Twilo
Encyclopedia
Twilo was an American
nightclub
in operation from 1995 to 2001 in New York City
and from 2006 to 2007 in Miami. The New York location at 530 West 27th Street in the Chelsea
neighborhood of Manhattan
regularly attracted a crowd of thousands to its warehouse-like dance floor. Playing host to dozens of legendary DJs from around the world, the club was important in popularizing international styles of house
and trance
music within the United States.
straight crowd. Twilo regularly featured prominent American and European DJs playing trance
, techno
, and house music
. Sasha
and John Digweed
had a monthly residency at the club, playing the last Friday of every month. Early in 2001 after Sasha suffered an ear injury in a car accident and was unable to DJ, John Digweed played the entire 8 hour time slot by himself until the closing of the club in May. Other DJs would play frequently such as Paul van Dyk
, Carl Cox
, Robert Fauver, Richie Hawtin
aka (Plastikman), Danny Tenaglia
, Merritt, Jeff Mills
, Steve Lawler, DJ Dan
, and Sven Väth
.
Saturday night events were hosted by resident DJ Junior Vasquez
. In line with other superclubs like Tunnel
and the Roxy
, Twilo's Saturday nights were ostensibly gay-oriented but attracted some straight partygoers.
Twilo was also equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system known as Phazon. This sound system, originally built by Steve Dash, was at the time unique to the venue. The sound system at Twilo was highly regarded by patrons and DJs alike for its sound quality. Some DJs went as far as momentarily leaving the DJ booth to hear their favorite records on the dancefloor. The sound system was sold to Club Shelter.
John Digweed
on his Transitions radio show from September 4, 2009 plays an hour from one of his sets at Twilo from January, 2001 and is quoted as saying "I've dug into my vaults and I've found an hour from when I was playing at Twilo, that legendary club in New York City. It was just under nine years ago that I recorded this set, and I've gotta say.. without a doubt.. my favorite club that I've ever played in, in the world. Just unbelievable, those 5 years I've spent there alongside Sasha were just great, great time of my life, and the crowd that made those nights so special." In the middle of the set Digweed is also quoted as saying: "It's definitely one of those legendary clubs that if you didn't get a chance to go, it was definitely a shame, because the sound system, the setup, the lighting, and the whole vibe was truly amazing."
ever since the launch of his controversial quality-of-life campaign. Still, the club managed to hold onto its cabaret license until early 2001, when a spate of previous allegations re-surfaced in connection with a claim by city authorities that the club's manager had misused private ambulances to hide victims of drug overdose
s. In fact, club management claimed that the ambulance was obtained by recommendation of the city.
Several run-ins with New York city authorities starting in 1998 concerning drug-related incidents apparently caused the city to stonewall the club's re-application in October 2000 for a cabaret license, a requirement for all dancing venues in New York City. In July 2000 James Wiest, an undergraduate from Johns Hopkins University
was found unconscious in a back room. He had allegedly been put into the lobby after passing out on the dance floor. He later died of a suspected drug overdose. The club was never charged in his death. This was not the first fatal overdose associated with Twilo.
In June 1998 a female named Brigette Murray had died, also from a drug overdose. The club's lawyer asserted friends of Brigette Murray had informed the police that while she had in fact visited the club earlier in the evening her death did not take place there. Another allegation was that undercover police during an eight-month period, also in 1998, had made 18 drug buys (of which two led to arrests). These older grievances were now brought back to life. Daniel S. Connolly of the New York City Law Department
stated: "There are a series of serious public-safety issues that are of grave concern [...] We believe we are able to convince the court that this is not a responsible organization that should continue to operate. The fact that people are dying inside of there [demonstrates that] there is a pattern of reckless disregard of the safety of the clientele." Twilo general manager Mike Bindra on the other hand asserted that the club had done everything in its power to appease the city authorities even taking to extreme measures like hiring three undercover guards, "We pull people aside all night—we are literally on the verge of violating people's civil rights, just short of forcing them to give a blood test when they walk in." It was apparently in connection with the accusations against the club for its lack of response to the previous drug incidents that the decision to retain EMT
ambulance
s at the club throughout opening hours was made.
During the early hours of May 6, 2001, Twilo was raided and its occupants were evicted. The authorities cited the reason for the closing was an expired Certificate of Occupancy. The club remained closed due to its inability to fulfill the long list of the city's mandates and regulations. Twilo's sound system, disco ball
and awning were sold online soon after, ending any speculation that it might reopen in the near future.
