American DJ and producer.
Born: 20 July 1954 in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, NYC, NY.
Died: 8 November 1992 in Beth Israel Medical Center, Manhattan, NYC, NY (aged 38).
Levan is revered primarily as the DJ and driving force of the famous gay-friendly disco Paradise Garage. With engineer Richard Long, he custom-designed the Garage's sound system and DJ booth, complete with audiophile Thorens turntables.
Levan's brilliance lay not only in his technical skill and audio expertise, but also in his eclectic taste. He broadened the 'rules' of what dance music could be, mixing everything from gospel, reggae, Philly soul and Euro-disco to rock (e.g. Stevie Nicks "Stand Back", and The Who "Eminence Front"), post-punk (e.g. The Clash "The Magnificent Seven", and many Talking Heads tracks), ambient/environmental music (e.g. Klaus Schulze and [a=Manuel Gottsching]) and just about everything else. He augmented his sets with disorienting sound effects and audio manipulations, working the crossover and balance controls to throw sound around the room as if it had a will of its own.
Cutting his musical teeth at The Loft; essentially the first underground after-hours disco, which was started by David Mancuso at the advent of the 1970s. The Loft combined psychedelic culture with proto-disco music, which then consisted of long-form, psychedelic-influenced soul (e.g. Booker T & The MG's "Melting Pot", The Temptations "Papa Was a Rolling Stone", et al.), jazz-funk (e.g. The Blackbyrds), funky rock (e.g. Barrabas "Woman") and trippy head music like Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon". When club Paradise Garage opened in 1976, Levan added gospel and R&B-flavored disco to his musical menu.
After the Garage closed in 1987, Levan kept a considerably lower profile, doing guest spots at various clubs, including Studio 54, Palladium, and Mars, and DJ-ing regularly at The Choice – arguably the inheritor of the Garage's underground legacy. The Choice didn't have the grandeur of the Garage, but Levan made it his home, casting his psychedelic spell on a diverse crowd of devoted Garage fans and various other after-hours types.
Levan was voluntarily hospitalized at Beth Israel Medical Center after returning to New York following a Japanese tour. Three days after being released into the care of his mother, he was re-hospitalized at Beth Israel with hemorrhage symptoms. He died, aged 38, of heart failure caused by endocarditis at 18:15 EST, Sunday 8 November 1992.
2017
2015
Island Records, Motown, A&M Records, Universal UMC
12", Comp, Smplr
2015
2014
2011
2007
2006
2004
Suss'd Records, Salsoul Records
12", Ltd
2004
Suss'd Records, Salsoul Records
12", Ltd
2004
Suss'd Records, Salsoul Records
12", Ltd
2004
Suss'd Records, Salsoul Records
12", Ltd
2004
Suss'd Records, Salsoul Records
12", Ltd
2004
Garage Records
CDr, Ltd, Mixed, Promo
2004
2003
2003
2003
2003
2001
2000
Disco Legends
2x12"
2000
1999
1996
1985
1980
2024
SoulMusic Records, Second Disc Records
CD, Album, RE, Exp + CD, Album, RE, Exp + CD, Albu
2024
SoulMusic Records, Second Disc Records
CD, Album, MP, RE, Exp + CD, Album, RE, Exp + CD,
2024
2023
Edsel Records
Box, Comp, Ltd + CD, Album, RE + CD, Album, RE + C
2023
2022
2021
Sony Music
4xCD, Comp, TEX
2020
Sleeping Bag Records, Fresh Records
12"
2020
Sony Music
4xCD, Comp, TEX
2020
Salsoul Records, West End Records
30xFile, WAV, Comp
2020
Octave Lab
CD, Mixed, RM
2020
Salsoul Records
29xFile, WAV
2020
Salsoul Records
30xFile, WAV
2020
West End Records, Salsoul Records
28xFile, FLAC, Comp
2019
Octave Lab, Salsoul Records
CD, Mixed
2019
Columbia
CD, Comp
2019
Pardonnez-nous
CD, Comp
2018
Salsoul Records
2x12", Comp
2018
BMG
3xCD, Comp
2018
Salsoul Records
2x12", Comp
2018
Salsoul Records
2x12", Comp, RM
2018
New York Underground (2)
12", Ltd
2018
Salsoul Records
2x12", Comp
2018
BPM King Street Sounds
25xFile, ALAC, Comp
2017
New York Underground (2)
12", Ltd
2017
PTG Records
2xCD, Comp
2017
Salsoul Records
2x12", Comp
2017
2017
2016
2016
2015
Harmless
3xCD, Comp
2015
Octave Lab, Salsoul Records
2xCD, Comp
2015
Groove Line Records
3xCD, Comp, RM
2015
2015
2014
Time Records
2xCD, Comp
2014
Big Break Records, Big Break Records
2xCD, Comp, RM
2014
Not On Label (Ben Liebrand)
25xFile, WAV, Comp
2014
2014
2013
Soulstar
CD, Comp, Mixed + CD
2013
Spectrum Music (2)
CD, Comp
2013
Octave Lab, Salsoul Records
CD, Mixed
2013
Spectrum Music (2)
CD, Comp
2013
Rodeo Media
2xCD, Comp
2013
PTG Records
20xCD, Comp, RM + Box
2013
Octave Lab
CD, Mixed
2013
2013
2012
Unkwn Rec's
15xFile, WAV, Comp
2012
Not On Label (Alma (52) Self-released)
CDr, Ltd, Mixed, Mixtape
2012
EMI
CD, Mixed
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2012
2011
ZYX Music
3xCD, Comp
2011
Wea Music
2xCD, Comp
2010
West End Records
2xCD, Comp
2010
Antibemusic, Full Time Records
CD, Comp
2010
Harmless
2xCD, Comp
2010
Sony Music
4xCD, Comp
2010
Harmless
CD, Comp
2010
Field Records (3)
File, MP3, Mixed
2010
Universal Music Group
CD, Comp
2010
Not On Label
12", W/Lbl
2010
PTG Records, Vinyl Masterpiece
10xCD, Comp + CD, Mixed + Box
2010
Cooperative Music
CD, Comp, Mixed, Mixtape, Promo
2010
2009
Soundmen On Wax
12"
2009
PTG Records
2xCD, Comp
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