Jonathan Toubin

Born in 1971, Toubin grew up in Houston, Texas. As a child, he was obsessed with rock and roll.[5] At age fifteen, he "put on punk shows...for anti-nuclear causes in the hardcore era."[13][14][15] He moved to Austin in 1989 to attend the University of Texas where he received a B.A. in English. He also deejayed on their station KTSB, which later became KVRX.[16][17] In 1998, he moved to New York where he subsequently joined the band Grand Mal. After the band lost their record deal with Slash Records and the shock of September 11 (he had worked in both of the Twin Towers), he quit music and entered the graduate program in American Studies at City University of New York.[13] During this time, he published an academic paper for Institute for Studies in American Music titled "Uptown-Downtown: Hip Hop Music in Downtown Manhattan in the Early 1980s", which appeared in the anthology Critical Minded: New Approaches to Hip Hop Studies.[18] He directly links this research to his approach to creating noteworthy events within the current music landscape stating, ""It definitely made me wonder what was going wrong with culture and if anybody could possibly do anything cool in terms of parties, unique music, public social culture, etc. in this day and age."[17] He abandoned his thesis in 2005 and moved to Williamsburg in order to return to his music career.[13]

On December 7, 2011, Jonathan arrived in Portland, where he was booked to play the fifth anniversary party of the "I've Got A Hole in my Soul" dance party at club "Rotture".[31][32] The next morning at approximately 11:00am, a cab driver was struck with a diabetic seizure and drove her taxi through the windowed wall of Toubin's hotel room, landing atop of him as he lay in bed. Four men lifted the stuck car over what was left of the smashed wall to allow a hotel employee to back the car off of Toubin and he was rushed to the Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.[33] He suffered from crushed lungs, twelve broken ribs, a smashed scapula, a broken pelvis, severed tendons in his right arm and hand, a punctured spleen, a damaged pancreas, and loss of hearing in his left ear.[33] While in an induced coma, Toubin went through five surgeries and developed pneumonia the following week. Toubin made a full recovery and was released on January 13, 2012 into a rehabilitation center, where he considered the probability of the end of his life as a DJ.[33]

While in the hospital, a benefit was held for Toubin at the Brooklyn Bowl, where a host of major label acts performed including the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers, and John Spencer's Heavy Trash.[15]

In early April, Toubin attempted to DJ again between music sets a Portland club and found himself struggling with his ability to slide records out of their sleeves and with his hearing loss as his hearing aids reduced his ability to mix records. However, as he practiced, he found himself able to mix by focusing on his right ear.[33][34] He soon found himself back to full capacity and quickly went on to gigs such as opening for Jack White at Webster Hall and in his residency at Home Sweet Home in NYC.[33]

In 2013, Toubin was the first DJ to ever be given an entire evening to himself at Lincoln Center's Midsummer's Night Swing.[8] In the same year, Toubin was the first DJ to be given an official SXSW showcase.[8]

To accommodate his increasing popularity his monthly Soul Clap moved from Glasslands to the larger Brooklyn Bowl.[19] As of 2009, Toubin has partnered with Panache Booking and tours internationally, bringing his Soul Clap to Europe and Australia.[5]

Toubin's sound emphasizes an aesthetic based on quality vintage sounds that he asserts can only be found on 45" pressings. This leads him to take advantage of the veins of obscure hits, which perhaps may be unknown, yet possess the same dynamics that can energize the dancefloor. This leads him to search for regional obscurities that may not have seen a larger stage in their heyday. In a Rolling Stone interview "The Rust Belt has the best record stores...Cleveland, Toledo, Pittsburgh – Detroit is like a record mecca."[1] Toubin's eschewal of hits and his focus on obscure tracks is also due to his theory that playing more popular songs introduces individual associations to the dance floor and takes away from the newly shared experience that unifies a Soul Clap.[34] Seeing shows at the legendary blues club Antone's contributed to Toubin's understanding and taste in music. In an interview with Greg Beets in the Austin Chronicle, he says:

"Those Antone's blues shows were important for me in high school and college...Particularly the Albert Collins shows and anniversaries with Muddy Waters' band and all of the blues/R&B superstars. Paul Ray's 'Twine Time' show on KUT also hipped me not only to this type of music but the general aesthetic."[14]

Jonathan describes his music as "Rock and Soul 45s of the 1950s and 1960s"[13] Despite the era's tendency for music to have long fade-outs, Toubin aggressively beat-matches his 45s without the assistance of ubiquitous DJ software such as Serato in order to maintain the energy level of his music sets.[13]

Toubin's primary use of the 45 rpm single is not one that he attributes to novelty, telling the Wall Street Journal, ""I used to DJ records, CDs, mp3s and it never sounded good...And then I found a box of great 45s on the street, so I started playing more of them. And I loved the way the 45s sounded. They were so much louder, like a punch in the face."[35]

"Sixties and Seventies 7-inches are recorded, mastered, and pressed unlike anything before or since," Toubin asserts. "Even on one beaten to hell, the tone is so much richer than later reproductions of the same records. On the good ones, the drums resonate as if they're in the room with you."[14] "They learned how to make drums sound huge. They haven't repeated that drum sound much since."[36]

He tells Digital Journal: "You...have to create an atmosphere and a rhythm through a sequence of juxtaposed 2-minute bursts of sound."[19]

To maximize the focus on the party aspect of the music, many of the songs Toubin spins reference a trend in the 1950s and 1960s to highlight a particular dance move named after an animal, such as "The Monkey" or "The Dog."[35]

New York Night Train initially started off as a record label in 2006 releasing albums until 2009 when Toubin decided to focus his energies on nightlife.[9]

In 2007, at one of Toubin's parties, two dancers got into an argument over who was the better dancer. They settled it in front of all on the dancefloor, leading Toubin to dedicate one night a month to a dance contest, while playing exclusively soul music. A prize of $100 goes to each night's winner.[35]

At approximately 1:00am, fifty contestants are chosen and given a number, which is pinned to their back. Five (often celebrity) judges are chosen and sit on the stage and watch as the dancers perform in any style that they please. Judging is non-standardized and is based upon the own individual values of each judge.[35] "Pro dancers rarely win. They're always very disgruntled when they don't. But it's more about style."[36]

Toubin attributes the success of his parties to the fact that they offer a unique musical experience to a broad audience of sub-cultures. Rock and rollers, while familiar with the music, may not be familiar with dance parties. Likewise, club kids and downtown art scenesters, who may be more interested in the dance aspect of the Soul Clap and Dance Off, are introduced to a subjectively new experience. Toubin consciously looks to build a bridge between music scenes through events like Soul Clap, remarking "...art girls and Brooklyn rock boys make a great mix if you can get 'em on the same dance floor."[5]

On February 22, 2014, the first ever National Soul Clap Dance-Off was at Brooklyn Bowl. First-place winners were flown in from around the US to compete for a grand prize of 1000 dollars with Andrew WK as the contest selector.[37] The Soul Clap party has been the official closer of SXSW in Austin for both 2013 and 2014.[8][38]