What is house music

What Is House Music?

Four-to-the-floor beats, infectious grooves, a soulful vocal here and there. You know what we’re talking about; it’s house music. You’ve come here to find out exactly what it is, where it comes from and where you can find more of it. And we are happy to supply all the answers in this all-inclusive rundown of house music.

WHAT IS HOUSE MUSIC?

House music is the oldest genre within electronic dance music and still one of its main pillars today. It is a direct descendant from disco music, rising to prominence in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s when the disco era ended.

In the more than forty years that followed since, it has infected billions of people with the dance music bug and influenced countless other (sub)genres within electronic dance music. Almost all (sub)genres within EDM are (in)direct descendants from house music, as this genre marked the beginning of electronic music as we know it.

For a further, more detailed rundown of the history of electronic music and house music’s place in it, we suggest reading or bookmarking our ‘The History Of Dance Music’ article.

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HOW DOES HOUSE MUSIC SOUND?

House music can be characterized by a steady four-to-the-flour beat that ranges from about 118 to 130 bpm (beats per minute). Like disco, it is driven by a prominent kick drum that – especially in the genre’s early days – draws heavily from iconic drum machines such as the Roland TR-808 and the Roland TR-909. House beats often include open hi-hats on the offbeat (in between the kick drums) and claps or snares on every second and fourth beat. Add to that a deep bassline, a synthesizer-generated riff and the occasional soulful or funk-inspired vocal and you’ve got yourself a quintessential house record.

It’s worth noting that house music producers typically rely on samples and sampled instruments rather than bringing other musicians into a recording studio. This stems from the fact that samplers started becoming more affordable in the late ‘80s, which is when house music started to gain a lot of popularity.

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WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF HOUSE MUSIC?

The name “house” is believed to have been derived from the Warehouse club in Chicago. Frankie Knuckles – a man who was originally from New York but moved to Chicago in the late 1970s – was invited to play at Warehouse on a regular basis when the club opened in 1977. He was among the first to mix his own eclectic variety of genres and styles into a sound that people started referring to as house music, or music from the (Ware)house.

Other house music pioneers from that time were artists like Larry Heard (also known as Mr. Fingers of Fingers Inc.), Jesse Saunders, Ron Hardy and Farley Jackmaster Funk. The latter was responsible for the first international house hit: his cover of Isaac Hayes’ ‘Love Can’t Turn Around’.

Furthermore, here’s a small passage about house music taken from our “The History Of Dance Music” article:
Another figurehead of the first wave of house producers was Marshall Jefferson, whose style became synonymous with Chicago house. He tied the now trademark vocals, thumping piano and strings to the minimal, energetic rhythms whilst adopting a slightly faster tempo (bpm – beats per minute) than its New York counterpart.

House music soon flourished across the United States, even more so when the demand for dance-floor-oriented tracks built a fire under the world of electronic equipment. By the mid-80s, the rise of drum machines, synthesizers and samplers had caused a whole world of new possibilities to open up, and house music thrived greatly in the slipstream of these technological developments.

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THE SUBGENRES OF HOUSE MUSIC

With it being the first-ever electronic music genre and all, house music has gotten its fair share of musical offshoots throughout the years. Below, we’ve listed some of the most popular (sub)genres within the house music spectrum, some of which have even become so popular that they’re now considered a bona fide genre themselves.

Acid House
Acid house (or acid) first rose to prominence in Chicago in the mid-1980s. Sound-wise, it draws heavily from the squealing tones and deep basslines generated by the Roland TB-303 synthesizer. After its initial surge of popularity in the United States, it started gaining ground in the United Kingdom and Europe, bringing a different kind of house music to a global audience whilst also (slightly) influencing relatively newer genres such as trance music. ‘Acid Tracks’ by Phuture is often considered the first acid house record.

Interesting to note about Acid House in the United Kingdom is that the name was used more for a cultural movement and a catch-all word for different genres that were being played at clubs and illegal rave. This included hip hop, Chicago house, Detroit techno, Belgian new beat and dance tracks from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. From that perspective, acid house refers specifically to the music played in clubs in the late ‘80s rather than tracks made through the Roland TB-303. That was only the time when dance music exploded nation-wide in the United Kingdom. Acid house then carried on throughout the ‘90s with tracks from the likes of Hardfloor, Richie Hawtin and more.

Afro House
As largely implied by its name, afro house combines the traditional qualities of house music with African drums and lyrics/vocals steeped in African culture. It has more of a tribal feel to it than “regular” house music. A music style called Kwaito, which originated in Johannesburg, South Africa and was very popular in the country across the ‘90s, is often considered (one of) its spiritual predecessor(s).

Bass House
One of the youngest (sub)genres in this list, bass house is a blend of all kinds of genres. A bit of a melting pot, so to speak. Whilst often sticking to the classic components of house music, it also frequently swaps in characteristic sounds from other genres, such as dubstep’s wobble or “eccentric” fills and sound effects. Simply put, it’s house music with heavy bass and a bit of cross-genre flavor mixed in.

Big Room House
As taken from our ‘The Complete Guide to EDM (or Electronic Dance Music)’ article:
Initially a subgenre of electro house, big room (or big room house) rose to prominence in the early 2010s through now-renowned acts such as Swedish House Mafia and Martin Garrix. Its bombastic character, minimal melodies and electro-house-style drops lend themselves particularly well to peak-time event slots, which is why it didn’t take long for it to become one of the go-to sounds at the mainstages of many of the world’s biggest dance music festivals.

Chicago House
We already briefly mentioned Chicago house in the previous paragraph about the house music history. To many, Chicago house is the true heir to the house music throne: the first style of music that could be classified as house music. Jesse Saunders’ ‘On And On’, Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Rock Your Body’ and Frankie Knuckles’ rework of Jamie Principle’s Your Love’ are all highly esteemed examples of Chicago house.

Deep House
We already discussed the two different views that exist about deep house in our umbrella article about EDM and electronic dance music, but here’s the gist:

Whereas the house purists typify deep house as a close relative of Chicago House with a lower tempo and more soulful attitude, most new-gen dance music fans attach the deep house label to the upbeat, radio-friendly and pop-magnetized sound of artists like Lost Frequencies and Felon. We’re not taking sides in this one and simply acknowledge that they share a name. What matters is that people like the sound of the music they feel is deep house.

