Harry Romero

by Jason Birchmeier Along with cohorts Erick Morillo and Jose Nunez, Harry "Choo Choo" Romero made Subliminal Records one of the New York house community's finest. He produced occasional tracks for the label, most of them getting considerable attention. Even so, the success of his productions never matched that of his DJing. Few New York house DJs rivaled Romero in terms of reputation, not just in New York but also in London, where Subliminal garnered a huge following. Romero's first major hit record came in 1998, "Just Can't Get Enough," released first in the U.S. on Subliminal and then later by AM:PM in the U.K. The international success of "Just Can't Get Enough" enabled Romero to extend his popularity beyond the massive yet insular New York house community. By the end of the '90s, Romero traveled the world, spinning at clubs as far away from New York as California and Europe. The acclaim showered on Romero's approach to DJing set the stage for his first high-profile DJ mix album, Subliminal Sessions, Vol. 2. Morillo's first volume in the series took a rather straightforward approach, relying heavily on the Subliminal catalog; in contrast, Romero's epic double-disc mix expanded on Morillo's volume not only in terms of scope but also chance. Where Morillo is the commercial side of Subliminal, Romero is the adventurous side of the label, not as successful but, in the end, more daring.