Morel

Richard Morel first rose to prominence in dance music circles during the late 1990s thanks to an array of prominent remixes and his contributions alongside Deep Dish. Eventually he chose to emerge from the production booth and present original material of his own. His debut album, Queen of the Highway, drew upon far more than his electronic roots, incorporating instead a wide span of creative influences accumulated over many years. Raised beyond Boston, Morel absorbed the writings of Tennessee Williams, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald through his mother, while his grandfather, a classical pianist, shaped his musical ear and his two older sisters introduced him to rock and R&B. In the mid-1980s, still a teenager, he left home and hitchhiked across the United States, where he connected with figures such as filmmaker and photographer Mark Morrisroe, who gave him a role in the film Nymphomaniac. Around the same period he began playing guitar and composing songs, though these efforts remained private for quite some time. In 1998 Morel collaborated with the Washington, D.C., DJ duo Deep Dish, handling engineering duties on their debut Junk Science and co-writing three tracks, among them the homoerotic club hit “Stranded,” which showcased his gravelly baritone. At the same time he built a roster of remix clients under the name Pink Noise, reworking material for Tina Turner, Depeche Mode, and New Order. By 2001 he had formed a band consisting of guitarist John Allen, drummer Rob Black, and percussionist/vocalist Dwayne Tyree, and together they completed his first solo release, Queen of the Highway. The record combined dark lyricism with openly gay-themed songs such as “All of the Sweet Ones” and “Mean Time,” all propelled by an energetic blend of deep house and guitar pop, confirming that Morel was considerably more than a studio craftsman.