inthemix | Features | Erick Morillo: A decade in dance

Erick Morillo is a DJ whose reputation well and truly precedes him. Morillo is a noted identity on the global dance scene, and he’s forged a reputation as one of the most talented DJs in the house genre. He’s attained celebrity status for his globetrotting lifestyle, playing sets upwards of 10 hours in length from Sydney to Ibiza, New York, and everywhere in between. In 2007 he’s celebrating the 10th birthday of his record label Subliminal, bringing the inimitable ‘Subliminal Sessions’ vibe down under for the easter long weekend. A busy man indeed, up until this week he’d only had time for one Australian interview prior to his impending tour, but ITM got the chance to snag a few minutes with him on the phone as he kicked back in the UK last night.

Hey Erick, I know you’re a busy man, thanks for speaking with me at such short notice. You’ve had a hectic few weeks with the Miami Winter Music Conference and your birthday. How are you feeling, where are you now?

Yeah I’m back in Europe after Miami [Winter Music Conference]. I did Italy and France last weekend, and now in the UK for a few days before I take off to Australia tomorrow.

How was your birthday?

My birthday was actually during the conference, last Monday.

I read that you had your birthday party at Pacha in New York back in March?

I usually do it the month after my birthday. I do it every year, and it’s always a pretty amazing event.

How did you find Miami this year, did you enjoy yourself?

It was good. We did a party at Space and it was raining. Space has a terrace and there were still a lot of people but it was very wet. Very, very wet! It didn’t stop raining for 8 hours or something ridiculous like that. But overall, Miami was a great time to party and catch up with all your friends and DJs. A great event all round.

You’re touring Australia this Easter long weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of your label Subliminal. When you started out all those years ago did you ever imagine it would get to the stage it’s now at?

I can’t say that I did. Obviously when I first started Subliminal it was just about having a place to release records. I had no idea that it would be the success it was, and for it to still be around 10 years later with the music industry in this state, with the internet and downloads, it’s a pretty big accomplishment I think.

How have the changed the music industry has gone through affected how you run the label?

Well, it was completely different [back then]. Vinyl sales were very good and you could actually make money from selling music. These days it’s very difficult to do that, especially in our industry where it was a low selling business as it was. If you had a hit record you sold 15 maybe 20 thousand copies, nowadays [you’d] sell 1,500-2,000 records. Obviously there’s selling through the internet, and you sell it a lot cheaper, but you make less money. But, Subliminal has never been around for making money, it’s a place to release good music. It’s an outlet to release our music.

The Subliminal name is now much more than just a record label, it’s become a brand in its own right. Was that always the intention?

Events are a separate company altogether. It’s more about working with DJs that we like, and working with promoters that we enjoy from around the world. It’s all about fun at the end of the day. Especially for me, I like having a good time!

What have you got on the horizon to mark the 10th anniversary?

We have two compilations coming out this year. One is ‘Subliminal Sessions 11’, mixed by myself, and that should be out in June. And then we have the ‘10 Years Of Subliminal’ compilation. That will be a three CD set; one will have the best of label from the last 10 years, one of the best of dance music in general over the last 10 years, and then one disc that’s what we’re up to today. It should be out in September. Obviously we’re also touring around the world, and we’re doing Pacha in Ibiza on Wednesdays again.

You released your solo album ‘My World’ back in 2004. How did you find the experience of making your own LP, and is it something you’re planning on doing again?

I definitely enjoyed it, but it took me a long time to do. If I was going to do it again I know I’d need to take off 6 months and just dive into the studio, instead of doing a few months here, and then traveling, and another month there. You’ve gotta just get to it and knock it out. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable experience, but I’m in the studio now and working on new material. Whether that will be a new album or a new single, that’s still to be decided, but I found the overall experience very good. The music industry that we’re in at the moment is a funny thing, so I’m not sure if I’d release an album, single or EP.

You’ve had a longstanding, and well publicised, relationship with P Diddy. What’s he really like as a person?

He’s the hardest working man in the rap business! Again, it was a good experience [working with him], to step into his world. I can say I learnt a lot from meeting him. We keep in touch and usually if I’m DJing in a city that he’s in, he’ll come out and support. He loves dance music, he’s an overall good guy.

You have a reputation for playing pretty long sets when the event allows, it’s how you got the nickname “Erick ‘More’ Morillo” after all. Your tour this weekend is your own headline tour, so what can clubbers expect?

The last couple of years I’ve done gigs at festivals, and they’re very rigid with set times. In Sydney I’ve had experiences where I’ve kept the club open for a long time… I have a feeling that in Sydney this Sunday it could be another one of those. Who knows, it could be 5 hours, it could be 8 hours, it could be 16 hours. It will be a good one!

You’re a regular visitor down under, what are your memories of previous tours to Australia?

Last year was amazing [Future Music Festival and Two Tribes], the year before that I did Summadayze and that was a great experience, and the Heineken tour was also great, but nothing beats the first couple of times I went to Australia and played at Sublime. To me, they’re still my top Australian gigs of all time. I kept the club open until 4 or 5 in the afternoon the next day! Those are my best memories of Australia I’d have to say.

Erick Morillo tours Australia this weekend to celebrate 10 years of his label Subliminal. Be sure to head along, as the ads say, “who knows how long he’ll play for!”

Thu Apr 5 – Queensbridge, Melbourne
Fri Apr 6 – The Met, Brisbane
Sun Apr 8 – Home, Sydney