Audio Video Disco

Audio Video Disco: I hear, I see, I learn. A creative sound system for parties and events. A V D is a soulful and ethical brand

Audio | Video | Disco_Manifesto: At AVDL we want to create an experience, an event happening, a higher state of consciousness through our togetherness. Greater than the sum of its parts. We believe passionately in having a good time. The soundscape, the visual experience and the inspiration achieved through a loving creative environment.

Some of the things we believe in at AVDL quoted by luminaries from the days of the unsurpassed and 'nilli secundus' Paradise Garage where the transcendent beauty of togetherness and dancing came together in 1 magical moment in the history of club culture…


Mel Cheren (Financial backer of Paradise Garage and former partner of owner, Michael Brody and whom Levan used to call his stepfather. )
"There was no attitude here, no cliques defined by their muscles, no fashion victims, no A-list. These people were dancers. ’ And this is what made the atmosphere at the Garage so electrifying – it was driven by the energetic input of its clubbers. ‘The intensity of the disco pyrotechnics was unlike anything anywhere. Venturing onto the dance floor was like swimming into an undertow – you were sucked into the vortex, and you surrendered, for hours at a time. "

"It was the one place that truly reflected the rainbow that had produced disco’s pot of gold. The potent intersection of rhythm, race and realness that had produced disco in the first place – black as it was gay, gay as it was black – all came together here. "

David Piccioni (New York resident in the 1980s and now Azuli Records boss)
"My memories are a general really. Firstly, it was a real 'club' in the true sense of the word, in that the members (you had to be a member to get in) were all likeminded people and there for the love and appreciation of music. There was a real sense of identity and history with the music, the black gay dance music scene was almost like a large family and people came together united by the music. I would often meet people in their day jobs and they would immediately say 'hey you are a member of the Garage right I saw you there?' and you would have an immediate connection. It's rare to feel that vibe in modern clubs, it happens sometimes but rarely. "

Danny Tenaglia (native New Yorker and close friend of Levan)
"You felt special, you felt like you were an elite group, with people who were on the same level of understanding about music as you. In a drab district in south west Manhattan, it created a private world based on disco's original ethos of loving equality. In stark contrast to the harsh city lights outside, the Garage offered freedom, compassion and brotherhood. "

Robert Owens (Chicago producer and vocalist)
"The first time I walked into the Paradise Garage back in 1980, I knew that this was unlike any club I'd seen before. For that matter, any club since. The spirit and energy in the room, which seemed to pour out of the DJ, was overwhelming. From that Saturday, and almost every Saturday till it closed, Larry Levan would make records that I had heard hundreds of times before sound brand-new and expose me to so much new music. He changed the way I felt about DJs and the way I played records, because it wasn't just about playing records, it was about communication. When he played tapes of mixes he was working on or had finished, I would be amazed to hear what he had done. He inspired me to get into the studio and create. He had a vision and took his music to the limit. Like his DJing, Larry was truly unique. When the Garage closed its doors, Saturday nights were never the same. The Garage was like a family and I feel grateful to have been able to experience it. "

Mel Cheren
"The club owners like Michael Brody of Paradise Garage who booked Larry Levan or clubs like The Gallery that started by deejay Nicky Siano or The Loft by David Mancuso - the reason that clubs was so incredible back then because the people that created the clubs had a passion for, a passion for the party. Today clubs are owned by businessmen who think more about how many shots of whisky they can get in the glass. They don't care about the music. "