Body & Soul 15 Years celebrates the NYC party that is Francois K, Joaquin `Joe` Claussell and Danny Krivit.
Body & Soul was born out of wanting to do something different from the clubs that were being filled in Manhattan, NYC every week. British promoter John Davis approached Francois about doing a party modelled on the London afterhours style, starting Sunday morning when the other clubs had shut. The party was to be in a warehouse in a corner of lower Manhattan that still, in those days, hadn`t been developed. Club Vinyl as it was known would become an integral part of Body & Soul.

New York City is no stranger to underground dance parties overseen by DJs with priestly powers of musical beneficence. Dating at least back to David Mancuso’s Loft of the early `70s, and certainly including places like Nicky Siano`s Gallery and the vaunted land of the Paradise Garage with head wizard Larry Levan, there is a real tradition of dark, off-the-beaten-path places where music and personal expression through dance reign supreme. Places where "you felt special for being part of it, yet at home enough to truly relax and let go on the dance floor, together." This last description comes from a manifesto published to announce the birth of a party that would become a part of that revered lineage, Body & Soul.

From the very beginning Francois insisted on musical freedom, so not where the same house beat would thud for hours on end which was typical of New York back then. Francois wanted to be able to move into different moods without pressure from management. Francois` first partner behind the decks was Danny Krivit someone he`d known for many years whom himself was a veteran downtown DJ. Francois recalls "I told Danny `Hey, I`ve got this place where we can throw down and play good music without people telling us what to do and play. We can just play what we like!` " Krivit remembers François telling him to bring a few records, "maybe nobody will be there but we`ll have a good time." Those words were very true for the first two parties at least.

The third party was to be a celebration of Larry Levan`s birthday and the duo asked Joe Claussell to join them. Joe was running the seminal Dancetracks record shop and although he wasn`t playing anywhere but the store, his selections and tastes were impeccable. "He really impressed me at the store with the scope of his knowledge," Francois remarks, and Danny concurs "we were really big fans of his". When the three shared the booth there was immediate musical synergy, alternating song for song in a format that would become a trademark of the party.

Word began to spread about the party where the people were laid back and chilled and you didn’t have to worry about anything. The party steadily grew through the rest of the year, gradually drifting away from early morning and the bedraggled castaways of last night`s revelry to an afternoon start that attracted a home-grown family of music lovers who were passionate about dancing and adventurous enough to enjoy the less than conventional selections. François might throw in a Drum & Bass tune, while Danny wasn`t averse to a little Hip Hop. Joe even played Van Halen at one point.

By 1997 it was clear that there was something special going on. People had to be turned away at the doors, and Danny remembers, "very quickly I began to see, in record stores, sections of `Body & Music`.