Electro House
Influenced mostly by tech house and electro, electro house popped up around the turn of the millennium (between the late ‘90s and early 2000s). It is somewhat of a predecessor to the aforementioned bass house, as it can also be typified by the usage of heavy saw bass and thick, thumping drums. Tracks such as Felix Da Housecat’s ‘Silver Screen Shower Scene’ (a track from 2001 that spearheaded the Electro House movement), Benny Benassi’s ‘Satisfaction’ (2002), Fedde Le Grand’s ‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’ (2006) and more recent productions such as Dave Winnel’s ‘Smoke Machine’ (2019) seem to fit the electro house bill quite nicely.

Hard House
Hard house, also called UK hard house, originated in London’s now-defunct Trade club in the 1990s. A unique style of fast-paced house music, it drew upon the driving beat of Eurodance, stripped off the more emotional parts of dance music and started playing out the aggressive bass stabs and dark-edged beats at breakneck speed (around 150 bpm). It gained a huge following in the UK scene, but didn’t gain much of a foothold abroad. It’s the perfect subgenre of house music if you want to get the adrenaline surging though.

Future House
A term reported coined by French producer Tchami when he tagged his SoundCloud uploads with the name, future house is often described as the dirty-sounding, big room-tinged brother of deep house, melding funky house music elements with main stage arrangements during the heyday of big room house. There’s a lot of debate about where other (sub)genres of house music stop and future house begins (and vice versa), but we can fairly safely tie the term future house to the more minimalistic tracks from artists such as Oliver Heldens, Don Diablo and Laidback Luke.

Latin House
House music with the spice and swung of Latin American music. We reckon that sums it up pretty nicely. It’s more of a geographical and cultural denomination than a description of sound, but we can hardly deny the influence of Latin American music in this house music subgenre. Kind of similar to afro house in that sense, though from a slightly different region and culture.

Piano House
Best distinguished as keyboard-based house music if you cut out all the descriptive bells and whistles, piano house could be traced back as far as Rhythim Is Rhythim’s 1987 record ‘Strings Of Life’, a track released under Derrick May’s acclaimed alias that is often named as one the earliest Techno tracks. The euphoric staccato-like piano riffs have since permeated nearly every age and style of dance music, from Black Box’s ‘Ride On Time’ to Marshall Jefferson’s ‘Move Your Body’ to Afro Medusa’s ‘Pasilda’. In recent years, it’s often used as a term to describe accessible, piano-driven house music like Low Steppa’s ‘Wanna Show You’, Kisch’s ‘Bright Lights’ and Dale Howard’s ‘Real Love’. All of these can be found in our brand-new Piano House playlist and on our forthcoming Piano House album, both of which can give you a nice idea of what piano house is all about.

Progressive House
As with deep house, progressive house is another one of those names that can rub some people the wrong way. For the purists, progressive house or progressive sits right in between house music and trance music. Its roots reportedly lie in the rave and club scenes that flourished in the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, around the same time that trance music started rising to prominence. Think artists like John Digweed, Sasha etc.

For the other camp, progressive house is the sound that comes closest to the style of music many (wrongly) refer to as EDM music. What they mean is the kind of music that shares traits with big room house, has radio-friendly vocals, is melodically more outspoken and crosses over into the pop realm easily. Examples of this style of ‘progressive house’ are songs such as Zedd’s ‘Clarity’, Afrojack’s ‘Take Over Control’ and Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’, all of which went on to invade the more mainstream, often pop-dominated charts as well. Without the pop hook, you’d probably end up at tracks from artists such as Hardwell and DubVision.

Tech House
It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that tech house is considered the love child of house music and techno music (hence the name). Its minimal sound draws heavily from both genres, sporting a slight overlap with the “original” form of progressive house. Compared to the classic house sound, many elements sound a lot shorter and stubbier and often carry with them a bit of a darker vibe often associated with techno. Today, it’s one of the most popular forms of house music. Think artists such as Fisher, Solardo and Jamie Jones.

Tribal House
Similar in structure to deep house, tribal house has a more ethnic edge to it that can also be heard in afro house or latin house. It is very percussion heavy – the beats are often composed of indigenous drums from regions such as Africa or South America – and seldom features a clear melodic hook of any sort. Other influences differ strongly between songs of artists within this genre, as tribal house is generally considered the primary term for all house music that features a more complex percussive rhythm stemming from world music.

OUR HOUSE MUSIC ARTISTS

As a leading record label within many parts of the electronic music spectrum, we have released quite a bit of house music (and its subsidiary genres). We’ve often done so through label pillars such as Armada Deep, Armada Electronic Elements and Armada Subjekt, as well as through various artist labels such as Eelke Kleijn’s DAYS like NIGHTS and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano’s SONO Music.

If you want to see which house artists are part of our roster, we invite you all to have a look here.

Interested to hear more house music? We recommend the House Top 1000 playlist! You can also listen to the various playlists featured in this article, or you can hit the button below to browse all of our house music releases, old and new!

What is House Music? 9 Top Examples & History

As the song goes “House music is a universal language spoken and understood by all” Chuck Roberts gave us a prayer that perfectly described house music and the culture that surrounds it. From humble beginnings to a worldwide phenomenon, house music is everywhere today.

What makes house music amazing and how did it become such an important musical genre? Here we’ll cover what is house music, its history, and give you some examples.

But first, if it’s your aim to do music professionally, you’ll want to check out our free ebook while it’s still available:

Definition: What Is House Music?

House music is a musical genre birthed in Chicago in the 1980s. With roots in disco, the house uses a similar beat and song structure but combines it with electronic elements, samples, and synthesizers.

Over time the sound would transform and morph into a wide range of subgenres from deep to energetic. No matter what style of house music you enjoy, most of the songs have similar characteristics.

House Music Characteristics

What does house music sound like? House is an extremely broad musical genre and songs can have widely different tones and sounds. Whether it’s deep, funky, progressive, or electro, house music does have a few key characteristics that make it house.

Here are some of the most common characteristics you’ll find in a house music song.

4/4 Time Signature and Beat

Almost every house song that has ever been written will have a 4/4 time signature. A kickdrum will also be played on every beat. This gives the music its signature four-on-the-floor sound. Hi-hats and claps are normally played offbeat to add funk to the tune.

