Nightlife Soundtrack

Penniless artists often need to earn their keep elsewhere, but not all are as successful in their extra-curricular activities as Spencer Sweeney. Upon moving to New York, Sweeney started deejaying in illegal clubs on the then-gritty Lower East Side before losing patience with the pitiful pay while working at the Hole, a now-shuttered hipster haven that epitomised the debauched downtown scene of the early Noughties. This was the catalyst that led Sweeney, rocker Andrew W.K., architect Ron Castellano and club owner Larry Golden to create a new democratic and music-focused venue just below Canal Street in Manhattan. Santos Party House opened in 2008, and its superior sound system has lured artists as varied as Will Oldham (for whom Sweeney has designed album artwork), Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and, this weekend, Baby Dee, who is touring her brand new album. Here, Sweeney reveals what’s currently on his turntable.


Endless Boogie
The best band in the universe.

Psychic Paramount
Face-melting guitar riff modulations.

Just Blaze
One of the hottest hip-hop producers on the scene. Funk fest freaks of all shapes, sizes and colors.

Danny Krivit's 718 Sessions
The best dance party I've ever been to in my life. Impossibly diverse crowd mobs the dance floor one Sunday a month from 6pm to midnight. A deeply psychedelic, completely transportive tea dance. Heaven on Earth. I live for it.

Baby Dee
This harp player needs to be seen and heard to be believed.