David Mancuso, New York DJ,
david mancuso, new york dj , founder of the Loft, died at 72 years old
David Paul Mancuso was an American disk jockey who created the popular "by invitation only" parties in New York City, which later became known as "The Loft".The first party, called "Love Saves The Day", was in 1970.
Mancuso’s private parties at The Loft in Manhattan helped establish a vibrant alternative to New York’s commercial club scene in the early 1970s, famed for their exceptional sound quality rather than DJ showmanship.
The Loft’s success inspired countless more underground venues that became the birthplaces of house music, such as the Paradise Garage, The Gallery, and The Saint. The club was also the headquarters of the New York Record Pool, the first DJ record pool, which he founded with Vince Aletti and Steve D’Acquisto.
Mancuso was born on October 20, 1944 in Utica, New York.,
fter being introduced to high fidelity sound components (including the Klipschorn speaker) by a friend who resided in Brooklyn Heights, Mancuso purchased some equipment from fellow hobbyist Richard Long, who soon became a close friend; following his initial work with Mancuso, Long would go on to design many of the most important sound systems in the New York underground disco scene.
Mancuso continued to develop a highly variegated social network (a characteristic that he ascribed to his unconventional upbringing), frequenting rent parties in such disparate milieus as Harlem and Staten Island while also immersing himself in the hippie culture of the era at such East Village venues as the Electric Circus, the Planetarium, and the Fillmore East (where he was present for notable performances by Timothy Leary and Nina Simone). He became an ardent devotee of Leary'sThe Psychedelic Experience (1966) after his initial experiments with LSD and soon developed a personal acquaintance with the psychologist as a member of theLeague for Spiritual Discovery, often attending his private parties.
Before hosting his first Loft party at his home at 647 Broadway in 1970, Mancuso was playing records for his friends on a semi-regular basis as early as 1966. These parties became so popular that by 1971 he and Steve Abramowitz, who worked the door, decided to do this on a weekly basis.These parties were similar to rent party or house party.
By the late 1970s Mancuso abandoned audio mixing, beatmatching, and pitch-shifting in favour of an "audiophile" approach to sound reproduction
In 1999 and 2000, Mancuso and Colleen Murphy produced the compilation series David Mancuso Presents The Loft, Volumes One and Two onNuphonic
