Nicky Siano
Nicky Siano was one of the first DJs to mix records and owned the legendary club The Gallery in Manhattan which he opened in 1972. He was the most proficient DJ of the era and mentored both Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan. His sound system, which was a scaled up version of the one at the loft is thought by many to be the best sounding club system ever. Nicky had isolators and crossovers set to tweak the sound in his live sets which he mixed on three turntables. The club set the standard and predated the legendary clubs Zanzibar, Studio 54, and The Paradise Garage.
Nicky set another benchmark when he became the first DJ to produce a record. Arthur Russel and Nicky released Kiss Me Again by Dinosaur in 1978 on Sire Records. Guitar work is done by David Byrne. Nicky put a couple of records out under his own and this one from 1986 has a strange Ultravox meets pop disco sound.
Dinosaur - Kiss Me Again
Nick Siano - I'm Looking For You (Serious Mix)
Posted by Joel Brüt | 4 comments
Labels: Arthur Russell, Dinosaur, Nicky Siano, nowave
March 9, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Oh my god, the second track is so melodic, fell in love immediately. Many great thanks!
March 9, 2010 at 7:14 PM
Its like every track posted here, just whispers "remix me"t
March 14, 2010 at 2:13 PM
In every interview I have ever seen Nicky Siano take part in, he always comes across as such a genuine person and the modesty he displays (despite the fact he could easily be credited as the person who started it all with the "mix" as we know it and as it says in the above article, he was the first DJ turned producer, setting the blueprint for a 1000 careers in motion) is always touching plus the vintage footage of him working three decks and giving the sound an occasional tweak is a pleasure to behold. In some ways he reminds me of the same modesty Kool Herc displays in terms of the origins of hip-hop but thats always the way, the originators in any cultural field seldom get the full credit they deserve.
The Tigerstripes track is one of all time favourite tracks of any genre, period. In some ways its the perfect Arthur Russell record (...I know I know, there are so many perfect Arthur Russell tracks) and Kiss Me Again is pretty special too. I must admit I had not heard the 1986 track before, which suprises me, given the absolute quality of the track.
A Beat Electric double-whammy of life affirming joy!
April 5, 2014 at 9:16 AM
After so many gems found on Beat Electric, I'm glad to be able to - hopefully - give some back.
I had a chance to interview Nicky Siano in March for my show Disco&Co, if anyone's interested into the man's 40 years career and what he has to say about Studio 54 or the disco backlash, you can listen to this interview here:
http://www.radiorectangle.com/fr/discoco-07-special-nicky-siano-une-odyssee-disco.html#.U0AnUFwVyw0
50 minutes interview interlaced with 80 minutes disco tracks. Hope you'll enjoy!