10 classic tracks from David Mancuso's Loft

The death of pioneering DJ and party visionary David Mancuso leaves behind a legacy unrivalled in the history of dance music.

As founder of The Loft, the New York native created what many considered to be New York’s first underground dance party.

Mancuso’s home became a safe space for people marginalised by society and looking for community spirit. It was a cultural mix of different races and sexualities in an after-hours setting.

Not only was The Loft socially progressive but Mancuso, along with sound engineer Alex Rosner created a gold standard for club soundsystems with its audiophile qualities. It was of utmost importance to Mancuso to have music heard at the party exactly the way the artist intended it.

With that in mind, here are 10 stone-cold classics that graced the Loft sound system.

As the story goes, The Loft started with a Valentine’s Day party in 1970 at David Mancuso’s home. In a time of civil rights movements and gay liberation, the message was Love Saves The Day and the party provided a safe space for dancers, many of whom were black and gay. MFSB’s 1973 hit was not only the right vibe musically, but thematically as well.

Rather than go with the Whitehead & McFadden original, which had a very disco sheen to it, this dubby interpretation is representative of the looser, more familial vibe The Loft cultivated.

A great example of the influence The Loft wielded. Manu Dibango’s Soul Makossa was unheralded upon it’s release in 1972. That was until Mancuso stumbled across a copy of the Cameroonian musician’s record in Brooklyn and began playing it at his parties. The song subsequently received a swell of support from other DJs and now you can hear the vocal refrain on Michael Jackson and Rihanna tracks. That’s influence.

Arthur Russell was a close friend of David Mancuso. The seminal song’s frenetic energy perfectly captured Loft guests’ tendencies to bring their own percussion to parties.

With Latin percussion never far from Mancuso’s fingertips, this record slotted right into The Loft’s aesthetic and still canes today.

At Dekmantel this year, The Black Madonna played her track ‘Alright This Morning’ which features that unmistakable piano riff. The crowd rightly went wild for it. 41 years ago, David Mancuso was writing the blueprint for those moments when championing jazz keyboardist Johnny Hammond’s original at The Loft.

A track taken to heart as an unofficial theme tune among partygoers, it self-explanatorily embodied the spirit of The Loft.

On the surface, The Loft is often considered a stronghold of disco and soul. But Mancuso was very open to playing anything that would make people dance from jazz to classical. As the parties continued, and scene’s evolved, he also became an early adopter of house music. ‘Mystery Of Love’ by house music pioneers Fingers Inc features on one of the rare Loft compilations curated by Mancuso himself.

Another track that popped up on Mancuso’s Loft compilation, Ashford & Simpson’s operatic disco hit ‘Stay Free’ is a tune that let’s the dreamers dream and the lovers love.

Early 90s house in New York was really setting a benchmark for the scene to come. Strictly Rhythm and Nervous Records were just some of the labels making a name for themselves, and The Loft was right there with them.