Dance Tempo

Most house music sticks to a danceable tempo between 120 and 130 beats per minute (BPM). Of course, there are exceptions. Chill house tunes may slow to 100 BPM while hard house and other aggressive genres can have BPMs that exceed 150.

Disco and Soul Influences

Birthed from Disco DJs, House owes much of its sound to disco musicians and producers in the 1970s. You’ll find countless house music records those sample melodies, basslines, and vocals from disco and soul tracks.

Lots and Lots of Samples

Sampling became incredibly popular with hip hop and house musicians in the 1980s. Samplers of the time were normally more affordable than purchasing instruments. This gave inner-city kids a chance to express themselves in a new and unique way.

Samples and loops are a perfect match for house music’s repetitive nature.

Synthesizer and Drum Machine Sounds

The synths and drums used in house music are greatly influenced by equipment designed in the 80s. The Roland TR-808 is the drum machine of choice for house music Don’t forget to add an acid bassline from the Roland TB-303 or a melody from a Nord synth to perfect your house tune.

Repetitive Vocal and Hook Loops

While not every house song will have this feature, many producers will utilize a repetitive vocal hook in their production. This is prevalent in commercial house music more than it is in the underground styles.

A perfect example is “Around the World” by Daft Punk. During the track’s run time, the duo repeat the hook “around the world” 144 times.

Buildups, Breakdowns, and Drops

Nothing can get a crowd dancing like a good build-up. The repetitive nature of house music can be used to slowly build tension in the song until the DJ releases it with a breakdown. The song will begin to build again until it’s ready for release, and the drop will finally hit, and the dancefloor will erupt.

DJing and Performance

Most house music performances are handled by a DJ instead of a band. DJs use a combination of records or digital music players to seamlessly blend songs. This technique is called beat matching and can be used to create new songs and sounds from the original works.

9 Examples of House Music

What does house music sound like? House has many subgenres for you to enjoy. From deep tunes to pop anthems, there is something for everyone to love about house music. Here are 9 of our favorite house music examples.

Your Love – Frankie Knuckles

Released in 1986, “Your Love” is one of the first house records to receive critical praise for the recording industry.

From the deep and sultry vocals to the mesmerizing beats, “Your Love” is a dancefloor anthem that has lasted through the ages and will continue to be extremely influential to future generations of inspiring DJs and music producers.

One More Time – Daft Punk

“One More Time” is a masterful French house production that went on to have worldwide crossover appeal. Off their second album, Discovery, Daft Punk transformed house music forever, and it finally began to get the attention it deserved on an international scale.

Move Your Body (The House Music Anthem) – Marshall Jefferson

You can thank Marshall Jefferson for piano-house music. The piano riff and drums build and build until Jefferson drops one of the most iconic vocals of any house song to date. If I had one song to describe house music to someone, “Move your Body” would be my first choice.

Acid Tracks – Phuture

Acid house and tracks like “Acid Tracks” were extremely influential and responsible for the Summer of Love in the UK.

The combination of house beats, psychedelic synths, and techno created Acid House. This sound was embraced by Europe and helped birth the careers of some of the biggest DJs in the world, including Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, and Pete Tong.

Show Me Love – Robin S.

While house music stayed underground for its early years, some exceptions found pop and chart success. Robin S. broke through the charts in 1993 with “Show Me Love” and hit number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

You Don’t Know Me – Armand Van Helden

NYC native, Armand Van Helden produced this amazing mix of garage beats and vocals. Many house music producers in the late 90s focused on funk combined with more repetitive drums.

“You Don’t Know Me” has been a mainstay in DJs crates since the 90s and can be played by DJs in almost any genre. The song works perfectly during a sunset gig in Ibiza or a disco in NYC.

Who’s Afraid of Detroit – Claude VonStroke

The mid-2000s found many house music producers embracing a darker and deeper sound. Who’s afraid of Detroit is a perfect example of the minimal and deep sound of this era.

The song features a minimal sound that allows the beat and bassline to breathe. Once the melody comes arrives, it’s time to dance to the confusing sounds. Claude Von Stroke perfectly captures the feeling of a deep dark underground club in “Who’s Afraid of Detroit.”

Don’t You Worry Child – Swedish House Mafia

The late 2000s saw house music change forever as the United States pop and music festival scene finally embraced house music. “Don’t You Worry Child” is a perfect example of this sound?

The piano background builds the song to a fever pitch, while the simple but effective vocals will give you chills while you wait for the song to drop. Once the beat hits, you’ll have a hard time embracing the song and dancing nonstop.

Levels – Avicii

By 2011, the world had accepted house music, and it quickly became one of the largest musical genres on the planet. The big room sound was now called “EDM,” and every festival was filled with massive stars like Avicii.

Levels and other songs like it are a perfect time capsule back to the explosion of the EDM sound in the 2010s.

5 Top House Musicians

Since the 80s, there have been thousands of house music DJs, producers, and musicians who have had a huge impact on the genre. Here are five musicians that birthed and transformed this musical genre.

Frankie Knuckles

Known as the Godfather of House Music, Frankie Knuckles is a pioneer. As a DJ, Frankie was instrumental in the early NYC scene and DJd with the legendary Larry Levan at The Continental Baths and the Gallery.

It wasn’t until the late 70s that he began to fine-tune his sound at The Warehouse in Chicago. Here he would combine rare disco cuts, European synth-inspired music, and other rare tracks for this members-only gay club.

The sound of the Warehouse club quickly caught on across Chicago and began to infiltrate clubs in NYC and Detroit as well. From there, house music was born, and it became the worldwide phenomenon we enjoy today.

Marshall Jefferson

If you’ve ever enjoyed a piano riff on the dancefloor, you can thank Marshall Jefferson. His 1986 single “Move Your Body” features a hypnotic piano riff combined with a repetitive vocal that will have you dancing all night long. After “Move Your Body,” many house music producers adopted piano chords to their tracks.

This Chicago native was a major influence on house music during its infancy in the late 1980s. Jefferson was also a major factor in kick-starting the European house scene during a UK tour with Frankie Knuckles in 1987. From there, acid house took Europe by storm thanks to Jefferson and Knuckles

Pete Tong

From the acid house craze in the 80s to the world’s most famous house music radio show host, house music would not have the same popularity without Pete Tong.