. Their mainstay Saturday nights attracted a largely gay clientele, even though the club encouraged a mixed crowd. DJs such as Junior Vasquez
, Peter Rauhofer
, and Miami native Abel played on a consistent basis. Danny Tenaglia
held a monthly residency at the venue on the second or third Friday of every month, depending on his touring and studio schedule. Like its New York predecessor, Twilo Miami was equipped with a custom Phazon sound system, with the club acting as an unofficial showroom for Phazon. State-of-the-art lighting walls manufactured by Element Labs bookended each side of the dancefloor, and were programmed and operated by veteran lighting director Drew Bongiorno. Due to economic pressures, Twilo Miami shut down in June 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in operation from 1995 to 2001 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and from 2006 to 2007 in Miami. The New York location at 530 West 27th Street in the Chelsea
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
regularly attracted a crowd of thousands to its warehouse-like dance floor. Playing host to dozens of legendary DJs from around the world, the club was important in popularizing international styles of house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
music within the United States.
Club Nights
Twilo usually kept at least one small room open most nights of the week, but the weekends were far busier. Friday nights saw a younger and alternativeAlternative culture
Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures...
straight crowd. Twilo regularly featured prominent American and European DJs playing trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, and house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
and John Digweed
John Digweed
John Digweed is an English DJ, record producer and acclaimed actor.-Biography:John Digweed began DJing around age 4...
had a monthly residency at the club, playing the last Friday of every month. Early in 2001 after Sasha suffered an ear injury in a car accident and was unable to DJ, John Digweed played the entire 8 hour time slot by himself until the closing of the club in May. Other DJs would play frequently such as Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
, Carl Cox
Carl Cox
Carl Cox is a British techno and house music DJ.-Biography:Cox grew up in Oldham, Lancashire, before attending Glastonbury High Boys secondary modern school on Glastonbury Road in Morden. Cox began his career as a hardcore and rave DJ in the mid 1980s...
, Robert Fauver, Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
aka (Plastikman), Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...
, Merritt, Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills
Jeff Mills is an American techno DJ and producer.-Career:Starting in the early 1980s, Mills, using the name "The Wizard", was a recurring guest DJ on "The Electrifying Mojo" radio show on WJLB...
, Steve Lawler, DJ Dan
DJ Dan
DJ Dan is an American electronic house music DJ and producer. Dan previously released works through the Moonshine label....
, and Sven Väth
Sven Väth
Sven Väth is a Frankfurt-based DJ who has produced an extensive range of work since his career began in 1982. From 1985, he was part of the band OFF which released the hit "Electrica Salsa" in 1986...
.
Saturday night events were hosted by resident DJ Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
. In line with other superclubs like Tunnel
Tunnel (New York nightclub)
Tunnel was a nightclub in New York City, located at 220 Twelfth Avenue, in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, New York City, in the Terminal Warehouse Company Central Stores Building, which is now part of the West Chelsea Historic District. Tunnel was opened in early 1987 by Peter Gatien, in a...
and the Roxy
Roxy NYC
Roxy NYC was a popular nightclub located at 515 West 18th Street in New York City. Located in Chelsea section of Manhattan it began as a roller skating rink and roller disco in 1978, it was founded by Steve Bauman, Richard Newhouse and Steve Greenberg then acquired in 1985 by Gene DiNino until it...
, Twilo's Saturday nights were ostensibly gay-oriented but attracted some straight partygoers.
Twilo was also equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system known as Phazon. This sound system, originally built by Steve Dash, was at the time unique to the venue. The sound system at Twilo was highly regarded by patrons and DJs alike for its sound quality. Some DJs went as far as momentarily leaving the DJ booth to hear their favorite records on the dancefloor. The sound system was sold to Club Shelter.
John Digweed
John Digweed
John Digweed is an English DJ, record producer and acclaimed actor.-Biography:John Digweed began DJing around age 4...
on his Transitions radio show from September 4, 2009 plays an hour from one of his sets at Twilo from January, 2001 and is quoted as saying "I've dug into my vaults and I've found an hour from when I was playing at Twilo, that legendary club in New York City. It was just under nine years ago that I recorded this set, and I've gotta say.. without a doubt.. my favorite club that I've ever played in, in the world. Just unbelievable, those 5 years I've spent there alongside Sasha were just great, great time of my life, and the crowd that made those nights so special." In the middle of the set Digweed is also quoted as saying: "It's definitely one of those legendary clubs that if you didn't get a chance to go, it was definitely a shame, because the sound system, the setup, the lighting, and the whole vibe was truly amazing."
