Gay musician, DJ and remixer Rich Morel gets around. He is a fixture in the queer music scene via his recordings of original material (including Queen of the Highway and Lucky Strike) as well as the remixes he does as Morel and Pink Noise. As one half of the in-demand club DJ duo Blowoff (along with out musician Bob Mould), Morel is an expert at packing the dance-floor. Deathfix, his latest effort, is a collaboration quartet also featuring Brendan Canty of Fugazi fame. The bands eponymous debut is a pleasant mix of post-rock experimentation and retro-pop updates, not to mention that the disc’s irresistibly funky centerpiece “Dali’s House” is as addictive as music gets. I spoke with Morel about Deathfix, his other projects, The Beach Boys and Salvador Dali.

Gregg Shapiro: Deathfix feels like the next logical musical progression following the albums you released under the Morel moniker on which you explored aspects of rock music. Do you also see it that way?

Rich Morel: I definitely do see this progression of what I was doing. But my collaboration with Brendan (Canty) unfolded and opened up a whole other, at least for me artistically, the two of us working together on the writing of the song, a whole other direction. More live, more spontaneous; which is in effect a further development of the rock aspects of what I was doing. But that fruition came from working with Brendan, Mark (Ocampo) and Devin (Cisneros) on the record and playing live; that really made everything explode into its own place.

Did you ever imagine, being a longtime DC resident, that there would come a day that you would be a part of a band releasing an album on the city’s legendary indie punk label Dischord?

I didn’t, but how awesome is that [laughs]. I’ve known Brendan for years and I had met Ian (MacKaye of Dischord and the band Fugazi) because I was in DC working. I have so much respect for the label and all the people who’ve been on the label that, for me, it’s really a thrill. It’s great working with those guys and it’s really exciting.

For your fans who might only know you through your Blowoff DJ dates with Bob Mould or your Pink Noise remixes, how do suggest that they approach the Deathfix disc?

That’s a hard question because when I approach music it’s never so genre specific. I always hope that most people would approach music the same way. If you do approach music under the pretense that this is a genre I like, this is a genre I don’t like, you close off a lot of great music. I would say approach it like the songwriting is the center of what Deathfix is about, just as the songwriting is the center of what Erasure is about. Once you hear it on that level you either love it or not [laughs]. Songwriting is the center of every record may. That would be my advice, listen to the songs, listen to the musicianship and hopefully you’re going to dig it.

I think my favorite track on the album is “Dali’s House,” the funk rock centerpiece of the disc. The song sounds like an homage to Arthur Russell. Is Arthur someone that you consider to be an influence?

I like him. It’s great that you hear that, but that actually wasn’t something I was thinking about. But that’s great. That works for me [laughs].

There is a wonderful list of people who are name-checked in the song. What was involved in the compiling of the names?

I had just jotted the idea of being somebody’s house on my phone. I keep little notes in my text documents on my phone whenever I have an idea that I think might make a cool song. The idea of being somebody’s house instead of actually being the person, I like the metaphor of being what holds them or represents them in a structural way. The list came about with me and Brendan brainstorming about people we really like [laughs]. When the lyric was expanded, it was like, why do I like this person? I would expand it a little more and sometimes it would just be the person’s name. I like the surreal aspect of it being (Salvador) Dali’s house because everything is randomly juxtaposed. This is a song version of the Exquisite Corpse. The idea of the song being the things that are not intrinsically related but they will become related once the bass-line is there [laughs].

The sheer variety on the disc, including the prog rock of “Mind Control,” the `70s-inspired pop of “Better Than Bad” and the pretty psychedelia of “Low Lying Dreams,” is made all the more amazing by there being only seven tracks on the whole album. Is there one style more than the others that is the truest reflection of your personal aesthetic?

It’s hard, because in the process of getting to what is the album, there was so much contribution by all four members. I think my personal aesthetic is definitely there in the lyrical way. On the text of the record you definitely hear my personal aesthetic. Musically, obviously “Dali’s House” is something that comes from an aesthetic I’ve been exploring forever, since I’ve been doing music. But “Low Lying Dreams” is another one that I would think is in line with where I sit musically. “Playboy,” which has Beach Boys references and almost jam references as well, is a good example of everybody coming together and creating something that’s bigger than the original concept.

That’s the best, too, when everybody works together in sync to create something original and fresh.

That’s why I love collaboration. Because you get this other that you just can’t get with one person. There are awesome records that are solo projects that are great, but as an artist it’s always exciting to collaborate because somebody throws something else out there and you’re just like, “Wow” [laughs]! It takes it to a whole new place, which is great.

Speaking of collaboration, you recently produced Tom Goss’s track, “Bears.”

[Laughs] Yes, I did.

It’s kind of a leap for him, because I don’t think of him as a dance artist…

No, he’s not. We’re friends in DC. I’ve known him in DC and we have a lot of mutual friends. He approached me and said that he had an idea for a song and asked if I’d be interested in doing it. I love Tom. He’s the sweetest guy on the planet. That’s all there was to it.

Is it a song that you would work into rotation in your Blowoff dates?

I’m actually working on a remix of it that would be more suited for club play.

Deathfix is heading out on tour again. What do you like best about that experience?

I love playing live. I love the immediate connection with an audience. One of the things with Deathfix is that live we’re not a rigid band. We’re very fluid. There are a number of points in the set where we jam and explore different ideas. That’s one of the things that’s most exciting for me.