Joaquin “Joe” Claussell

Joe Claussell is definitely one of NY City’s busiest dance statistics, because of his work in every areas of the home community: as an extremely respected DJ, maker, remixer, label-head (Religious Existence Music and Ibadan), and record-shop owner (Dance Songs). Spiritual Existence has released songs from a bunch of NY nu-house groups including Claussell himself, Mateo & Matos, Blaze, Slam Setting, and frequent creation partner Jephte Guillaume. And his Weekend club night time, Body & Spirit (with fellow occupants François Kevorkian and Danny Krivit), re-created the vibes fostered in the delivery of contemporary dance music — David Mancuso’s Loft classes through the early ’70s — having a varied mixture of lively music which range from Milton Nascimento to Experts at the job to Cesario Evora to Kevin Yost to Fela Kuti. In his productions, he’s frequently mirrored that eclectic mixture of designs, dropping in a lot of acoustic devices and wealthy percussion patterns. Like Kevorkian, Claussell is usually a veteran from the disco period, a keen participator at DJ classes from near-legendary numbers like Mancuso and Larry Levan. Elevated in Brooklyn, he discovered musical diversity because of the wide-ranging likes of his seven brothers. He started working at the brand new York record shop Dance Songs in the past due ’80s, and after developing a relationship with brand-new owner Stefan Prescott, changed it into among the leading vinyl fabric sources in the town. Claussell considered production using a few remixing credits, and in 1996, released Spiritual Lifestyle Music using the one “Stubborn Complications” by Timmy Regisford. Religious Life shortly became the house for productions embracing all types of groove music from recent decades, as comfy functioning through Caribbean folk and salsa rhythms as the anticipated deep home. (And in addition, the selection on the Dance Paths store highlighted the same idea at the job.) Tight produces by two of New York’s greatest producers (Slam Setting with “Fiat Mistura,” and Blaze with “Directions”) elevated the label’s presence through the mid-’90s, and Claussell shifted into creation with great singles by Jephte Guillaume (“The Prayer,” “Kanpe”) during 1997. He also shaped another label, Ibadan, and released his first genuine one, the 1997 Brazilian home workout “Escravos de Joe.” The same vibes fostered on Religious Life materials also found a good work out at Body & Spirit, the Sunday night golf club founded by Claussell with François Kevorkian. His 1st full-length, Blend the Vibe, premiered on NiteGrooves in 1999, adopted later that 12 months by his appropriate debut, Vocabulary. A Spiritual Existence compilation, Spiritual Existence Music, can be available.