Tag Archives: Studio 54

  • NICKY SIANO INTERVIEW BY DENNIS KANE

    nickysiano

    A true pioneer of the art of DJing, Nicky Siano started young and burned brightly. His party, the Gallery, along with David Mancuso’s the Loft, set a template for what an underground dance music party could be. Created in a Manhattan loft space, the Gallery was an environment designed and built by Nicky and his brother Joe, an architectural engineer. It was there that Nicky pioneered beat-matching, blending and EQing to create new levels of sonic drama, and he did it on three Thorens turntables and a Bozak mixer (that means no backspinning and limited pitch control). He started going out at an early age and was by his own admission a “music fiend.”

    “I was listening to Montavani,” recalls Nicky. “He was this composer and orchestra leader [who] had very lush arrangements. I was obsessed by his palette of sounds. I was also getting schooled by my brothers in the world of rock music. Laura Nyro’s compositions became a big deal for me.”

    Nicky got his first major gig at a club in midtown called the Roundtable, where he would often DJ five to seven nights a week. [Read More]

  • SESSION 1587: A1 IN STORE 04.04.14

    Mixed by Dwayne Holt (Studio 54)

    1587_A1

    01. Rev B.W. Smith Sr
    02. Sounds Of Blackness – Optimistic
    03. Kathy Sledge – Take Me Back To Love Again
    04. Nuyorican Soul – It’s Alright
    05. Juliet Roberts – Free Love
    06. M.A.D.A. – Feel Like Jumpin
    07. Mass Order – Lift Every Voice
    08. Men from Nile – Watch Therm Come
    09. Carolyn Harding – Running From Reality
    10. Tortured Soul – Why
    11. Lii Hoo – Let Me Love You
    12. Andy Caldwell – Carnaval
    13. Lidell Townsell – Nu Nu
    14. Kerri Chandler – Heal My Heart
    15. Frankie Knuckles – Tears
    16. Ten City – Only Time Will Tell
    17. H2O – Satisfied
    18. Joi Cardwell – Jump For Joy
    19. Fonda Rae – Living In Ecstasy
    20. Love Committee – Just As Long As I Got You
    21. Roy Ayers – Brand New Feeling
    22. Vincenzo – Confusion
    23. Dub Tribe Sound Syetem – Equitorial
    24. LM Connection – Jungle Urbano
    25. Atmosfear – Dancing In Outer Space (Unreleased Remix)
    26. Soul Provicers – Rise
    27. Byron Stingily – Pice Of Meat
    28. Angie Stone – Wish I Didn’t Miss You
    29. Loleatta Hollowayt – What Goes Around Comes Around
    30. Blvd East and Louie “Lou” Gorbea – A Journey Into
    31. Urban Soul – Before You Reach For Love
    32. Uschi Classen – Only In Your Eyes
    33. Deep Sensation – Can’t Give You Up
    34. DJ Mark Farina – Dream Machine
    35. Down South Music – Forever Free
    36. Simon – Got Me
    37. Tom Chasteen – Freedom
    38. Sounds Of Blackness – Testify

    Standard Podcast [ 2:06:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1599)

  • SESSION 1533: A1 IN STORE 11.22.13

    Mixed by Dwayne Holt (Studio 54)

    dwayne_holt

    Standard Podcast [ 1:02:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (702)

  • SESSION 1525: A1 IN STORE 10.19.13

    Mixed by Dwayne Holt (Studio 54)

    “The Soul of Disco”

    01. Diana Ross – Lady Sings the Blues Soundtrack 1972
    02. Teddy Pendergrass – If You know Like I know 1979
    03. Hamilton Bohannon – Keep On Dancing 1974
    04. Dexter Wansel – I ‘ll Never Forget 1979
    05. O’Jays – I Love Music (Remix Break) 2000
    06. Ultra High Frequency – Were on The Right Track 1974
    07. Cloud One – Atomosphere Strut 1976
    08. Fatback Band – No More Room For Dancing 1976
    09. People’s Choice – Boogie Down U.S.A. 1975
    10. Atlanta Disco Band – Buckhead 1975
    11. The Brothers – Under The Skin 1976
    12. Issac Hayes – Buns O’ Plenty 1974
    13. James Brown – Super Bad 1970
    14. El Coco – Hot Disco Night (Are You Ready) 1976
    15. El Coco – Delicdo 1975
    16. Mandrilll – Ali Bombaye 1977
    17. MFSB – Freddies’s Dead 1973
    18. Mark Radice – If You Can’t Beat Em 1976
    19. The Four Tops – Catfish 1976
    20. Blue Magic – Look Me Up 1974
    21. People’s Choice – Her We Go Again 1976
    22. Motown Sounds – Bad Mouthin 1978
    23. Detroit Emeralds – You Want if You Got It 1972

    101913_dwayne

    Standard Podcast [ 1:10:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (873)

  • INTERVIEWS: NICKY SIANO

    by Alex R. Mayer – EDGE 

    “I never thought of myself as just playing records, but creating atmosphere.” – Nicky Siano

    Think of today’s biggest DJs, the ones that everyone watches and listens to; the DJs of DJing if you will. Think about their tricks and techniques, the way they select and mix their records, and the energy and atmosphere they create on their dancefloors. Now, think about the DJs who came before them, such as Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan. Those DJs who influenced today’s
    spinners, were guided musically and philosophically by a man who pioneered the art of mixing on three turntables, who first got audiences to sing records back to the DJ and who made everyone stop dancing and look up at the DJ booth of Studio 54.

    Nicky Siano heard and saw something in the music and nightlife of the early 1970s that transcended the accepted norms of that time. The dance music community had come together out of a need for expression, and a declaration of their rights. The music reflected the many intense social and political issues of the time, including the Vietnam War and the Stonewall uprising. When people came together to dance, it was a safe haven, if only for the night. It was also a way to communicate collectively, something which DJs such as Siano and David Mancuso realized early on. [Read More]