I got a demo from Armada; they said we have this singer/songwriter and did I want to try and do something with it, I think the label thought I wouldn't like, but Michael had also sent me a piano and vocal demo and I fell in love with it.
7. In 2001. you were nominated for a Grammy of your remix of the Nadia Ali single "Fantasy" and you've also had one of your songs nominated for a deadmau5 remix of "The Longest Road." What were they like?
It was definitely an honor to be nominated. That was deadmau5' first Grammy nomination, so that's kind of cool. It's great to be on both sides of the table. With those nominations, no one can really take them away from you, which is nice, and you only really get one shot. Every year a lot of tracks don't make the cut, it's very competitive. The feeling to be nominated is great and it's a nice little club of producers who have been nominated a few times.
8. What are you currently working on?
I've been working on a new record for the last year-and-a-half or so. There will be some familiar voices and lots of new voices. It's going to be a little more pop and more club-focused as well. I'm really excited about it, it's going to be a different type of sound for me, but also have my roots.
9. Is there a favorite city you love to DJ in?
My favorite venue is Red Rocks, which is right outside of Denver, I love playing in Colorado, but also L.A. is always amazing. Internationally it's tough to narrow it down; everywhere is exciting. South Korea, China, India, It's really cool to get out there and play these emerging markets.
10. If you could hear one DJ play is there a favorite of yours?
I love what deadmau5 does; he is sort of uncompromising in what he plays. There are a lot of good guys out there right now. I love Avicii; all these contemporaries, I love to see them play.
Bonus Questions
What's a typical day like for you and do you doing anything in you spare time?
It depends if I'm in the studio or touring mode. If it's touring mode, most of the day is spent in transit getting ready to go to the show. Prepping edits and trying to do things that are exclusive to only my set. Album mode, which is right now, is spending a lot of time in the studio. Songwriting ... a lot of the songs we are doing straight on guitar and piano. It's very old school. I'm a runner. I do a lot of running, I try and stay fit on tour. I've done one marathon ... the L.A. marathon. I tried to do it this year, but I got injured training. Running is fun; it's cool to see what Kaskade is doing with running, it would be great to approach more fitness mined things in the future.
What's the one most have item to travel with?
Definitely noise-reduction headphones, the Bose headphones I love. There's this new thing I got; it's a super-high-res, high-powered amp that you plug your iPhone in to. It makes drums hit way harder; it's called the International. I had never heard of it before; it's great. Another must-have item for travel is the Scooter Bag. Aoki has the same one; he got me into it. That thing is unbelievable, it looks ridiculous; it's a carry-on bag but it flips down into a scooter and you can ride it to the airport. It's got brakes and people think you're nuts, but you never miss a flight.
What is your favorite restaurant?
Sugarfish in L.A.
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