HDUSA: Hi Morgan, how have things been for you lately? M: Things have been going fantastic, thanks for asking! At times the sheer number of projects I want to work on tends to get a bit overwhelming, but I just have to try and keep my priorities straight and not lose focus. Lotek Records continues to get global recognition; in fact I have often been surprised to find people who are familiar with the label wherever I go. On a more personal note, I was in Japan when my releases on DIP and Kaktai came out, and already there were people asking me to sign the record sleeves. The funny thing was I had not even seen the final jackets before they handed them to me! What it comes down to is that I’m still just amazed how many people out there enjoy this kind of music as much as you or I do! HDUSA: How did you first discover UK Hard House and Nu-NRG? M:That's a rather long story. I feel that it was a natural progression of what I was listening to, and a bit of a return to basics. When I first got into the music, went to my first parties... I did not know it at the time, but the music I enjoyed the most was the oldschool hardcore breakbeat around 145 bpm. Those days are long past, but since then there were certain evolutionary steps that I took. In fact I went through all kinds of genre's... everything from breaks to house to a bit of trance. Of course this was all during a time when those styles were new... it was acid house, and progressive trance. San Francisco was on the cutting edge of those sounds for awhile. I'll try to cut the story short tho, and just say that through everything I had been listening to lead me in the direction of hh-nu-nrg, so when Tinrib and Chug'n'Bump started banging out the tunes, and I heard the first Tony De Vit mix CD, it was as if everything had come full circle to the good old days. From that point I ended up on BangingTunes.com, before they even did credit card orders and was thus one of the first people in the US to order from them. The rest is history! HDUSA: You have been playing hard dance stateside for longer than most, to what do you attribute your longevity? M: There are really only a handful of people I know of that started pushing this style from the beginning, and many of them are no longer DJing, or are now playing different genres. For me it was a natural progression of what I had always been looking for, and when I find something I really like, I tend to see it thru to the end. I'm the kind of person that refuses to put down a video game once I pick it up... for better or worse! ;) Ultimately though, the trick for me is that I have always done it for myself, every CD and every set is a combination of tracks that I personally want to hear. In fact that's why I first started DJing... just to hear the tunes I liked and that no one else were playing! HDUSA: Do you plan on visiting the UK again and what would you do out there? M: Yes, I most definitely want to get back out to the UK again. The crowd response is phenomenal out there. At times we might feel like we are fighting an insurmountable battle pushing hard dance here in the States, but to see what has been achieved in the UK just motivates me to come back and try even harder. However, the main reason why I want to return to the UK is to do more production work. My favorite engineers are out there, and I there is so much still to learn from them. DJing parties really comes second to that. Although the experience of DJing in the UK clubs is absolutely exhilarating, it is still fleeting, while tunes last forever! HDUSA: Tell us about hardnrg.com, who created it with you and why? M: HardNRG.com was started by a few DJ's here in San Francisco and Toronto. Namely Number Nine, Kemical Kidd, Mook and myself. It grew from there with the help of many like minded DJ's who jumped into the genre early on. The focus is and always has been to expand the hard house and nu-nrg genre throughout North America, by providing a resource for people interested in the music no matter where they are located. The only way we are going to achieve the level of acceptance that you see in the UK is by educating people on the music behind the noise. HDUSA: Have you seen the hard dance scene in America progress since the start of hardnrg.com? M: It has changed by leaps and bounds, and for the better! When we first started I was ordering from Kristian and Oz over at BangingTunes.com on the telephone and sending them money orders. The local stores did not even have contacts with the distributors who were handling this stuff. The entire scene has changed since then. You now see a half a dozen different web sites trying to push the music in their local regions and many of the parties I now play there are handfulls of up and coming DJ's who are also playing the same style, pushing the same sounds and nearly all of them are familiar with the hardnrg.com site or have listened to the mixes available there. It's a very rewarding experience to think we had something to do with the expansion of the genre to North America. HDUSA: What plans do you have for the future of hardnrg.com? M: We have a major redesign in the works, which has been a long time coming. In fact it may very well be finished by the time this article goes live. We will focus on broadening all of our offerings, including reviews, features, label profiles, interviews, a new forum along side an exhaustive links section, and of course more mixes along with bio's for all of the major players in the hard dance scene. HDUSA: What are some of your favorite cities/venues to play at in the states? M: I personally enjoy the smaller venues. It does not really matter where, but an intimate party with a thundering sound system in an environment where everyone can come together and participate. In my opinion, it is that vibe that the scene was built on. I've played quite a few massive parties with thousands of people where you are on a stage nearly 20 feet away from the closest person. All that does is take away your sense of interaction, your sense of community. For me this scene has always been about taking us out of the mainstream clubs, away from the concerts where everyone stares at the performers like they deserve to be worshipped. Instead it's the dancers, those are the people who make the party... the DJ is just the conduit and does not deserve to be put on a pedestal but instead should be down on the floor where everyone else is. HDUSA: What tunes have really been doing it for you or the crowd lately? M: I like the hard stuff the most... always have, probably always will. Stuff that really gets the energy flowing. It can be anything from hard house, to hard trance, to hard techno, to hard nrg. In fact we should just call it HARD. Thus the invention of the term Hard Dance, but I'm still not fond of that... reminds me of a high school prom or something. The word dance. Will you dance with me, please?! Hehe. HDUSA: What are your top tunes of all time? M: There are certain tunes that marked definitive transition points in what I listened to. Those tunes, that for me, will always bring back fond memories: 1) Me & Jack - "Viva House" 2) Misjah & Tim - "Access" 3) Hardfloor - "Acperience" 4) Attack (E.Top) - "Ecsta-Deal" 5) Sperminator - "No Women Allowed" (Tinrib/Karim Remix) HDUSA: What is your life like outside of being a DJ/Producer? M: I have worked in the tech industry out here in California, but for the moment I'm back in school working towards my Masters in Business Administration. I eventually want to get into the consumer software publishing industry. Although I love DJing, I have never wanted to make it a full-time job. In fact, I really don't even consider myself a professional DJ. I suppose that is my way of keeping it fun, I don't want to let it become a job or to ever take it too seriously! HDUSA: Who let the dogs out? M: I dunno, but once you see this, you will agree… they should be locked up!! http://www.killercartoons.com/wldo.html HDUSA: Anything else? M: Just a huge THANKS to all those who continue to listen to the music and spread it to their friends, without them we would not be anywhere! HDUSA: I'm sure I speak for the rest of the hard dance community by saying thanks to you too!