Angel Moraes

In Angel Moraes, the dance music industry has come upon a 'Jack of all Trades'. As producer and co-owner of his own label Hot n' Spycy Recordings, his trademark sound is unique and synonymous with club anthems. From his very first production "Release Yourself" which had David Cole's seal of approval, to the ground breaking and ultimately life changing "Welcome To The Factory", Angel's creativity pioneered the use of industrial sounds and sound effects that are widely used in productions today. Even though his popularity stems from his productions, Angel is first and foremost a DJ: "There's nothing like the immediate reaction of a crowd you're playing for, specially when all the elements come together, it's like being in a dream". And most recently by opening his own club STEREO, he's a man on a mission to show the world a unique clubbing experience.

Here is a person that had a dream for as long as he can remember and chased it down. Angel's interest in dance music began at a very early age: "I remember listening to the radio quite a bit when I was younger, stations like WKTU and WBLS in New York played amazing music back then and I credit them with my initial interest in dance music". But it wasn't until he experienced the energy of a crowded dance floor in places such as the Funhouse and the Paradise Garage in New York that he knew someday he would make this part of his life.

Angel spent much of the eighties club hopping and absorbing as much sound experience as he could. A chance meeting with veteran producer Victor Simonelli made him decide it was time to take this career seriously. Sacrificing the security of a day job, he focused all his attention on music, and after a series of exciting events, he was asked to play the notorious Sound Factory Bar. Here he met Jeffrey Rodman, the club manager at the time, and soon after they struck up a partnership and established their imprint: Hot n' Spycy Recordings.

The label gave Angel the opportunity to cut through the red tape and explore his production style with absolute freedom. The fruits of his studio endeavors started to emerge, creating a unique sound and style: a vast ocean of deep and soulful rhythms bonded with industrial synthesizing sounds and dreamy organs and keyboards, quite unlike anything heard before. Sometimes Moraes' productions sound as one fan put it "almost orgasmic and/or disorientating", capturing that after hours club moment that takes you way past the point of no return. This has become his trademark. The success and credibility behind his own productions, brought forth attention from the likes of The Pet Shop Boys, K.D. Lang, Blue Amazon, Black Box, Wildchild, Funky Green Dogs, PM Dawn and Jamie Myerson, and many others, to recruit the DJ/producer to remix their original work.

Although a DJ since the early eighties, his international status began taking shape in 1995, when he was invited by friend and fellow DJ Rob Destefano to play in Portugal. It was the first international event he was headlining and if that wasn't enough pressure there were 22,000 people at the event: "I remember being so nervous with the introduction and all that my hands were shaking to the point that I could hardly put the needle on the record." Soon after the calls came rolling in and the worldwide touring began: UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Greece, Japan, South America and of course the USA and Canada.

Despite the success in these aspects of his career, there was something else he wanted to share with the world: something he had been planning for fifteen years. So it was on October 3,1998 after a year and a half of hard work that he opened the doors to his own club: STEREO in Montreal, Canada.

Angel designed the room and also designed and custom built the analog sound system, considered to be the best in the world. In a short time the club has gained world wide recognition and has the prestige of being the number 1 underground club in the world: " I think people say we're # 1 because of the creative freedom it gives to anyone who plays there, since it is built by a DJ for DJs and dancers." Just ask David Morales, who upon his first invitation to play STEREO requested a once a month residency. The sound and the vibe seduces all those that experience STEREO and leaves them coming back for more. Angel's vision for the club has become an integral part of the global underground movement, and proof of this is that on any given night he takes control of the room people travel from various parts of the world to experience the magic he creates.

Although STEREO consumed more than two years of his life somehow he found time to get back in the studio and finish his first original album, "Back From Stereo". Here he captured the full spectrum of what he feels is real house music. From the deepest vibey tracks, with chunky bass lines and gripping rhythms, to the uplifting vocal tracks, this album pleased even the most skeptical of house aficionados: "Songs like the disco-looped/vocal driven 'Great Sensation', the wickedly deep 'Everybody's Feelin', the positively upbeat 'Your Love Is All I Need', and the ferocious 'One Night Affair' only serve to confirm Angel's work." Billboard Magazine