Rare live mix of Junior Vasquez at Arena

Download a rare and exclusive 5 hour set of Junior Vasquez recorded in August 1997 live from Arena, the legendary afterhours party held at the Palladium nightclub in New York.

By his own admission, Arena was Junior’s favorite residency and it has come to represent the heyday of New York’s nightlife. The grandiose club, richly decorated with murals by famous contemporary artists like Keith Haring or Jean Michel Basquiat, belonged to the empire of Peter Gatien, who also owned the notorious Limelight. It became Junior’s third residency, after Bassline and Soundfactory, and he developed there a very distinct style of music, taking the wild pitch sound from his Soundfactory days into a more dramatic and anthemic direction.  He produced some of his most emblematic remixes during his residency at Arena, such as Deborah Cox “Who Do You Love”, Skunk Anansie “Weep”,  Elton John “Rocketman”, Dolly Parton’s “Peace Train”, Cher’s “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” and many more.

The club closed its door in September 1997. The building was sold to NYU and then demolished to make room for a dorm.We thank dearly our friend Christopher Aviance for sharing with us this rare and amazing recording of a night at Arena. Enjoy this 5 hour mix of Junior Vasquez live at Arena.

And taken from Junior Vasquez own video archive, here are some precious footage of Junior’s closing night at Palladium, featuring appearances by Kevin Aviance and Raphaella Madonna.

Junior Vasquez live at Pachita – Kings – Martin Luther King weekend

Junior Vasquez live at Cielo – Memorial Day 2009

Afterhours at Pavilion in Fire Island with Junior Vasquez