Morgan Page Talks Miami Music Week, “Wounded,” and More

April 11, 2022April 11, 2022 Admin

Morgan Page stopped by to chat about all things Miami Music Week, his latest tunes, his production process, and more!

There’s no denying the joy that comes from listening to music from Morgan Page. This seasoned producer is no stranger to the scene with loads of beloved releases under his belt that range from “Fight For You” and “The Longest Road” with Lissie to “Fire & Gold” and “In The Air” with Sultan + Shepard, BT, and Angela McCluskey. And on the DJ side, whether it’s your first time catching him live or your tenth, Morgan Page will surely have you on your feet with his infectious, dance-ready beats and tunes to make you feel your absolute best.

This year saw Morgan Page continue his dominating path in the scene by collaborating with Ferry Corsten and Cara Melín on “Wounded,” which dropped on Armada Music back in February. After its release, we knew we had to catch up with Morgan to dive into the creation of this track, his other recent releases, and more, and got the chance to chat with him before he graced the decks during Miami Music Week.

Listen to “Wounded” on Spotify or your preferred platform, and read on to get the latest scoop on what Morgan Page has been up to lately, including some of his photography tips and more!

Stream Ferry Corsten, Morgan Page – Wounded (feat. Cara Melín) on Spotify:

Hi Morgan, first of all, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. After such a long hiatus, how does it feel to be back at Miami Music Week?

It’s always overwhelming. It’s really interesting to see how a lot has moved over to this side of the causeway this year. Usually, it’s just South Beach and a handful of downtown parties, but I guess the curfew has changed things.

Yeah, that changed a lot of things for sure.

But it’s good to be back. You get so tired of just doing simple email and Zoom with everybody. So that’s the best part of Miami – randomly meeting people on the streets, running into people, and being able to meet the labels and the other artists that you love.

Building off that, what do you think makes Miami Music Week so special?

It’s just concentrated – everyone’s here at one time, which is rare to have. You can have that in Ibiza, but people are spread out through multiple venues. It’s not the same bumping into each other on the streets like you get here. So that, and just hearing you’re in the direction of music where it’s headed, people are testing out what’s new style-wise and which tracks are resonating.

Speaking of fresh tunes, VIVID just dropped a remix of your classic track “The Longest Road,” one of my favorites, transforming it into a high-energy fist-pumping track fit for any stage. How did this specific remix come about?

I wanted an updated version of “The Longest Road,” and I’m a big fan of VIVID. We’ve collaborated before, and I love the future rave style that MORTEN was doing with David Guetta. I love that vibe, so I felt that [remix] would add this extra modern sheen to it and give that energy to others differently in my sets.

Do you typically reach out to someone you want to collaborate with, or do they come to you?

A little of both, and it organically happens when people sometimes release solid remixes, and it’ll blow up and get many YouTube views. We license it, make sure the person gets credit, and release it officially. So that’s a fun way of doing it. And then otherwise, I think it’s important to be proactive and reach out to people you really admire. You reach out and DM them; it’s much easier now. So it’s nice that you both love each other’s work.

You also recently collaborated with Ferry Corsten and Cara Melín on “Wounded,” a gorgeous progressive house track on Armada. Can you walk us through the production process for that collaboration?

It started with her vocals. There was a piano version of her vocals, and I made a piano house version. I made it more progressive with more piano stabs, and Ferry added more 80s elements, like ‘80s basslines and synths. We went back and forth, and it was a long process trying to find the right lead, the right supporting lead in the tag. He works in a different DAW, so we just did stems and swaps downs for a while, and then we found a version that just clicked.

Your album DC to Light came out seven years ago. Do you have any upcoming plans for new music or possibly another album?

Yeah, there are a lot of remixes coming out, and we’ve got singles scheduled for the rest of the year—different sounds from me, something darker, but poppier stuff. I was getting back to the dance grooves, more clubby stuff. There’s so much new music and my MP Quick Tips card deck I made for music producers, which has been a fun side project. It’s a physical card deck you shuffle, and it’s little creative prompts that help people breakthrough that friction.

You’re also scheduled for a few other shows, including stops in Boston and Vancouver. How do you determine the overall vibe of your set? Is it dependent on if you’re at a club versus a festival?

It’s a little of both because I don’t want to redo it completely every night. I can use chunks that work in certain settings. I really like to mix in key and a similar tempo groove. It is interesting. I think the venue size makes a huge difference. In a stadium, you will have more drawn-out breakdowns and long builds. It feels a little weird in a club if you have big breakdowns, so you kind of have shorter drops and shorter builds, maybe no breakdown, maybe less.

I also saw that you took quite an interest in photography and videography last year, experimenting with many different cameras from different decades. What’s been your favorite one that you’ve used so far?

I love the Blackmagic cameras, but the best lenses that are fun are these amazing vintage lenses called Helios. They are incredible lenses that cost 60 bucks on eBay. You can get that, put it on a Sony, and it just transforms things. I was always trying to figure out how to get that cinematic look in these videos or movies, and it’s a golden age for image capturing image now, even more exciting in some ways than the audio here that’s coming out. More exciting things are happening with visuals, so it’s been fun to try that, I just embrace this other part of my brain, so I’m ready.

Do you have any tips to get the perfect shot?

The rule of thirds is always helpful for proportions. My favorite thing was just buying old facet glass lenses. Old lenses are all manual, so you have to learn how to set them up completely. Setting up that really shallow depth of field, I just like that cinematic, emotional shot. That’s my favorite, but keeping in focus is the hardest part.

One final fun question. You’ve just finished your set here in Miami, it’s after your set, and you’re hungry. Where are you going to go nearby for the best grub in Miami?

I usually try just to pound water at the end of the night and then fall asleep before I get too hungry. I’ve learned that the fourth meal is usually a bad idea. [Laughs] But if it’s late like tonight, then yeah. In Miami, there are always those Cuban sandwich shops, and I don’t know if it’s still open, but there used to be one open all night that we used to be able to stop by. Or the diners, there used to be some diners on Washington. Everything’s changed so much in the dynamic, I don’t even know if some businesses are still here, and I’ve been coming for 20 years.

Wow. It’s my second time in Miami, so it’s still new to me.

It’s very shocking. It’s an acquired taste for some people, and for other people, they’re just naturally on this wavelength of craziness. [Laughs]