As a radio personality on BBC1, Pete Tong began hosting The Essential Selection. This live DJ broadcast hosted weekly DJ mix shows from DJs around the world and was highly praised for its originality and amazing broadcasts.

From there, The Essential Mix found worldwide success and helped DJs like Tiesto, Daft Punk, Sasha, and Paul Van Dyk achieve worldwide fame.

Daft Punk

Daft Punk pioneered the French House craze in the early 2000s. From there, they went on to become one of the most famous bands on the planet and have worked with a vast array of pop stars, including Kanye West, Missy Elliot, and The Weeknd.

Their debut album, Homework, was an instant success and changed the house music scene overnight. French house combined the funk of Chicago house, the repetitiveness and robotic sound of Detroit techno, and combined it with a pop vibe to create something truly unique.

While the famous duo released a new album as recently as 2013, the two announced that they would no longer be collaborating together. This was a big hit to the House scene but one that was inevitable for one of the groups that helped to define the genre.

David Guetta

Another French house alumni, David Guetta, brought house music out of the nightclub and into the mainstream in the late 2000s.

He found major crossover success chart-topping tunes including “Stay,” “Titanium,” and “Nothing but the Beat.” Guetta’s sound has anthem-level energy, big buildups, and captivating lyrics. If you’ve ever been to a music festival in the past 10 years, you’ve probably heard thousands of people chanting his songs.

As one of the most successful EDM producers, Guetta has brought house music to the masses.

The History of House Music

From humble beginnings in Chicago to packing stadiums worldwide, here is the history of house music.

Disco Never Died

While mainstream radio may have declared “

In major cities like NYC, Chicago, and Detroit, dance floors remained packed. In NYC, The Garage and The Loft replaced clubs like Studio 54. These new venues offered an all-night experience, freedom, and community. DJ like Larry Levan and David Mancuso began blending disco, soul, funk, pop, and techno records to their mostly gay crowds all night long.

It was at the Garage where Frankie Knuckles began his journey to become The Godfather of House Music.

The 1980s and Early Years

The history of the house can be traced to the Warehouse nightclub in Chicago. It was here that an aspiring DJ created a brand new sound.

This three-story factory was about to become the epicenter of something special.

Frankie Knuckles was no stranger to the DJ booth before he arrived at the Warehouse, but he perfected his sound there. Knuckles would create seamless danceable grooves by mixing two or three records. The combination of records would create a new and unique sound, and the crowds were instantly hooked.

The lucky attendees of The Warehouse were the first people in the world to experience this new sound and cultural movement.

Acid House and the UK Explosion

The summer of 1988 would change the UK forever. A group of friends discovered acid house in Ibiza in 1988 and decided to host their acid house nights. These nights quickly grew out of control, and the promoters began hosting huge illegal raves in warehouses and fields near London.

Some of the first acid house nights were hosted by Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, and Pete Tong, both of who went on to have massive international success as DJs.

By 1989, UK producers were creating their songs and adding their twists to the music.

House Music in the 90s

While house music was still and niche or underground genre in the 90s, it did see some popularity and success. Artists like Black Box, C&C Music Factory, Haddaway, Amber, and Crystal Waters all saw international success and kept dancefloors busy throughout the 90s.

The Birth of The Rave and New Genres

During the 90s and early 2000s, Raves dominated the underground scene. As the crowds grew bigger, the sound of house and techno began to morph as well. The musicians of this era branched out and began to create brand new genres that had their roots in house and techno but were fundamentally different.

Mainland Europe was dominated by trance, and DJs like Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, and Armand Van Buren became worldwide phenomena. Breakbeats also became huge during this era, with Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, and The Chemical Brothers hitting billboard charts.

Drum & bass, garage, hardcore techno, gabber, electro, and other genres slowly began to gain underground followings as well during the 90s. Many of these genres would go onto pop and international success in the 200s and beyond.

French House Takes Over the World

Europe had been filling clubs for years with house music. In the 90s, house music regained popularity in the US with the birth of French houses in the late 90s. As Daft Punk took over the dancefloors, artists like Armand Van Helden, Stardust, Cassius, and more were crafting incredible dancefloor-friendly tunes for the masses.

Progressive House, Tech House, and Minimal House

While French house was filled with disco hooks and funk, many other DJs took a different route with their production in the 2000s.

A deeper sound with minimal melodies and sounds permeated many clubs around the world. DJs like Danny Tenaglia, Deep Dish, Sasha, and Digweed were at the forefront of this scene. Club attendees would attend 10-12 hour marathon sets featuring this style of music.

House Goes Big in the 2000s

While bands like Daft Punk saw success in the late 90s, house music would have to wait until the mid-2000s to gain worldwide popularity.

US promoters and music festivals began taking house music seriously and began booking international headliners like David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, and Avicii. This big-room sound became the EDM that we hear today.

By 2010, the house had gone mainstream, and pop musicians began to embrace the sound as well.

House Music Today

Today house music is just as popular as ever. House is an ever-changing genre. While they don’t get nearly as much radio time as they did back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, they certainly have left an impact on the music scene and continue to innovate within their sound. Sounds or artists might change year to year, house music keeps on chugging and will have its fans moving their bodies for decades to come.

What Is House Music? Final Thoughts

House music has kept the world dancing for almost 50 years. From its humble beginnings in Chicago to its meteoric rise of today, house music has touched the lives of countless people and has given a wide range of people their own community and soundtrack to move their bodies to.

Beatport’s Definitive History of House Music

Words: Joe Muggs

As part of Beatportal’s new series on the history of electronic dance music, Joe Muggs dives into the expansive and glorious history of house music and all its subgenres, in Beatport’s Definitive History of House.

What is house music? It’s an eternal question — one that’s kept musicologists’ conferences and pub arguments going for decades.

In one sense, it’s simple: it’s the music that Frankie Knuckles played in Chicago’s Warehouse club in the mid 1980s, and everything that’s flowed from that. Or maybe, as Chuck Roberts’ sermon has it, house is a feeling.

In reality, feelings and history are anything but simple, giving rise to questions like, what actually makes a house record a house record? Where does a variant of house become something else? Is techno a part of house? Or are they separate? Overlapping?

We’ll try to map out the territory in Beatport’s definitive history of house.