Closing
Twilo had been under pressure to close from then-Mayor Rudy GiulianiRudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
ever since the launch of his controversial quality-of-life campaign. Still, the club managed to hold onto its cabaret license until early 2001, when a spate of previous allegations re-surfaced in connection with a claim by city authorities that the club's manager had misused private ambulances to hide victims of drug overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
s. In fact, club management claimed that the ambulance was obtained by recommendation of the city.
Several run-ins with New York city authorities starting in 1998 concerning drug-related incidents apparently caused the city to stonewall the club's re-application in October 2000 for a cabaret license, a requirement for all dancing venues in New York City. In July 2000 James Wiest, an undergraduate from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
was found unconscious in a back room. He had allegedly been put into the lobby after passing out on the dance floor. He later died of a suspected drug overdose. The club was never charged in his death. This was not the first fatal overdose associated with Twilo.
In June 1998 a female named Brigette Murray had died, also from a drug overdose. The club's lawyer asserted friends of Brigette Murray had informed the police that while she had in fact visited the club earlier in the evening her death did not take place there. Another allegation was that undercover police during an eight-month period, also in 1998, had made 18 drug buys (of which two led to arrests). These older grievances were now brought back to life. Daniel S. Connolly of the New York City Law Department
New York City Law Department
The New York City Law Department is the branch of the municipal government of New York City responsible for most of the city's legal affairs. The Department is headed by the Corporation Counsel of New York City.-Duties of the Department:...
stated: "There are a series of serious public-safety issues that are of grave concern [...] We believe we are able to convince the court that this is not a responsible organization that should continue to operate. The fact that people are dying inside of there [demonstrates that] there is a pattern of reckless disregard of the safety of the clientele." Twilo general manager Mike Bindra on the other hand asserted that the club had done everything in its power to appease the city authorities even taking to extreme measures like hiring three undercover guards, "We pull people aside all night—we are literally on the verge of violating people's civil rights, just short of forcing them to give a blood test when they walk in." It was apparently in connection with the accusations against the club for its lack of response to the previous drug incidents that the decision to retain EMT
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s at the club throughout opening hours was made.
During the early hours of May 6, 2001, Twilo was raided and its occupants were evicted. The authorities cited the reason for the closing was an expired Certificate of Occupancy. The club remained closed due to its inability to fulfill the long list of the city's mandates and regulations. Twilo's sound system, disco ball
Disco ball
A disco ball is a roughly spherical object that reflects light directed at it in many directions, producing a complex display...
and awning were sold online soon after, ending any speculation that it might reopen in the near future.
Twilo Miami
On July 22, 2006, Twilo opened a location in the entertainment district of Miami, FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Their mainstay Saturday nights attracted a largely gay clientele, even though the club encouraged a mixed crowd. DJs such as Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
, Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer
Peter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...
, and Miami native Abel played on a consistent basis. Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia
Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...
held a monthly residency at the venue on the second or third Friday of every month, depending on his touring and studio schedule. Like its New York predecessor, Twilo Miami was equipped with a custom Phazon sound system, with the club acting as an unofficial showroom for Phazon. State-of-the-art lighting walls manufactured by Element Labs bookended each side of the dancefloor, and were programmed and operated by veteran lighting director Drew Bongiorno. Due to economic pressures, Twilo Miami shut down in June 2007.
Musical Influence
Simon Noble & Rowan Blades collaborated to produce several tracks under the guise 'Breeder'. One of these tracks, presumably named after the club is called 'Twilo Thunder' (Twilo was known for its thunderous bass, as well as its crystal clear mids and highs). According to Noble: "As Breeder we tried to create peak-time progressive house floor-fillers, and our aim was to make them rock and be good enough so that Sasha and Digweed would play them. The first tunes we wrote were 'The Chain' and 'Twilo Thunder', we gave them directly to Sasha and John Digweed and for over a year, they played them around the world at clubs such as Twilo in New York and Tyrant in London."External links
- A Video of Steve LawlerSteve LawlerSteve Lawler is a British house music producer and DJ born in Birmingham, England. He has held residences at many popular dance clubs such as Space, The End and Twilo. Because of his successful performances at Space in Ibiza, he has been nicknamed "King of Space". Lawler has released several mix...
playing the song "Musak (Steve Lawler Remix)" by Trisco at Twilo]