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6/4/2015 Erick Morillo Talks 15 Years of Club Space Miami | Miami New Times

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BY LIZ TRACY

ERICK MORILLO ON 15 YEARS OF CLUBSPACE MIAMI: “WHAT GREAT MEMORIESARE MADE OF"

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015 | 1 DAY AGO

Erick Morillo: “One of the major talents who helped start it all."

Halloween is the last time DJ Erick Morillo remembers playing Miami’s Club Space. Hestarted on the turntables at 2 a.m. and played for 12 hours — That next afternoon, hesaw a guy there dressed like Jesus, his hands raised in the air, looking up at the sky. Morilloturned to his cousin and said, “I think it’s time for me to go home.” He laughs, recalling thatlong night. “That’s a sign.”

Spending nearly half a day spinning is never planned. “It’s the people, that’s what it’s allabout," he explains, "If the people are happy, and the place is packed, it gives me energy,which then, I want to keep playing. It’s really simple. I love what I do, and if I’m playing for



which then, I want to keep playing. It’s really simple. I love what I do, and if I’m playing for

people who love what I’m doing, I don’t really care, I’ll keep playing till the cows come home.”

The Colombian-American DJ, producer, and label owner is best known by your mom for his

1993 hit as Reel 2 Real, “I Like to Move It,” but to the rest of the dance-music world, Morillo

has been a house music colossus since way before hit the big screen. Next week,

he will take another trip to Space — a club he’s played more than 20 times over the years — to

celebrate its 15th anniversary.

“That’s the thing about Space, it’s not about looking good, it’s about: .”

A decade and a half ago, the club, now owned by Justin Levine and Roman Jones, opened a

few doors down from its current location as a warehouse space with an outdoor roof deck. In

2003, it moved to 34 NE 11th Street, after which it was renamed Space 34 before dropping the

numbers and returning to its roots.

Morillo remembers the venue in what he calls “the Danny Tenaglia days,” when Paul van Dyk

and Oscar G dominated the scene. Many may recall that time as a whirlwind of wet bodies

and blasting beats, or maybe (and more likely) not at all. For his part, the DJ says he used to

come for Tenaglia’s 24-hour sets and stay the entire time. ”When he did his all-nighter sets, it

was something I wanted to be a part of… [Space] has grown to be one of my favorite spots to

play around the world, because I’m able to express myself as an artist and play what I want

and play for a long time.



“I’ve been going there since the beginning and playing there since the beginning, I’ve beenone of the lucky ones to do that… Playing Space is always special,” he says.

Morillo is in the process of relaunching his classic label, Subliminal Records, following abreak from the business. “For quite some time, I lost my way, not only business-wise butpersonally,” he admits. And after losing his passion for music, the DJ struggled withemotional issues, but he’s finally reemerged with the same old zest. “I feel like I’m 21 again,"he says, “and all I had to do was stay away from drugs and alcohol, who knew?”

Happy birthday, Space.

Back and clean, Morillo soon realized he wanted to reboot Subliminal Records. And he wantsthe label to again stand for what the DJ says it once stood for: underground music. "It’s aboutbeing a label for DJs by DJs. It was always my baby, and my expression as a producer, and Iwas able to create a stage for other producers to come in and release their music via myvehicle.”

But Subliminal is also being reshaped to fill a hole that he sees in the current electronic musicworld. “Out there right now, there’s a big gap between the underground tech house, deephouse going on and the EDM progressive-house stuff. There’s nothing in the middle. There’sno more sexy songs with pumping music, all that stuff is missing, the middle ground, what Icall house music... But that’s not the only thing we’re going to do. We'll have a little techno, a



little tech house, a little deep house, but all really cool music for DJs.”

Before the relaunch, in order to “get his feet wet,” Morillo worked with Jennifer Hudson andMadonna, and dropped two bangers — "Devotion" and "Let the Freak Out” with Carnage andHarry Romero — on Ultra Music. He’ll be releasing his next album on his own label. The planis to offer strong, substantive dance songs, not pop music or run-of-the-mill EDM.

“I’m going to try to bring soul back to what’s happening right now in dance music,” he says. “Ilove that dance music has done what it’s done in America, but now that it’s become thedominant culture, I think it’s time for people to start opening up their minds a little bit, andrealize that it’s more than just progressive house and pop records on top of those.”

The DJ is thankful for all of the support that he’s gotten over the past year during theSubliminal reboot. There’s going to be a lot of news announced in the coming months, andhe’s excited, he says, “to throw my hat back in the ring.” Other notable names on the labelinclude Craig David, Pitbull, and Andrew Cole. “It’s going to be a good year for music, I think."

Erick Morillo in the booth at Club Space Miami.

Morillo reminisces about one Subliminal Records party he threw at Space during a very rainyWinter Music Conference. Despite the torrential downpour, he remembers, "people still cameout. And we moved the party inside. Then the sun came out, and we moved it back out. Andthen it started raining and people were like, ‘Fuck it!’ and dancing in the rain. It was awesome.



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then it started raining and people were like, ‘Fuck it!’ and dancing in the rain. It was awesome.

That’s what great memories are made of. That’s the thing about Space, it’s not about looking

good, it’s about:

.”

As for what he’s planning for Space’s 15th anniversary, the DJ says it’s “always a . It’s

never let me down.” Expect some Colombian flags flying high too. He explains that, back in

the early days, he played what some thought of as techno with tribal sounds. “That’s why I

developed almost a cult following of my Latino people in Miami, because they knew when I

came down there, my tribal beats would come out. You felt like you were in the jungle

somewhere.”

This time, club-goers will be the first to hear the newest six releases off Subliminal. He’s also

thinking of bringing in a vocalist, and promises there will be plenty of surprises. “I always

look forward to playing Space, it’s always a very special gig… Space has always been the rock.

It’s always been the one that brought the best DJs. It’s always had the best sound system.

Space has always maintained a quality that’s second to none.”

Space Miami’s 15th Anniversary .

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