New England-born Morgan Page has carved out a career that most DJ/producers would envy. He’s had hit records (like “The Longest Road”), two Grammy nominations, four artist albums, gigs all over the world in some of the most prestigious venues, plus tons of remix work. But these days, he’s plenty happy just to be gigging again.
Despite lockdown and its ensuing uncertainties, the L.A.-based Page never stopped releasing original tracks or remixes. Like all his best work, his latest track, “Turn Off My Mind” – a catchy EDM collab with Lights – offers plenty for the dancefloor and, ultimately perhaps, radio.
If you’d down for some beachy grooves, check out Page’s gig Saturday, September 4th at Élia Beach Club at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas where he’s appearing with Goldfish. We recently caught up with Page he spent lockdown and how he’ll approach Saturday’s set.
How did you spend your lockdown/pandemic time? What did you accomplish before the entertainment world began to open up again?
The biggest thing for me was video. I went deep and learned cinematography – how to edit, shoot everything manually, color grade, pilot drones, and how to do multi-camera live-streams every week. I got really obsessed with pairing vintage lenses with modern hi-res cameras to create a unique look for the streams. It felt natural to explore the other side of media production, since I’ve focused on the audio side for so long. Also, made a baby! So now I have two young girls at home that need a lot of time and attention, but it’s been an amazing experience.
The recent collab with Lights, “Turn Off My Mind,” is a really catchy track and very dancefloor-friendly. What went into creating that tune?
I met Lights backstage at a Deadmau5 show at the Palladium in Hollywood and sent her a bunch of instrumentals. She’s a great engineer in addition to being an excellent singer-songwriter. So, she worked really quickly, sent me the stems and I barely had to do any edits. The song has such a different melancholy vibe. I used a lot of pedal steel guitar to create a different mood and to offset the digital chord stabs. It has a minimal feel, but I think can work on radio or in the clubs.
What’s your main DJ set-up and why do you use that? Anything you’ve added recently?
Right now, I’m using the Pioneer CDJ-3000s, which I love. The bigger display is great and the key-sync feature is essential for mixing on the fly. V-Modas are still my main headphones.
What’s your main studio set-up? Any secret weapons that contribute to your sound?
Running Ableton Live and my favorite synth is Omnisphere. My favorite plug-in for sidechaining and other treatments is Shaperbox2. I’m experimenting with bussing out tracks from Ableton into cheap compressors and clipping them a bit, which creates a really cool sound. Parallel compression can do amazing things, especially on drums and vocals.
Élia Beach Club offers a somewhat different vibe from a lot of Vegas clubs. What should fans expect from you when you play there on Sept. 4?
My favorite thing about Élia Beach Club is that it’s a real beach! Not just a concrete dancefloor and a pool, and it almost feels like you’re DJing in a giant tiki hut. The space is really cool, and it makes you want to just walk around and explore all the different areas. My set will be lots of my own songs and will also include my favorites from the past year.
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