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Music

Watch an Unearthed 30-Minute Frankie Knuckles Interview

The clip was previously bonus material from Nicky Siano's documentary 'Love Is the Message: A Night at the Gallery.'

Disco legend Nicky Siano today shared an extended 34-minute interview with house pioneer Frankie Knuckles, originally recorded for his 2014 documentary Love Is the Message: A Night at the Gallery. The clip was previously only available in full as bonus material on the DVD, and it's a real pleasure for THUMP to be able to premiere this gem of a clip to the public. In it, Knuckles recalls his first time seeing David Mancuso DJ, what the closing night at the legendary Gallery nightclub was like, how he navigated the club scene as a youth, and much more; it contains all kinds of valuable personal insight and historical information.

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Siano told THUMP over email about his deeply connection with Knuckles, and how the clip came about. "Frankie meant so much to me," he said. "When I asked him to do an extensive interview for my film Love Is The Message, he did not hesitate. He taught me each time we spoke: how to be kind, centered, and caring. He was everything that a person could be, a spiritual being trapped in a shell. We met on a set we had prepared for him and David Mancuso, to do the interviews that would narrate my film. He was ready to do anything I needed that day, and all I have is 34 minutes of this genius friend."

"We always think, oh I'll see him again. And I DID. On March 29, 2013, the Friday before his passing, I called him to see if he had gotten a copy of the just-released film that I had sent him. He said, 'Not yet, but it will be waiting for me when I get home from London.' Well, HE IS HOME, and when I see him again, I'll make sure we watch the film TOGETHER!"

Siano will play a six-hour set this Friday at Brooklyn's Good Room for a special birthday extravaganza. The date is March 31, the same day that Knuckles passed in 2014.

Last year, TV One released a documentary profiling Knuckles and the birth of house music.

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