Few Latins have had as fruitful and influential a career in electronic dance music as DJ/producer Erick Morillo. Born in Colombia and later raised in Union City, New Jersey, the house music veteran began DJing in his teens. By the early '90s he was experimenting with provocative genre-bending fusions of house, Afro-Latin rhythms, hip hop, and reggae - not unlike his renowned peer and collaborator, Little Louie Vega of Masters at Work.
Morillo has since gone on to top charts worldwide for over two decades under various monikers, including Minister De La Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, and Reel 2 Reel, whose 1993 hit "I Like To Move It" has become one of the most recognizable dance staples in the world. After the massive commercial cross-over success of Reel 2 Reel, Morillo founded his own Subliminal Records in order to get back to this underground roots. But that would hardly keep the producer in obscurity for long since Da Mob, a new collaborative effort with José Nunez and Carlos Sosa, would score a number one Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit in 1998 with "Fun." The rest, as they say, is history.
The late '00s have seen the always in-demand DJ hold court at the world's most popular big-room venues, including Le Palais in Cannes, Ministry of Sound in London, and the Pacha franchises at Ibiza, Barcelona, and New York. He's no stranger to Miami, or to the extravagant jet-setter environs of LIV, where he returns with more big-room house fare on Saturday.
Erick Morillo. Saturday, November 28. LIV, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Doors open at 11:30 p.m. Tickets cost $100 in advance from wantickets.com. Ages 21+ with ID. 305-674-4680; livnightclub.com
