DJ Louie Mole Is Raisin’ The Rooftops Of NYC

Everybody, put your hands in the air. DJ Louie Mole is in the house.

Mole, whose real name is Luis Morales, has been rockin’ the crowd professionally since 1989, but got his start years earlier. With a basic setup, “I was DJ-ing in my room, and would put a speaker in the window so the neighborhood would hear the music,” says Morales. This led to doing house and block parties in the Bronx.

He was then invited to an ongoing DJ-off, where he and others would compete to see who could do the best mix. Says Morales, “It was very humbling.” But that’s where he honed his skills.

His first actual job was at a Manhattan club called The Pulse alongside a more polished DJ and founder of Trax Records, Mike Domenico. “Mike was the guy who found me.” The friendship led to a standing gig at a new lounge called 420 on Amsterdam Avenue. “In a matter of 4 to 5 months, we were on the cover of Time Out New York. The line was down the block every weekend.”

From there, he made a career as a DJ at Moonlighting and then the legendary celebrity Mondays at China Club. “I was there for ten years. My VIP room was Tom Jones, Liza Minnelli, Patrick Ewing, Derek Jeter, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger. That put my name on the map.”

After that came Saloon on 80th and York, and Libation on Ludlow Street, where venture capitalist Paul Andres was an investor and Morales DJ-ed for over 10 years with

Beyond NYC, his DJ journey has taken him across the country and around the world, including a yearly gig in Maui he’s had for two decades.

Also, for the past 20 years, Morales has had DJ-ing residencies thanks to a hospitality group called In Good Company. On weekends, you’ll find him at any one of the firm’s properties, such as The Refinery Rooftop and The Rockaway Hotel.

Straus Media caught up with the mix master to get some insight into today’s club scene, his passion for his profession, and the future of DJ-ing.

What’s it like today as opposed to when you started out?

The club scene’s evolved. In the ‘90s, people were taking Ecstasy and dancing for 12 hours. Clubs stayed open until 10 in the morning. After that, bottle service started happening. People wanted the exclusivity of sitting at a table with their friends and the alcohol of their choice. Then brunch became an item. People would day drink on Saturdays and Sundays, so nightlife took a hit. You go from there into COVID lockdown. [When things opened up again,] New York City clubs and lounges now stay open until 2 o’clock. People go a lot earlier and don’t hang out that late.

What’s the biggest technical change that’s affected how you work?

When I started DJ-ing, I had 10 crates of records on a dolly, pushing it down the street, then stacking the records in the DJ booth. When asked to play a song, I had to go search for it. Then, technology changed to Serato [professional DJ software]. That was 2005. Music was loaded onto a laptop, and it had two vinyl discs that were sound controllers. You would press the song on the computer and throw it to the record on the right of the turntable, pick the next song, and throw it to the record on the left. That changed everything. Now, I carry a laptop bag with a controller that has two CDJs and a mixer built in, walk into a club, set that up, and DJ. That is the progression. I was probably one of the first DJs to bring that to New York City.

What’s your approach to reading a room and keeping everybody dancing?

What makes me successful is top ten, every category, every year. Those are sing-along songs. I mash them up, play hip hop with rock and roll after it, and then play a house song and a reggae song.

Another thing that makes me successful is in my microphone game. I’ll talk to the crowd. I am the DJ who you can come and request any song you want. I want to play what you want to hear at the club.

What keeps you passionate about DJ-ing over these last decades?

That’s simple. I’m there to change people’s lives. I can make you fall in love for the night or forever.

The second part of it is the roar of the crowd. I take the music off, and they’re singing all the words. The hairs on my arm stand up. And that’s everything for me. Everything.

What’s the most memorable night behind the DJ booth?

Well, there was the night that [the TV show] “Bar Rescue” came to Bungalow Bar. They helped rebuild it after Hurricane Sandy. The whole community came out.

I would also say, Webster Hall for The Ball [party]. There were 4,000 people in the club. It was just a scene.

How about the most unusual night?

Ah, that’s a good one. A senior citizens’ Super Bowl party. I started playing Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and these ladies come up to me, “Sonny, we’re old, not dead. Give us some dance music.” I started playing today’s music, and the place erupted.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a DJ?

It’s funny you say that. I have my nephew, and I’m teaching him how to DJ now. The first thing is stay away from drugs and alcohol, and be an open-format DJ. Make sure that you can walk into a room and play for the crowd, and that will make you successful; be diverse with your music.

Contact DJ Louie Mole on Instagram and Facebook @djlouiemole; phone 917-682-3417 or email djlouiemole@gmail.com.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel “The Last Single Woman In New York City.”