David Morales
David Morales is a New York-based house DJ, producer, and remixer whose career traces back to the city's club scene of the 1970s, placing him among the originators of house music's New York branch. He co-founded Def Mix Productions alongside Frankie Knuckles, and in 1999 he won a Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year, only the second time the category had been awarded, following Knuckles' win the previous year.
His DJ sets from the Red Zone club in New York during the early 1990s have circulated as recorded mixes, documenting the club-driven house style he built his reputation on during that period. Coverage of his career describes him as one of the pioneers of house music in New York, with a discography of remix work for major-label artists that ran alongside his ongoing residencies and club bookings through the 1990s and 2000s.
His work with Def Mix placed him within a small circle of New York-based DJ-producers who shaped house music's crossover into mainstream pop remix work during that era. Morales has continued to be cited by dance music historians and outlets such as DJ History as a formative figure whose club sets and studio remixes both contributed to house music's evolution from its underground New York roots.