Morel knows about club music. His Groove-On Studios is one of the most successful dance music recording facilities in South Florida. Hidden in the center of downtown Miami, it's well equipped with state-of-the-art gear like ProTools, EMagic Logic software, and several vintage synthesizers.
"I started the Groove-On recording studios for my personal use," Morel explains. "I used to make music with the old Atari music sequencing system [used by a handful of DJs in the Eighties] back in the day. But I wanted to give more attention to detail, to make musically perfect pop. I outfitted the studio with top-quality gear. It lets me pursue what started out as a hobby."
Morel also runs a music company and a record label, both titled Groove-On. The label's first record, Mendo's "Tell Me," hit number one on the UK Buzz Chart in February 2002. He is also responsible for several popular dance music compilations like In The Mix Vols. 1-4 (More Music) and The Mix Le Queen In Paris (Polydor) as well as artist albums like The Best of Morel's Grooves (Strictly Rhythm) and Life (DJ Beat). His specialty is "pump house," upbeat and danceable party music more rooted in classic New York garage than European trance and progressive house.
Though Morel makes his home with his family in South Beach, he rarely spins at the local nightclubs. On average the globetrotting producer spends four days a week in SoBe and the other three days as a resident DJ at seven different clubs in foreign climes like Spain and Germany. At the same time, he has toured with a number of country-hopping parties, including Air Rave (a chartered plane tour of various nightclubs across Europe), the Reebok DJ tour, the Pushkin Vodka DJ tour, Rock In Rio (in Brazil), and, most recently, the Ministry of Sound tour. Yet despite living in one of the hottest cities in the world, Morel only deigns to "rock the house" in places that are thousands of miles away. "I have a four-point existence," he explains. "My home in South Beach, Groove-On Studios in Miami, Club Privilege in Ibiza [where he will be spinning this summer], and my boat."
Morel began his DJ career in the early Eighties at age thirteen playing at neighborhood parties in the urban environs of New York City. Over the next few years, he became a regular performer at some of the Big Apple's most notorious nightspots, including Red Zone, Save the Robots, and the Palladium. These experiences led to his first production in 1989 with the late David Cole of C+C Music Factory and vocalist Dee Holloway, "Our Love Is Over." In 1990, he produced 2 In A Room's "Wiggle It," which became a global hit. That same year, Morel began collaborating with C+C Music Factory full-time, helping them produce, arrange, and edit tracks for artists like Mariah Carey ("Emotions") and Lisa Lisa ("Let the Beat Hit Them"). The partnership led to four gold records and one platinum record. In 1992 he was named vice president of A&R at Strictly Rhythm while serving as an "in-house" producer and writer for the label. During his seven years there he worked with producers and artists like DJ Pierre, Erick Morillo, CeCe Rogers, Roland Clark, Martha Wash, and Cookie Watkins.
Now that Morel makes his home in South Beach, he is not shy about expressing his thoughts on the local media, the club scene, and the state of dance music in the U.S. "That radio station, Party 93.1 [WPYM-FM], is dropping the ball in a big way," he claims. "They play the same bad songs every half-hour. They could be featuring local talent, or, at least, play some good music.
"The clubs in South Beach all play the same music," he continues, now on a roll. "Their dance music sucks. Space 34 is the only exception."
This kind of talk makes one wonder: Why is George Morel so dismissive of Washington Street's world-renowned clubs? Are the DJ gigs on the other side of the Atlantic so lucrative that Miami Beach really doesn't matter? Or does he just want to keep his family and private life separate from the high-octane life among the hedonists at Ibiza and Mykonos that he has chosen as DJ? Like a modern-day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Morel's only answer is a Cheshire-catlike grin that is both charming and enigmatic.
Another venue that seems to have earned Morel's seal of approval is Rumi, a local Euro bistro on Lincoln Road in South Beach. During this year's Winter Music Conference, Groove-On Records partnered with Chivas Regal to take over the multileveled dinner and dance club. The ensuing showcase included Morel and Todd Terry; local favorites Juan Mejia, Ben Grassini, Cosmo, Shawn Rudnick, and DJ K-Ahzz; Euro stars Kid Creme, Junior Jack, DJ Oliver, and Mr. Mike; and a performance by keyboard player Marcus Fugate. Unfortunately the event was poorly attended. Ironically this was one of the only occasions on which Morel has appeared behind the decks in his hometown.
Every Wednesday this summer, George Morel will be spinning at Club Privilege on the legendary Spanish island of Ibiza. "Places like Ibiza are the best," says Morel. "It's a summer vacation crowd. The people from the cold northern European countries wait all year to come down and really let loose. Their attitude about music is great. It's all about freedom and different styles.
"Club Privilege is on the party side of the island," says Morel. "If you can be there, you're lucky."
