The Paradise that Changed Clubbing Culture
“It’s like a metamorphosis time once you hear the tapes, the edits and the sessions of Larry in this mythical place called ‘Paradise Garage’. As a DJ it’s the first thing you need to know”
And of course, the one in charge of leading the way was no other than Larry Levan.
At the Paradise Garage, nothing was more important than the music. The DJs who spun at the Garage and the artists who played there (an impressive roster that includes the likes of Chaka Khan, Evelyn King, Madonna, Whitney Houston, and Grace Jones) came to define a new genre of music.
House music became the first direct descendant of disco in the early 80s. It’s said “house was born from the ashes of Disco” after the launch of an anti-disco movement.
Disco emerged in the early 70s as an underground movement born out of the urban gay culture in New York City. Predominantly LGBTQ, African American, and Latino communities popularized underground nightclubs and accelerated dance music culture.
Lawrence Philpot aka Larry Levan, was born in Brooklyn in 1954 and grew up in Flatbush. As a kid he grew up on the blues, jazz and gospel that his mother loved, but as a gay teenager, he was mercilessly bullied and left Brooklyn to become a fashion designer.
Levan started his career in music alongside Frankie Knuckles, both as replacement DJs at the Continental Baths for Nicky Siano from The Gallery, who taught them his three turntable technique. Levan’s DJing style blending both Philadelphia soul with jazz-infected eclectic rhythms.
In 1976, Levan was hired at the defunct Reade Street where he was able to develop his signature sound characterized by deep dark basses and a dub reinterpretation of the records. Later in 1977 he was offered a residency at the Paradise Garage.
The club developed a famous sound called “The Garage Sound”, prominent during the late 70s to early-mid 80s, that later on came to be known as “house garage” or “garage”; Garage house (also referred as “New York house”) has a more soulful influenced sound.
In the late 70s and early 80s, it was the end of the disco era and the evolution of house music began. Larry Levan was one of the first pioneers in developing “Garage” music. It was much different than the house being played in Chicago by artists such as Frankie Knuckles. It was modern electronic music generally connected to house or disco, but it was soulful and gospel-inspired tracks with upbeat rhythms.
Levan, well known for his decade-long residency at NYCs Paradise Garage. He was an influential figure in the rise of House, also referred to as New York House, and the introduction of dub elements into his own productions.
He seamlessly blended and remixed diva vocals, hypnotic harmonies, four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated bass lines, and orchestral melodies to create the definite sound of New York dance music.
These clubs also provided safe havens for partygoers who wanted to escape from social issues and enjoy an euphoric experience away from public scrutiny.
Nightclubs such as New York’s “Paradise Garage” and Chicago’s “Warehouse” set the stage for modern club culture and catapulted the club DJ to rock star status. The private membership policy offered a sense of sanctuary and ownership. It was one of those clubs in New York that the attendees, predominantly African American and Latino gays, could call their own.
On the surface, there was nothing particularly special about the Paradise Garage. But Levan treated the club as a temple to music. This complete devotion to music, to dancing, to the party, could be seen in every element of the club like the mirror balls and the sound system.
Paradise Garage operated from 1977 to 1987, and at the time, it featured the best sound system in New York City, also being the first club to put and emphasis on dancing and the DJ, by puttin him as the center of attention, rather than conversing with other guests.
Through his legendary residency at New York’s Paradise Garage, Larry Levan elevated DJing to an artform and provided the soundtrack to one of the most fertile moments in the history of dance music.
He wasn’t just playing for the Paradise Garage, but for the entirety of America.
“Nobody ever can explain (the atmosphere of the Paradise Garage) exactly, it’s something you had to experience. It was just freedom ... an acceptance. There’s never been anything like it before or since”.
The dichotomy of Ruido.
A moment in the present.
Indulge in the music of culture.
A moment in the present.
Indulge in the music of culture.