Morgan Page has been around the block. His career in electronic music has been defined in a huge range of sounds, constantly changing the dynamic between pop and progressive house. Building his tastes with his parents' country and singer-songwriter favorites, getting into hip-hop in high school and starting his own career in college radio, he quickly emerged in the early 90's as a smart tact in the industry, making likeable music for those who enjoy house, and for those who don't. Oh, and getting nominated for a Grammy.
While Page has taken the route of many in the dance music industry by releasing singles and a few thoughtful, heartfelt albums (his last as DC to Light in 2015), he has announced today a shift in that release schedule in favor of a year-long holistic project. The release of his three-track Born to Fly EP today via longtime partner Armada Music marks the first of three EP's that will be released throughout 2018 as part of a larger, continuous project. His aim, he says, is to give each element of this project its time to shine, in three smaller digestible pieces.
In his past, he's worked with indie artists like Lissie, vocalists like Nadia Ali, and house heads like deadmau5. Recently, his single releases have been pop-leaning, embracing the dance/pop crossover that he's always shared, but now is in the forefront of radio play. But with the release of Born to Fly, we see Page return to some of his progressive roots. Like any great artist, it's because there is no challenge in doing the same thing again and again, and evolving is a natural progress: "There's never really an intention to evolve – it's just getting restless with doing the same sound and embracing some sonic diversity. Some guys are content with making the same sound for 20 years, but I could never do that. I like being diverse and switching things up. I love underground music (I used to make Tech-House for labels like Force Tracks), and I love pop."
Born to Fly features three stand out tracks. The first, its title track, features Britt Daley, and speaks to Page's love for both underground and pop, with deeper beats. The second track, "Lovesong," features a familiar tune from The Cure, recreated by The Oddictions and Daley herself. Deeper progressive again, it isn't just a cover, and it isn't re-appropriating the song in a forced way – it works. Lastly, "Habit" features Meiko, with whom Page shares an interesting origin story with, where he was "scouting for vocalists at Hotel Cafe (the same place I found Lissie) in Hollywood, seeing Meiko play – and that's when I met my wife! Meiko ended up playing our wedding." All in all, they are three songs that take Page's sound to a new place – and it sure is wonderful and inviting.
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