“House is an uncontrollable desire to jack your body,” as Chuck Roberts put it. And this story covers more than three decades’ worth of people doing just that.

The Pre History of House Music

Origins: Chicago House

Frankie Knuckles was not a Chicagoan. Born and raised in the Bronx, he cut his teeth as a DJ in New York City’s clubs and gay bathhouses. But he moved to Chicago in 1977, specifically to become Saturday night resident at The Warehouse, a club that his friend Robert Williams was opening. In fact he was only there for five years, during which time the phrase “house music” was used by local record stores to refer to the mostly disco records (often older disco), which he was extending with tape edits and double copies at the club. Other DJs in clubs and radio were following suit, and notably the Hot Mix 5 team (featuring DJs like Ralphi Rosario and Farley “Jackmaster” Funk) on WBMX helped cement this as the sound of Chicago. Funnily enough though, it wasn’t until after Knuckles had left The Warehouse to found The Power Plant in 1982 that he started to use drum machines live in his set, and others in Chicago began making what we’d recognise as house records. That is to say, “house” existed as a culture in Chicago for a good while before it was a sound as such.

It’s impossible to overstate how huge house music was to Chicago at this point. As 1987 and 1988 went on, tracks like Joe Smooth’s “The Promised Land,” Jamie Principles’s “ Baby Wants to Ride ” and Mr Fingers’ “ Can You Feel It ” quickly became international club anthems. But in Chicago alone, 12-inches were selling by the tens of thousands. Radio audiences for house across the city and the Midwest were in the millions. Labels like Trax and DJ International were thriving, albeit using shady business practices. DJ/producers like Lil’ Louis, Mike Dunn, Bad Boy Bill, Armando and DJ Pierre, and vocalists like Robert Owens, Kym Mazelle and Ten City were becoming bona fide stars.

Origins: New York & New Jersey

Of course, New York City and its neighbour New Jersey were never short of club music. In the downtown post-punk scene, one-offs like Arthur Russell were mutating disco into hypnotic, proto-house — see Russell’s “Is it all Over my Face?” as Loose Joints — right at the start of the eighties, and clubs like Larry Levan’s Paradise Garage in NYC, and Zanzibar in New Jersey with Tony Humphries as its resident kept evolving a modernist disco-funk sound with the emphasis on continuous DJ mixing. Through the early eighties, people were making dub mixes of tracks that were almost, almost house: Visual’s “Somehow, Some Way” mixed by Boyd Jarvis and Timmy Regisford and Visual’s “Music Got Me” mixed by Tony Humphries, both in 1983, or Serious Intention’s “You Don’t Know” produced by Paul Simpson in 1984.

These kind of records were already being called “garage” after the Paradise Garage, and would segue neatly into a sound with a distinctive shuffle to its rhythms which became known as “garage house.” Humphries was making distinctly house tunes like Cultural Vibe’s Afro groove “Ma Foom Bey” in 1986, and by ‘88-‘89 the deluge had started. Records like Turntable Orchestra (aka Hippie Torrales)’s “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” Adeva’s “Respect,” and untold productions by the group Blaze like Phase II’s “Reachin’” all came out of New Jersey, upping the ante in terms of production values and song structure compared to the generally raw sounds of Chicago — and they frequently charted abroad, particularly in the UK. New York too produced slick and soulful sounds, as the likes of David Morales and Roger Sanchez entered the house music arena.

The hard and spacious side of this would also set the tone for New York’s gay clubs. It was notable that Strictly Rhythm’s first release featured an “Underground Vogue Mix,” which later became the foundation for the vast tribal grooves of Junior Vasquez, Danny Tenaglia and company. At the same time, Todd Terry and Masters at Work built bumping house beats using the sample collage techniques of their hip hop backgrounds: see TT’s Arthur Russell flip “Bango.”

For a brief time, it almost seemed like hip hop and house would fuse completely as New York and Chicago both fell for hip house in ‘88-’89. There was apparently even a collaboration album planned by Farley “Jackmaster” Funk and NYC hip hop beat legend Marley Marl. It fizzled out, but the echoes of hip hop would give NYC’s house an edge that would continue into the ‘90s.

Origins: Detroit House

Origins: UK House

House spread fast: the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, France and especially Italy all adopted and adapted it to different degrees, but nowhere did it land as hard as Britain. Of course, most people will associate house music in the UK with the acid house revolution of 1988. DJs and producers like Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway, Danny Rampling, Lisa Loud, Andrew Weatherall, Farley & Heller and Carl Cox rode the wave and then the rave explosion that followed to global success. Groups like Farley and Weatherall’s Boys Own fanzine and then label/party crew codified a particular style and set of attitudes that became known as “acid house culture” — an enduring way of life that became detached from the specific sound of acid.

But the seeds were sown earlier in both the underground and the mainstream. Proto house and early house reached pockets of the soul, electro/breakdance, alternative and gay club scenes in the UK, and DJs like Mark Moore, Colin Faver and Paul “Trouble” Anderson in London; Greg Wilson, Graeme Park, and Mike Pickering at The Haçienda in Manchester; and Winston & Parrot at Jive Turkey in Sheffield among many others were keeping track with every development stateside.

Deep House

House was built on rhythmic hypnosis and emotional engagement, and although Chicago’s early mixdowns and vinyl pressings might have been raw, the likes of Larry Heard with tracks like “Can You Feel It” and Marshall Jefferson with “The Jungle” (as Jungle Wonz) were bringing sophisticated musicality and bittersweet moods to their productions. Very early on in house music’s development, Heard’s unique atmosphere and Jefferson’s love of flutes and new age music set a template that has endured: warm washes of sound (“pads”), minor keys, subtle jazz elements, with the occasional softly sung or spoken vocals.

Of course, broken beat and nu jazz artists like Berlin’s Jazzanova could overlap into deep house too, and perennially popular labels like Glasgow Underground and Aus Music sprung up in their wake. In late ‘90s and early ‘00s San Francisco, DJs like Mark Farina and Miguel Migs kept the deep groove alive on labels like Om and Naked Music. All of this found an extra layer of resonance in Ibiza, where the late Jose Padilla and those who followed him incorporated deep house into broader chillout music, and artists like A Man Called Adam — from their 1990 Balearic classic “Barefoot in the Head” onwards — created a particularly Balearic house groove.

