There’s no bigger name in house music than David Morales, and the Grammy Award winning remixer, producer and DJ is still at the top of his game 20 years after founding the Def Mix. Speaking from his home in Brooklyn, New York, the dance music pioneer speaks at length to ITM about the new Def Mix Classics album, a 3CD retrospective of classic house remixes by Morales and fellow Def Mix founding members Frankie Knuckles, Satoshi Tomiie and Hector Romero, released in partnership with revered UK imprint Defected.

IDJ Magazine recently labeled it as, “The only classic house album you will ever need,” and perhaps for the first time ever, they’re not exaggerating. This is a first class offering of classic house productions and remixes that manages to be commercially accessible without losing its underground appeal, as tracks from the likes of Jamiroquai, Simply Red, Toni Braxton and U2 demonstrate.

Morales’ remix of Mariah Carey’s Dreamlover- work which led to that Grammy win in 1998 – is perhaps one of the best examples of the release’s mainstream potential and, as Morales explains, the compilation is a fitting reflection of house music at its peak in the early 1990s. “I thing it [the Def Mix release] brings the experience from yesterday up to today and make it fresher and relevant for the future,’ he says.

The multi-talent is as busy today as he was two decades ago, juggling a hectic touring schedule and social responsibility work with Youth AIDS Day with his work in the studio and the further development of Def Mix. As he reveals, 2008 will see a new artist album drop, his third following 2004’s critically-acclaimed 2 Worlds Collide release. “My next single should be ready by March which will probably drop in conjunction with the new album,” he says.

Over a career spanning more than 20 years, Morales has built a reputation as the man who defined the remix and, as he explains, its very definition has changed remarkably in recent years. “Lets not even call it remixing any more,” he says.

“In the beginning you remixed the original tracks, then it started changing. You added some things, but you still had the song. Then it came to the point where you just got rid of the original music. Now it’s come to a place where now you’re changing the music….in reality, you’re sort of becoming a co-writer.”

Having worked with some of music’s biggest names including Luther Vandross, Seal, Eric Clapton, Janet Jackson, Sasha, Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls, Morales exudes that same enthusiasm as he did when starting out and, perhaps surprisingly, doesn’t feel any pressure given his past successes. “I don’t feel any pressure because, first of all, I love what I do; I’m having fun,” he says.

“I still feel like I have something to offer. I love playing records, I love making records; I love it all.”

Defected presents Def Mix Classics, mixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, Hector Romero and Satoshie Tomiie, is available now through Defected/Stomp.