Glenn Morrison is used to living a life of superlatives – quite how he finds time to be one of life’s overachievers remains a mystery to those who know him. Whether it’s as a producer, remixer or label owner he seems to achieve in 24 hours what most of us can only manage in a week. But, despite this wealth of creative and business talent he has a reputation for being one of the most level-headed and likeable figures on the dance music scene today.

Not content with utilising his considerable business acumen (he will shortly be off to Harvard to complete his MBA), Glenn manages to be one of the major upcoming players in the global dance music scene. Hitting number one on the Beatport sales chart, remixing the Pet Shop
Boys, Craig Armstrong, the B52’s, and Bernard Sumner (from New Order), signing tracks to EMI, Universal, Azuli, Positiva, Armada, Perfecto and Poker Flat, and getting props from the cream of the worlds top DJs (including Sasha, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Justice, Nick Warren, John Digweed, Laurent Garnier and Sven Vath) are just a slice of the last 12 months for this workaholic North American.

As if this weren’t enough, Glenn has notched up considerable success as a DJ in his own right. His eclectic taste for all things considered proper club house has garnered him a variety of fans from varying core sound bases. From grainy screeching acid lines to lush ethereal progressive, this jack of all trades does it all and well. Having played in over 30 countries and at the best clubs and festivals worldwide – from LA to Rio to Tokyo to London - it seems that nothing can stop the Morrison rollercoaster.

First of all, thanks for taking the time to do this interview Glenn, how are you on this fine day?
I’m great thanks, hopefully you are as well? I’m currently doing this interview for you guys whilst flying from Amsterdam!

August sees you make your Godskitchen debut, have you heard much about the club?
Absolutely I have yes and I’m very excited about playing there. So many of my friends have told me how great of a club it is to play, and Godskitchen has been an established brand for so many years. I remember when I was growing up listening to this music in the late 90’s tons of the best names were playing there on a regular basis, so for me it’s an honour to now be playing there as well.

You’ve been busy touring with Armin Van Buuren around the world recently, how has that been?
It’s been fantastic thanks. We just finished up 3 weeks together in Europe and the Middle East, and it was just amazing. From a personal standpoint, it’s also been a great learning experience for me on so many levels, whether it be pacing myself and taking care of my body (because each day you’re in a different city playing), to the showmanship side of things (not being a boring little gremlin behind the decks), to so many other things.

How did you get involved with Armin in the first place?
We have the same management and agents, and last year they decided to put us together on a tour in Canada. It went extremely well and with time we were put on more tours together and became good friends in the process. As well, our sounds compliment each other perfectly, with the psychological progression throughout the course of the night increasing not only with BPM but with mood and style.

I hear you are also quite involved with the gaming world, providing music for the likes of EA Sports, Rockstar, Sony and more. How did you get into that and how do you find the differences between doing that and electronic music?
That’s correct yes. I initially got into it from some friends in Toronto and Los Angeles doing small projects for commercials and computer games before making the jump into the videogame world. I love making music for videogames so much because it allows me to really be creative and go outside the normal boundaries of house music. The only differences I find is that mainly they like more ambient and trip hop/breakbeat kind of material, or more soundscapes, then 4/4 stuff. It really depends on the game though, there are so many variables at play.

You have even recently had a piece of music used by Armani at their stores across North America, how did that come about?
Yes, ‘Contact’ was used in North America at all the Armani stores which is awesome. I believe they also used ‘Blue Skies With Linda’ too. I have no clue how these things ever come about, I just have great publishers and label representation so god bless them!

According to your website you are about the complete an MBA over at Harvard too? That’s quite an accolade, tell us a bit about it…………
I actually took a deferral because the music industry was treating me so kindly. Basically I was going to go there in the late 08 year to receive my MBA, as I already have a degree in law and critical theory from the University of Toronto (which is also ranked in the top 10 universities in the world). I love studying and I love scholastics in general, so before all of this music stuff blew up, those were my initial plans!