Acid House

While other sub-genres have evolved over time, acid house arrived fully formed. The foundational tune, “Acid Tracks” by DJ Pierre, Herb J and the late Earl “Spanky” Smith, came like a bolt from out of the blue, and still sounds untouchably advanced to this day. It turned the Roland TB-303 bassline generator — an almost obsolete synth that was originally intended as a simple automated accompanist for solo musicians — into the most iconic instrument in all of dance music. A tape of the “Acid Tracks” was hammered by Ron Hardy in the Music Box in 1986 and became one of his signature tunes. Released in 1987 on Trax, it immediately set off a whole new style in Chicago.

Crossover House

While the levels of cheese in future house might be high for some, with people like Woolford and The Blessed Madonna working hard to connect the pop world to more underground house, it’s going to be fascinating to see where this goes next.

Prog House / Melodic Techno

The phrase “progressive house” started to emerge somewhere around 1991 as a reaction against the increasing mania of hardcore/rave music. Dutch and Italian producers were starting to make heavy use of “tribal” percussion — see The Traveler’s “Tribal Journey” and African Tribal System’s “Baa Daa Laa” — along with overtly psychedelic atmospheres that leaned more towards the Balearic and trance aesthetics than to American house.

Soulful House

Afro House

Afro house is one of the loosest possible definitions — after all, Africa is an entire continent, and its influence is manifold, both on the roots of house, and now directly as countries and cities across the region develop their own sounds. African music had been bonded into disco (think Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” ) and house (the remixes of Mory Kante’s “Yeke Yeke” ) from the start, but these were normally one offs.

There were two key threads that created a more lasting relationship: the adoption by South Africa of house as the sound of the new, post-Apartheid nation, leading to its own slower, soulful take known as Kwaito ; and an interest in African roots from outside the continent. Crucial names here are Missouri-via-NYC deep house producer Osunlade (see “Lovery” ), who studied the beliefs of West Africa’s Yoruba people, became a priest and named his Yoruba label accordingly; as well as Nigerian-born Jerome Sydenham – whose recent Kraftwerk remake “Trans Afro Express” is as joyously witty a piece of Afro house as you could ever hope to hear.

More recently though, African and particularly South African artists and scenes began to set the pace. This has ranged from breakout hits like DJ Mujava’s “Township Funk” through South African expats Esa and Floyd Lavine (“ Nohme Ne ”), from huge international names like Black Coffee and Themba to emergent genres like the experimental gqom like DJ Lag’s “Ghost on the Loose”) and the smooth and soulful amapiano ( “Spiritchaser” by Abidoza and twin brothers the Major League DJz), which is sweeping various UK scenes as we speak. With all this going on, it’s no longer a case of US or European artists looking abroad for an “African” flavour, but of individual African styles making their presence felt on their own terms.

Tech House

Bass House

Disco / Jackin House

One wore its musical rawness and rudeness on its sleeve: the “ghetto house” epitomised by the mighty Dance Mania label got faster and simpler, boiling everything down to rhythm for jacking and footworking, to repeating filthy lyrics over and over. DJ Deeon, DJ Slugo, DJ Funk, Traxman, Paul Johnson and more made some of the purest dance music of all time. (Ironically, these basic beats, looked down on by more soulful house fans and musicians, would evolve into the delirious rhythmic sophistication of 21 st century footworking production.)

Since then, jackin’/disco/funky house music has been a staple of clubs worldwide, rising and dipping a very little in popularity, while remaining the backbone of house internationally. As long as there are samples to be mined, it’s a failsafe for DJs and producers: the familiarity of the disco elements and the primal impact of beefy drum machines always get a crowd going. And it remains a mainstay for some of the biggest DJs on the scene: Honey Dijon, Demuir, Phil Weeks, Mark Farina, and DJ Heather all know the value of pumping out the disco loops. DJ Sneak is still going strong with his I’m a House Gangster label, and imprints like Robsoul, Purveyor Underground and Late Night Jackin’ keep the flow of beats coming. A tune like DJ Mes & Rescue’s “Hornblower” might be a little more technologically advanced than a 1994 Dance Mania tune, but it still has the same inspirations and the same dancefloor drive at heart.

Electro House / Big Room House / EDM

Come the dawn of the 2010s, with the grand spectacle of Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 still reverberating through the North American consciousness, and the increasingly rowdy sounds of tear-out dubstep turning dance culture upside down, the electro/big room sound mutated into something bigger and shinier still.

This was a long way from the LGBTQ+ Black and Latino clubs of Chicago, Detroit, New York and New Jersey in the early years of the 1980s, to say the very least. And yet, for every big EDM breakdown that bends closer to hard dance than it does OG house music, there’s a groove or piano riff or sample that still carries the DNA of Frankie Knuckles, or a fan or producer who gets drawn to the deep stuff. As big room culture’s global expansion continues, there’s no knowing what will come next.

Experimental House / Minimal House

Artists like these helped map out a kind of non-genre often tagged as “outsider house,” with the L.I.E.S. label as its lodestone. Nowadays, between these poles, experimental house can be many-splendored. From the psychedelic pop/rap infused sound of Yaeji to the ultra-detailed dubwise sculptures of Beatrice Dillon; the aggressively raw throwbacks of Robert Bergman to the subtly melodic electronica of rRoxymore. But then what do you expect? As long as house abides, there’ll always be someone to mess with it.

History of House Music: Past, Present and Future

And as the ‘00s progressed, and the genres of the ‘80s and ‘90s looked in danger of being pushed aside by new generation sounds, there were always clubs and brands like Faith, SecretSundaze and Soul Heaven that kept the faith alive — even if being committed to the real deal was sometimes branded as “dad house.” And even though minimal was often seen as dominating Ibiza, you were just as likely to hear no-nonsense house music somewhere like DC-10.

But then as the 2010s approached, some very interesting things began to happen. Young crowds who’d grown up on experimental music, UK funky, dubstep and grime began to discover the roots of house for themselves. The rise of garage-house act Disclosure was emblematic of the time, but the convergence of DJ/producers like Skream, Martyn, Midland and Ikonika towards funky four-on-the-floor patterns provided a wide open conduit from other genres to straight house.

