Thursday, March 28, 2024

In the Mix With Morgan Page

It is 3:00 o’clock in the morning and Morgan Page is hard at work.

The Grammy-nominated disc jockey and producer is on a raised platform before a night club crowd. He rocks back and forth on his heels, manipulating a panel of glowing buttons and nobs in the dark. He takes a few sips of his Red Bull and vodka, before turning his attention back to the adults dancing before him.

Green lasers slice through the dance floor and pillars of dry ice pour down into the crowd. “Friends Don’t Let Friends Fist Pump” flashes in neon colors across the back wall of the venue. In the far right corner of the room, a bottle ignites in celebration.

Page embraces the entire scene and continues to effortlessly command the dance floor– delivering progressive house beats, that at times have a hint of dub-step. He throws his hands in the confetti-filled air, savoring the night with the crowd.

Hours earlier:

The reserved, reddish-blond, 30-year-old has just checked into his Hard Rock Hotel room, after a flight down from the Hampton’s.

His laptop, decorated with his name, sits in the center his bed. His suitcase is unopened. Everything the DJ needs for his show that night is still neatly packed in his carry-on suitcase: two pairs of headphones, custom earplugs, clothes.

Page has a few hours to grab dinner and unwind before he is scheduled to spin through the night at the Hard Rock’s popular night club, Gryphon.

“Tonight is going to be crazy,” he says, with a smile.

Page’s days and nights will undoubtedly “be crazy”, leading up to the release of his third major album, set to drop in October. The progressive house artist has already been teasing “In The Air” (the first of three singles) during his current tour.

“[‘In The Air’] is kind of this crazy collaboration,” he says. “It’s BT, myself, Sultan & Ned Shepard, and then Angela McCluskey on vocals…BT is one of my idols. Growing up, I got into his music so it’s crazy to be working with him on this.”

Page, now 30, began making music when he was 12 years old in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont. During high school and college, he worked as a local radio DJ and station manager, while releasing his own singles and mixes. Part of the appeal of electronica was Page’s ability to create music independently.

“The one thing that really attracted me to doing this genre of music is you can do it all yourself on a laptop, on a plane,” he says. “You don’t have to depend on anyone showing up on time. You can be kind of self-reliant, which is nice.”

In addition to original tracks, Page has created over 110 remixes of songs from artists such as Madonna, Florence + the Machine, Katy Perry, Nadia Ali, and Norah Jones. Page is best known for the 2009 Grammy-nominated Deadmau5’s remix of his song “The Longest Road“, featuring American folk singer, Lissie.

Deadmau5 did not win the award, but the nomination helped boost Page’s popularity. Two years later, Page’s remix of Nadia Ali’s “Fantasy” earned him his second Grammy nomination and helped cement his confidence.

“To get the nomination was so awesome,” he says. “It was a little more validating.”

Page is expected to deliver melody-driven, genre-pushing hits on his upcoming release.

“The last album [‘Believe’] was very melancholy and it was a little more laid back,” he says. “This time I wanted to be a little more upfront for the dance floor.”

With the help of collaborations, Page continues to take his music to new levels.

“There is always pressure for good music,” he says. “It takes awhile. You have to work on a lot of songs. You got to be prolific and then when it happens, it happens.”

The moment he wants for may come with the release of “In The Air”.

“I got to tell you, I got more goosebumps working on [‘In The Air’] than ‘The Longest Road’,” he says. “You get that feeling in your gut about it, that you know it’s good.”

In addition to touring in the U.S., Page hopes to play more shows Europe and add more festivals to his schedule.

“I have a lot of new songs and a lot of hopes…I just want the song to get out there and have people to give it a fair listen,” he says. “They’ve been waiting awhile for this album.”

For photos from Page’s performance at the Hard Rock, check out our Facebook page!

To listen to Page’s new single, “In The Air”, click here.

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