David Morales' Top Secret Of Success

New York house legend David Morales chatted to Skrufff this week about his upcoming artist Two Worlds Collide and revealed that the key to his success was knowing the right people when he started his career. The 41 year old star's biggest break came when he performed at Larry Levan's Paradise Garage in the early 80s, when the club was at the peak of its prominence.

"I would never had played the Garage if it wasn't for Judy Weinstein, because one day they asked her "we're looking for a new DJ, somebody nobody knows, who do you recommend-' She said "try this kid out', and that kid was me," Morales recalled.

Nowadays, Judy Weinstein is his business partner (the pair set up Def Mix Productions in the 80s, managing the careers of DJs including Frankie Knuckles and Satoshi Tomiie) though it was other DJs who introduced him to production.

"I was a member of the Record Pool, a DJ organisation which included all the best remixers and producers around; people like Shep Pettibone and Steve Thompson, who were working with artists like Aretha Franklin and Madonna at the time," he continued.

"They used to invite me to their studios to check out what was going on and that's how I learned how to make music. I got turned on to what a sampler was, so I bought my own and also a sequencing keyboard, even though I couldn't play a note to save my life," he admitted. However, he also stressed that good contacts are just one factor behind his success.

"I had a couple of breaks sure but I also got work from my breaks," he pointed out.

"I always say one thing; work gets you work. Somebody can open a door for you but it's what you do at that moment that matters- either you're going to advance or fall flat on your face."

David Morales' new album Two Worlds Collide is out on November 15 on his own new label DMI Records.
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