The rise of EasyJet club tourism also had a huge impact on house by creating a highly mobile, young crowd ready to jet not just to Ibiza, but Croatia, Mexico and many more spots worldwide. And this was a crowd who loved classic house, resulting in a popularity boost for long-standing greats like Kerri Chandler, Todd Edwards and MK, and the cementing of Defected as a powerhouse label and events brand, taking established house labels like Strictly Rhythm, Classic and Nu Groove under its wing as it did. Other vintage US labels like Chicago’s Large Music and New York’s Nervous began to get a new lease of life too.

The underground was completely transformed as well, as the early 2010s saw Art Department, Jamie Jones and Hot Creations; Solomun with his Diynamic brand; and Dixon, Âme and Innervisions becoming overnight sensations. Add to this the huge crossovers of David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, and Calvin Harris — whose residencies in in Ibiza forever changed the island — and the rise of big names like Claptone, Dom Dolla, and most recently Camelphat, David Penn and John Summit, and house has cemented itself as the heartbeat of global club and festival land: something that can weather trends, breed new innovation, and still appeal to each new generation with its core musical values.

House music has had its ups and downs, its identity crises, and its problematic aspects. Like all parts of the dance music industry, there’ve been issues of whitewashing and heterosexual male dominance what was originally music by and for Black, Latin and LGBTQ+ communities. But in an era where the most exciting stars in the world of house or house-influenced music include the likes of Ash Lauryn, India Jordan, Josey Rebelle, T. Roy, Honey Dijon, TSHA, Horse Meat Disco, KAYTRANADA, Yaeji, Jayda G, The Blessed Madonna, Violet, not to mention legions of artists breaking out globally from African and Latin American nations, there is no question that its diversity is its strength, and that its future durability depends on that.

House Music is a feeling, but it is also a many-splendored concrete reality that’s been woven into the lives of millions of people’s lives. And that is going to remain the case for a very, very long time.

Read Beatport’s Definitive History of Techno here.

Музыкальный жанр House: зарождение электронной танцевальной музыки

House – это жанр танцевальной электронной музыки, который заложен в начале 80-х диджеями и продюсерами Чикаго. Раннее творчество характеризовалась повторяющимися ритмами и ударами 4/4, которые формировались с использованием драм-машин и синтезаторов. Часто звучание включало элементы из диско, хотя звучание всегда было минималистичным и более электронным. Композиции отличались инструментальным исполнением без вокала.

Долгое время танцевальный жанр и движение развивалось подпольно. Часто выступления проходили на заброшенных складах или в закрытых клубах. Некоторые диджеи старались объединять звучание с другими стилями, что придавала новые направления для творчества: ярким примером считается включения рэпа, джаза или синтипоп. Таким подходом баловались Steve Hurley и Chip E.

С течением времени музыкальный жанр выходил в другие регионы, поэтому часто можно услышать понятие Детройт хаус и так далее. Среди популярных исполнителей на пересечении хауса и диско выделяются Кайли Миноуг (Kylie Minogue), CeCe Peniston, Music Factory и других. Сейчас стилистика востребована и пользуется популярностью среди любителей клубов и ярких фестивалей.

Происхождение термина

Существует несколько легенд, которые связываются с появлением термином хаус-музыка. Первая сопровождается с клубом The Warehouse или «склад». На одном из выступлений Фрэнки Наклза его прозвали крестным отцом музыки и танцевальной площадки. Это и послужило названием для данного жанра.

Среди прочих моментов относительно происхождения выделяется теория о «музыке, которая играет у себя дома». Сюда входят музыкальные произведения, которые наполнены душой, ритмом для создания лучшего настроения посетителей. В 1985 году появляется песня от Chip E под названием This is House, что стало конечной точкой в определении жанра.

Музыкальные инструменты и характеристики

Хаус-музыка создается продюсерами, диджеями с использованием электронных инструментов и синтезаторов. Ранее сделать запись считалось достижением искусства, ведь все это создавалось вручную, накладывалось на пленку и так далее. С приходом компьютеров все изменилось. В большинстве треков невозможно найти вокал, чаще всего вокальная партия выполняется хором. Наиболее важным элементом считается бит, который создается драм-машиной Roland TR-808 или TR-909. Среди прочего большинство музыкантов применяли так называемые басовые петли с добавлением сэмплов диско или фанка.

На создание хаус музыки повлияло множество других жанров и отдельных композиций. К примеру, сингл Донны Саммер I Feel Love была полностью выполнена с использованием электронных машин, похожая ситуация с песней Yellow Magic Orchestra от одноименной группы. Сохранялись методы микширования и редактирования, которые присущи диско, это говорят и известные Рон Харди, Ларри Леван, Том Моултон и другие.

Поджанры House

На текущий момент существует огромное количество поджанров, которые прямо или косвенно связываются с хаус музыкой. Первым и главным видом, первоосновой жанра считается Chicago House. Как отмечалось ранее, представленная стилистика была заложена именно здесь в начале 80-х годов. Многие песни звучали на радио The Hot Mix 5 и в популярных клубах. Среди известных композиторов и исполнителей того времени выделяются Рон Харди, Фрэнки Наклз, Chip E. Появление крупных студий и массовое издание песен произошла гораздо позже, в пик популярности первой волны издается On and On, Space Invaders, Music is a Key.

Чуть позже появляется такое понятие, как Deep House. Это разновидность хаус-музыки, возникшая в середине 80-х. Первым и самым узнаваемым исполнителей песен считается Mr. Fingers, который выпустил ряд релизов Can You Feel It? и Mystery of Love. Еще позже появляется быстрая вариация Acid house. Для создания прогрессивных треков использовался Roland TB-303, а основателем поджанра считается DJ Pierre.

Региональные сцены House музыки

Детройт техно является ответвлением чикагского хауса. Оно также появилось в 80-х годах, а его основателями стали Деррик Мэй, Кевин Саундерсон и Хуан Аткинс. Стилистика развивалась самостоятельно и в последующем стала всемирно известной. Представленный звук повлиял на европейскую электронику с такими исполнителями как Kraftwerk, Art of Noise и на некоторые другие.

