Angel Moraes: Smoke & Mirrors

Stereo is a legendary after-hours. And one of its founders, Angel Moraes, is no less legendary. After selling the space and taking his distance in 2003, Moraes is back behind the club’s world-renowned sound system for good.

After all the rumours and the fire, most people thought it would never open its doors again. Why did you stay so secretive about it for so long?
I wasn’t secretive at all. The reason why I didn’t speak out is that it’s not my project. Stereo belongs to some friends of mine, and they have asked me to return as a sound engineer and DJ.

There’s a saying that goes: «Il n’y a pas de fumée sans feu» (there’s no smoke without fire).
In the last 5 years, I’ve been burnt a few times and I’ve had people dangle things in front of me that didn’t happen, so I wanted to wait until it was real to let people know. I’m a very honest and loyal person and when people are not like that with me, it’s disappointing.

Do you think that Stereo needed to go away for a bit for people to really appreciate its resurrection?
I don’t think Stereo needed to go away I think that all the selfishness and giant egos needed to go away. Can you hear me, fuckers? Stereo was created by myself and a group of Montrealers who believe in Montreal for Montreal, not for egotistical DJs who think that only out-of-towners should play there.

What can we expect, musically speaking, from the renovated self-proclaimed «Temple of sound»?
We’re still gonna set the bar high, whether it’s with local or international talent. I’ll see you all in Stereo wow, it feels really weird to say that again!

Stereo
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