‘The Beat, the Scene, the Sound’ Book Dives Deep Into NYC’s House Music

A new book unearthing NYC’s cultural influence on house music’s early days will hit the shelves later this June. Titled The Beat, the Scene, the Sound, the chronicle explores how electronic community members – from DJs to fans – transformed house music from an underground venture into a global phenomenon. 

Featuring photographs and interviews with notable DJs that pioneered the cultural movement, the book tells the good, the bad, and the ugly of NYC’s house music. Penned by journalist Henry Kronk and DJ Disciple, The Beat, the Scene, the Sound follows the latter’s artist journey through the 80s’ and 90s’. 

As the disco era fizzled out and EDM sounds made their way to the dance floor, NYC’s clubland became dominated by rampant racism, HIV cases, and the crack-cocaine epidemic.

Amid these tumultuous times, higher authorities sought to crack down on clubs, and electro-heads feared losing their second home. The book touches on all of those historically important moments, but also promises to unveil “untold stories” from that era. 

The Beat, the Scene, the Sound goes further and delivers an in-depth analysis of how the closure of iconic venues like Studio 54, Club Zanzibar, and Paradise Garage transformed NYC’s scene. 

With one foot in the past and one in the present, the book examines US house music’s influence on UK garage and its commercialization from the 2000s to the present.

“We wrote [this book] because DJ Disciple is one of the very, very few house artists who has seen the genre develop continuously from its earliest days into the present,” Kronk told Resident Advisor. 

Find more about the book here.