Iconic NYC nightclub Studio 54 shuttered its doors in 1986, but its spirit has given shape to a new venture. After living on for years in namesake alone, the brand is now a record label called Studio 54 Music.
A true-to-tradition EP of tastefully updated disco classics is the label’s debut release. “Got To Have Loving” by Don Ray, “At Midnight” by T-Connection, “Lovin’ Is Really My Game” by Brainstorm and “Souvenirs” by Voyage have been reworked by JKriv and Morgan Wiley. The former producer runs Brooklyn edits label Razor-N-Tape, and the latter plays in a disco group called Midnight Magic.
“The original Brainstorm version of this song is really more of a classic R&B/soul tune than straight disco and is at a burning tempo of almost 140 BPM,” JKriv said in a quote obtained by Mixmag. “We knew we had to slow it down but still retain all that fiery energy, so we gave it an almost Sylvester-esque treatment with pulsating arpeggiated synths and a hyped open-high hat consistent drum groove. Jonny Dinklage’s stabbing strings really added magic to the production and of course Adeline kills it in full disco diva mode on the vocals!”
Miracle on 54th Street
Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager opened Studio 54 at disco’s mainstream peak in 1977. Prior to that, the space on 254 West 54th Street was used as a television studio by CBS after housing several incarnations of the Gallo Opera House since the building’s construction in 1927.
Known for inventive, theatrical lighting that repurposed equipment left by the previous tenants, the nightclub drew such high-profile patrons as David Bowie, Salvador Dali, Timothy Leary and Robin Williams. Legal troubles temporarily forced Rubell and Schrager to close the club in 1980. It reopened under new ownership the following year and remained in business until 1986. The space is presently a Broadway theater owned by Roundabout Theatre Company that retains the name Studio 54.
More information on the record label can be found on the Studio 54 Music website.