Развитие хаус-музыки в Европе началось с Великобритании. Именно здесь появляются первые диджеи исполнители местного разлива, такие как Эдди Ричардс, Клинк Кид Бэтчелор и другие. Синглы значительно отличались более мягким звучанием, но подобное продолжалось недолго. В скором времени началась эпоха rave-вечеринок с грубыми и быстрыми ритмами. Конечно, влияние творцов из США давало о себе знать. Исполнители Fingers Inc, Adonis, Knuckles и прочие выступали на концертах.

Отдельного рассмотрения заслуживает «Джерси Саунд». Представленное понятие появилось в соответствующем регионе, а его отличия связывались с мощным битом и глубиной звука. Существенными темпами развивалась нью-йоркская сцена. Череда диджеев даже создали собственное звучание и поджанр – Deep House. Исполнители начинают включать в композиции электронную составляющую, обеспечивая нестандартную подачу материала.

Начало 90-х пик популярности House

Эксперты музыкального мира уверены, что пик хаус-музыки приходится на начало 90-х годов. Именно в этот период по всему миру открываются популярные рейв и хаус клубы, появляется большое количество культовых исполнителей. К последним причисляют The KLF, Aphex Twin. Также появляется огромное количество поджанров, которые завоевывают признание у публики. Здесь выделяется Eurodance, French House и так далее.

Концерты проводились подпольно, часто организовывались нелегальные вечеринки на заброшенных заводах или в ангарах. Законодательство многих стран пытались запретить незаконные мероприятия, что явилось причиной быстрого снижения популярности музыки. Последним сбором такого типа стал Spiral Tribe, который прошел в замке Мортен в 1994 году.

2000-е изменение жанра и новые музыкальные предпочтения

В 21 веке музыка не потеряла актуальности, а 10 августа объявили днем House Music. К этому периоду творения становятся более коммерческими, появляется несколько крупных игроков, студий звукозаписи. В конце 2000-х существовало большое количество культовых диджеев, продюсеров и просто создателей хаус-музыки. К ним относятся Deadmau5, Daft Punk, Кельвин Харрис (Calvin Harris), Дэвид Гуэтта (David Guetta).

К 2010 появилось большое количество смежных творцов, которые работали с использованием смешанного звучания нескольких жанров. Существенной роли в продвижении танцевальной музыки в народы занималась студия Swedish House Mafia. Именно она издавала шедевральные творения со многими популярными исполнителями. Среди прочих интересных лейблов выделяются Defected Records, Hot Creations, Cajual Records. По сегодняшний день проводятся десятки фестивалей, которые пользуются невероятной популярностью у молодежи. Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival.

What is house music?

What is house music? History, origins, and production tips

If you’re not already familiar with house music, it’s likely that you’ve heard it before without knowing. Four on the floor kick drums, swinging hi-hats, gospel-cut vocal samples, bouncy chord progressions, and funk-inflected bass lines are all integral to the unique identity of the genre. While there is no concrete definition of house music, there are several characteristics we’ll teach you that make it instantly recognizable.

It’s a genre that has made its way around the world throughout various phases of club culture. The house sound has even left its mark on other genres, such as pop, hip-hop, and indie rock. Because it’s such a repetitive style of music, once you get the basic formula down, it’s not too difficult to replicate. In fact, the genre thrives on repetition. It’s the subtleties in between that make certain tracks stand out.

In this post, we are going to show you how to get started with house music production. Many new students struggle at the beginning, but these methods are guaranteed to make it easier for anyone. But before getting into how to produce within the genre, let’s take a look at the origins of house music and how it came to be the diverse dance genre we know and love today.

House music origins

Where did house music start? The history of house music traces back to the late 1970s, deep in the underground clubs of Chicago — and later New York — as DJs began blending genres of dance music into a more mechanical formula with distinct, deep bass lines. It is often said that house music rose from the ashes of disco. DJs moving beyond the disco culture began to experiment with new mixing techniques and rhythmic variations that eventually became house.

Historic nightclubs such as Chicago’s “Warehouse” and New York’s “Paradise Garage” served as mainstays for a majority Black, Latino, and LGBT crowd. The house scene was viewed as a haven for these marginalized communities. Inclusivity and equality are the core of house music’s origins.

Built by Black artists, Frankie Knuckles is widely regarded as the “Godfather of House Music.” Other seminal Black innovators such as DJ Ron Hardy and Larry Levan helped lead the way in the early days of house. In this era, it wasn’t uncommon for DJs to lack basic equipment like turntables with varying speeds or even mixers. As a result of their limitations, pioneers like Frankie Knuckles would remix songs using a reel-to-reel tape machine, adding unique breakdowns to the mix.

This evolution of dance music allowed house music to flourish in underground clubs, but it also began the spawn of different subgenres of house music.

The different types of house music

Led by Larry Heard, D eep house originated via the fusion of Chicago house elements with inflections of jazz, funk, and soul music. Characterized by the use of Roland’s legendary TR-909 drum machine, soft keyboard pads, ambient mixes, and complex chord progressions, the subgenre emerged as a slower, more liquid, and stylish version of house.

Acid house followed with its unique emphasis on the “squelching” sound of the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer. It was popularized by DJ Pierre and helped bring house music to a worldwide audience, and its influence spread to other dance genres such as jungle, techno, and trip-hop.

House took off in the late 80s from underground to mainstream outside of the United States as Farley “Jackmaster” Funk’s “Love Can’t Turn Around” peaked at #10 in the UK singles chart. Eventually, the UK became a hot spot for the genre, as it spread across the world within the realm of dance music.

More subgenres began to emerge as the genre rose in popularity. In the last decade, new takes on house such as electro swing, future house, tropical house, lo-fi house, and more have become prominent interpretations of the genre today.

How to make house music

When it comes to making a house beat in Ableton (or any DAW), there are several core elements and guidelines that you can follow and utilize. By combining these tried and true methods, you will unlock several house music production secrets. However, as with any piece of music, experimenting with your own original interpretations is key to finding your own sound, and potentially creating the next subgenre of house.

Tempo

Drums

Vocal samples

Chords

Bassline

General house music production tips

Conclusion

House music has been evolving for several decades, and its prominent role in dance music does not seem to be fading any time soon. As you open your DAW and begin to explore different types of house music, remember these techniques. Hopefully, they will provide you with the basics on how to make house music for beginners and more advanced producers.

What are your thoughts on house music, its history, and the best production tips for making a powerful house track?