PROFILE: MORGAN PAGE

Hills, From Beacon to Hollywood
What more can we do to convince you to go see Morgan Page at The Estate?!?! I’m feelin’ a change in the air comin’ tomorrow… (psst. confetti cannons.)

Morgan Page’s new video for his track, “In the Air,” is a classic L.A. house party video.

It’s got bikini models, a pool-side DJ booth, a sweet deck overlooking the famed Valley, a cast of fashionable party-goers drinking cool-looking drinks and an amazing sunset.

But Page, a Vermont native and graduate of Emerson College, says his days of hustling on the streets of Boston to get heard, spinning small hotspots like Phoenix Landing, are what prepared him for his current slot among Hollywood’s top DJs.

“Boston was so humbling,” Page told me from the studio in his newly-purchased L.A. home.

“I remember giving out tapes to DJs and no one gave me the time of day. It took a while, man. But eventually people warmed up.”

“You pay your dues on the East Coast,” he added. “People don’t sugar coat it. Boston and New York definitely put some hair on your chest.”

The 30-year-old native of Burlington, Vt., cut his teeth spinning progressive house, trance and old-school techno at night at Emerson’s WERS 88.9 FM. He recalls living in a Beacon Hill triple dorm, outfitted with a small studio set-up where he made his first tracks. He tested them out on the WERS airwaves and the clubs.

“The craziest thing was playing one of my own tracks for the first time at the Phoenix Landing,” the Grammy-nominated producer remembers.

photo courtesy of theuntz.com

“To hear your track live at a club, on a big sound system, is life-changing.”

“I just got the bug.”

The experience has prepared him well. He was signed to John Digweed’s Bedrock label in the late 1990s and is now on the powerhouse Nettwerk Music Group, while his weekly podcast, “In the Air,” can be heard in 12 countries, as well as on Sirius XM.

“In the Air,” from his forthcoming full-length of the same name, is a sexy, pulsing house cut with sultry vocals from Angela McCluskey and production help from Sultan, Ned Shepard and BT. The track rocketed onto the Billboard top 10 dance charts, while the follow-up single, “Body Work,” featuring Tegan and Sara, recently hit Beatport’s charts.

Morgan Page feat. Tegan and Sara – Body Work (Club Mix) by morganpage

“It’s going to be a very song-heavy, vocal-heavy album. Very club-centric,” he said.

“The biggest inspiration was being on the road, getting that inspiration from the fans and just seeing people lose it.”

He came back to Boston two years ago to play an intimate set at Felt during the Together electronic music festival, but his gig at The Estate this Friday marks a big homecoming. He might not be bringing the L.A. sunshine and bikini models, but he does promise banging house and even a little Hollywood showmanship. (Psst: confetti cannons.)

“I’m excited about coming back. For me, this is the first proper big show I’ve done in 10 years,” he says. “The best thing is you never know what’s going to happen. There’s a mystery to it.

“It’s a great job to have to play music that loudly and just have fun with it.”

MORGAN PAGE

FRI 12.9.11.
THE ESTATE
1 BOYLSTON PLACE
BOSTON
617.351.7000.
10:30pm/21+/$30.
@THEESTATEBOS
THEESTATEBOSTON.COM