Media Res Radio/Sweet Apricots interview, Paris

The public talk I gave on David Mancuso, the Loft and audiophile partying a couple of weekends ago in Paris is available online.

Many thanks to Mathias and the In Medias Res Radio team for organising the event and to Slym Joseph Bouzavitch for setting the wheels in motion. The Sweet Apricots party that followed later that evening will live long in the memory! Inspired by Beauty & the Beat and Lucky Cloud Sound System, Slim started to build his own Klipschorn speakers and host audiophile "Sweet Apricots" parties a year or so ago, and earlier this year I went on a 12-hour overnight trip to Paris to check out his gear “in the wild”.

I was super-impressed with the speakers--how can I come up with a good excuse to buy a pair?--and equally if not more taken with the party. Cedric Lassonde DJed that night; it was truly magical. Soon after Slim suggested I return to Paris do a talk about the legacy of the NYC Loft and then team up alongside Belle Beteand Cedric Lassonde to bring a slice of “All Our Friends” to Sweet Apricots.

At the end of the Sweet Apricots party featuring All Our Friends in Montreuil, Paris. Thanks to Slym Joseph Bouzavitch for hosting such an insanely intense, joyful and passionate party. We want more...

All Our Friends with our Parisian friends at the end of happy party :)

It turned out to be Slim’s first party in a new spot in Montreuil, an outlying neighbourhood rich in community spirit, so I had a good feeling about the night from the very start. The feeling deepened as the floor filled up with so many familiar faces, a good number of them from London and the UK. What can anyone say about the party that followed? It insane, ridiculous, off the wall—thank you to everyone who turned it into such a celebratory night.

Slym Joseph Bouzavitch and Pauline Moisy at the end of take-down. Happy people :)

Belle Bete and headwear as the Parisian dawn captures the energy of the night just passed

Vogue Hommes feature

Vogue Hommes (Paris) has published a 6-page interview with me about Life and Death on the NY Dance Floor.

"Il consacre avec Life and Death on the New York Dancefloor 1980-1983 [...] une somme prodigieusement fouillée, intensément politique, gorgée de détails, de titres de chansons, et d'anecdotes," writes Julien Gester in the intro. "Généreux et maniaque jusqu'à l'excès, le récit de Lawrence se nourrit aussi bien de playlists extensives que de documents d'époque et d'entretiens avec les principaux acteurs--devenus superstars ou restés dans l'ombre--de ce moment incandescent dont notre modernité ne s'est toujours pas remise."

I'm amazed. The only thing that would have amazed me even more is if they'd slipped a copy of the book into the picture of the mean-looking guys on the front cover--no, strike that, if they'd invited me to appear in the shoot.

In other news...

If your German is good and your French not so good, the Austrian magazine Malmoe has published an article about Life and Death on the NY Dance Floor, http://malmoe.org/artikel/tanzen/3263

If English is your preference, Matthew Billy has posted another episode of his Between the Liner Notes radio doc, 19: Discophobia (Disco Part 2). It includes i/vs with Joseph Carvello, Ray Caviano, Jim DeRogatis and me, http://bit.ly/BTLNdisco02

Signature has published a feature titled “10 Weird and Wonderful Biographies on the Music of the 1970s” that includes kind words about Hold On to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973-92. “As a musician and composer, Russell’s body of work includes everything from boldly experimental compositions to ecstatic dance tracks to heartfelt pop confessionals,” writes Tobias Carroll. “Lawrence’s book is a fantastic look at Russell’s music, and the impact it continues to have on what we listen to today.” http://www.signature-reads.com/…/10-great-biographies-on-t…/

If you haven’t already, please sign the petition “Let NYC Dance: Repeal NYC's Cabaret (No Dancing) Law Now”, https://www.change.org/p/new-york-city-council-repeal-nyc-s…?