Joe Claussell

Joe Claussell has long been one of New York City's busiest dance figures, thanks to his work in all areas of the house community: as a highly respected DJ, producer, remixer, label-head (Spiritual Life Music and Ibadan), and record-shop owner (Dance Tracks). Spiritual Life has released tracks from a host of New York nu-house teams including Claussell himself, Mateo & Matos, Blaze, Slam Mode, and frequent production partner Jephte Guillaume. And his Sunday clubnight Body & Soul (with fellow residents François Kevorkian and Danny Krivit) recreated the vibes fostered at the birth of modern dance music -- David Mancuso's Loft sessions during the early '70s -- with a varied mix of vibrant music ranging from Milton Nascimento to Masters At Work to Cesario Evora to Kevin Yost to Fela Kuti. In his productions, he's often mirrored that eclectic mix of styles, dropping in plenty of acoustic instruments and rich percussion patterns.

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