New York’s David Morales exemplifies the superstar DJ – honing his muscles at the gym and his deck skills in clubs worldwide. Over the last decade this house master has likewise established himself as a producer, most famously remixing Mariah Carey’s ‘Fantasy’ into a crossover garage smash. He’s even picked up a Grammy for his remix prowess.

It’s not bad for a former cook. Morales – born to Puerto Rican parents and bred in Brooklyn – consolidated his reputation as a DJ at a club known as The Red Zone with little inkling of where his spinning would take him. Morales formed the Def Mix production crew with Frankie Knuckles and the pair later recruited Satoshi Tomiie. Morales has mixed tunes by the likes of Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton and the Spice Girls.

Morales hit it off with Mariah Carey – they recorded club versions of ‘Dream Lover’ ‘Fantasy’ and ‘My All’ and even touted a joint album project at one stage. Today Morales, ever candid, thinks it unlikely that they will collaborate again for Carey has moved on. “We had a chemistry that was great. She’s very particular about things, she doesn’t work with just anybody, and I definitely wouldn’t mind [working together again], because she’s a great worker.” Morales wishes Mariah would record more by way of house music, instead of “bubblegum pop.” “It would be nice if Mariah actually did do a dance concept because there is a fanbase for her in the dance world – ‘cause it is different when she sings in the dance world to when she sings on her regular pop stuff for her albums. There is a different attitude that comes out.”

The Morales steelo takes in soulful vocals, piano lines, strings and funky bass – elements heard on a re-working of his clubland hit ‘Needin’ U’, which now features garage diva Juliet Roberts. The original came out in 1997 on Definity Records, the label run by Morales and Judy Weinstein. This new version was no calculated cash-in, Morales assures. “It wasn’t really planned. Danny D from D-Mob wrote a song for the track and had Juliet Roberts do a demo and he let me hear it. He said, ‘I want you to hear something.’ It sounded good, the record company was into it, so we decided to re-release it.”

Currently Morales has several other production projects in the can – although he now favours original efforts to remixes. David has been putting his hand to a new Lisa Stansfield record, the follow-up to ‘Needin U II’, and some other records for Definity. In fact, Morales hopes to increase the number of releases on Definity to raise its profile. “It’s just more a matter of concentrating on making records than mixing, and trying to cut out some of the travelling time,” he says of his schedule.

Back in 1993 Morales completed an album, The Program, yet he has no intention of recording a second. “It’s a lotta work and it takes time and in today’s market, especially in dance culture, it’s really not about albums, it’s about singles,” he explains. This comes as a strange admission from a producer whose name alone could carry the record. But Morales remains unconvinced. “It’s a lotta work and a lot of pressure and a lot of responsibility and it’s time consuming – especially if I wanna do more than just tracks. I get involved with the singers and it’s a little more elaborate than sitting at home and putting just monotonous tracks together to make an album.”

Still, Morales may yet change his mind and deliver another LP. “I could put together one and not even realise that I put something together and then, OK, here goes, ‘cause nothing that I’ve released or anything I’ve done has been planned,” he says. “That’s why I hate the responsibility of having to even think, I don’t even wanna have to say, ‘You know what? I have to do an album.’ I’d rather it just be done.” Indeed, Morales doesn’t like recording under too much pressure because it hampers the creative process.

Morales maintains that all is well among the Def Mix crew despite Frankie’s recent relocation to Chicago. Morales was not surprised by the move, either. “It’s a bit demanding to live in New York City – as far as it takes a lot of energy out of you. Anywhere else is like a holiday,” he says. Morales himself would move out if he didn’t have Definity to look after. “Barcelona would be a top contender – somewhere that’s close to good weather. I speak Spanish, so that’s easy for me. It’s not too bad – it’s a thought.” He also likes the food and the women in Spain.

Morales still cooks. He has a big kitchen at home and enjoys large breakfasts of eggs, toast and, being an American, potatoes. “My pasta’s not too bad,” he says. “Fish I haven’t dabbled with yet – I hate fishbones.” Morales usually locates the best restaurants in every city when travelling as he likes to sample new foods yet, if stuck, well, there’s always McDonalds. Afterwards he works it off in the gym.

It has been over a year since Morales was last in this country. Morales remembers taking time off to go jet-skiing in the posh seaside resort of Portsea, just outside Melbourne. (“I paid for it for the next 24 hours,” he laughs. “Good thing I didn’t have to work that night.”) In 2001 Morales will be returning for one weekend only. This means that he will barely have time to overcome his jetlag – one of the few downsides to a high-flying career. “It’s horrible, it just changes, it varies, you know?,” Morales sighs. “Sometimes it just comes when you least expect it, which is the rough part. If you know how it’s going to work or the time, then you can have a system going, but sometimes you just never know. You can really be out of it for a couple of days or immediately afterwards, or it can come a week later, or maybe it doesn’t even come at all. Time adjusting is another thing when you go back to the States and you’re waking up on European time and it’s four o’clock in the morning and then you get tired a lot earlier…”

Maybe Morales should think again and treat himself to an Australian holiday…

David Morales guests at The Metro (Sydney) on Friday and Salt (Melbourne) on Saturday with Harry “Choo Choo” Romero. ‘Needin’ U II’ is out through FMG.