Your music seems to be touching bases with all corners of EDM with you getting support from the likes of Armin and Tiesto right the way through to John Digweed and Nick Warren. Was this a conscious decision to try and appeal to as many people as possible or do you just do what you do and it just happens to have caught on really well?
Just like you said, I just try my best everyday to give my take on dance music and hopefully it resonates a chord within the people. I love music so much, I listen to it 24/7, and was brought up with it from a very early age when playing classical piano. For me, music is an extension of someone’s soul or headspace, you can tell a lot about a person based on the kind of music they listen to. I really love all types of dance music, and I think that reflects in my dj sets. Huge influences for me are quite varied when I think about it now, ranging from guys like Paul Oakenfold to Guy Ornadel to Sven Vath to Laurent Garnier. So many of my big influences just kept it real, and were true leaders, which is what I hope to be with time.

How would you describe your sound to someone who perhaps hasn’t heard of you yet?
Interesting question, haven’t been asked that one before! I’d say perhaps housey, flittering melodies, hypnotic, euphoric, beautiful, warm, lush at times too.

Not so long ago you featured on the world famous Transitions radio show presented by John Digweed, how did you approach doing a mix for this as it would be a slightly different crowd to those that would be at gigs when supporting Armin Van Buuren and other Trance names?
To be honest, I play those same kinds of records when I’m out with Armin and at my shows! I don’t associate one type of crowd with another type of crowd. The object of any show is to play amazing music, and build an amazing vibe. People go out to party and have a great time, and you need to provide that to them, so this is all I care about before a show. How am I going to please the audience? What kind of samples and effects can I pull off at this show during this moment in the night, etc.? Is it open air or on the beach or in a big warehouse? I think about tons of factors before a show, I’m a bit OCD like that. But getting back to the initial question, when I was asked by John to do a mix, it was such a big honour for me as he is one of my biggest inspirations as a DJ. I just prepared a mix from some of the records I was currently playing at the time and voila, the mix was born!

On top of all that, you also started your own record label – Morrison Recordings – in 2005, how is that coming along?
Very well thank you. We do a lot of sublicensing to movie scores and videogames, as well as releasing a lot of club music. I have plenty of originals from myself being released this year as well as great music from the likes of Robert Babicz, Gutterstylz, and 16 Bit Lolita’s. It’s been a great year for Morrison Recordings, mostly in part to the wonderful team I have that looks after things.

It seems that your name is gaining more and more notoriety by the minute, where do you go from here?
I am just so grateful and fortunate for all of this, you have no idea. Sometimes I really pinch myself asking if this is all real because it is truly living the dream. There is intense pressure for me to deliver an amazing performance at every show, and I give everything I can because I want to have longevity in doing this. At this point, I am purely focussed on bringing the best parties to the shows I get booked at. My record collection is getting really deep and varied and I try my best to bring people a night they won’t forget.

What would you say is your finest achievement to date?
It’s hard to say because there have been many magical moments so far, but I’d say my residency on the Tuesday’s at Amnesia in Ibiza is a great achievement for me on a personal level. Amnesia is so special to me and a true honour to play. Also playing recently at Cavo Paradiso in Mykonos, Greece was one of my favourite clubs ever. And then there is my special relationship with South America, mostly Brazil and Argentina. I’m flying there this Thursday for a long tour (which ends just before I come to play for you guys at Godskitchen actually) and I can’t wait. They have treated me so well down there and I just love the places which I have to play (Sirena in Maresias, Pacha and Crobar in Buenos Aires, Privilege in Buzios, etc.).

If you could play one gig in the world, which gig would it be?
GlobalGathering is a personal goal of mine, Fabric in London is another, Watergate and Panorama Bar in Berlin is another, Womb and Ageha in Tokyo is another, Sensation White in Holland would be another, the terrace at Space in Ibiza would be another; honestly I could go on and on. I just love playing at the festivals and clubs which care about the music and are extremely professional.

Finally, do you have a message for the Godskitchen faithful ahead of your debut?
I can’t wait to come and play for you guys this August. I will have a special introduction prepared as well as a special ‘surprise’ during the early part of my show, out of pure respect for Godskitchen and the great crowd it attracts. I hope you all will enjoy my show and until then! :)

Thanks Glenn

Saturday 29th August
Air Nightclub
Birmingham

Oxygen Room
ARMIN VAN BUUREN (3hr set)
GARETH EMERY
ALEX M.O.R.P.H
GLENN MORRISON

Nitrogen Room
PAUL THOMAS
RUSSELL G
STEVE L
ROWLAND COOPER

Carbon Lounge
DEEP CITY SOUL
DUNCAN MURRAY

Early Bird - SOLD OUT
Advanced - £20+BF

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