Evolution of house music: introduction

By: Fabian Kolly


Intro

House is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago, then in other US cities such as Detroit, New York City, Los Angeles and Miami. It then reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide since the early to mid-1990s.

House is strongly influenced by elements of soul and funk-infused varieties of disco. House generally mimics disco's percussion, especially the use of a prominent bass drum on every beat, but may feature a prominent synthesizer bassline, electronic drums, electronic effects, funk and pop samples, and reverb- or delay-enhanced vocals.

Musical elements

House is uptempo music for dancing, although by modern dance-music standards it is mid-tempo, generally ranging between 118 and 135 bpm. Tempos were slower in house's early years.

The common element of house is a prominent kick drum on every beat (also known as a four-on-the-floor beat), usually generated by a drum machine or sampler. The kick drum sound is augmented by various kick fills and extended dropouts.

Electronically-generated sounds and samples of recordings from genres such as jazz, blues, disco, funk, soul, synth pop are often added to the foundation of the drum beat and synth bass line. House songs may also include disco, soul-style, or gospel vocals and additional percussion such as tambourine. Many house mixes also include repeating, short, syncopated, staccato chord-loops that are usually composed of 5-7 chords in a 4-beat measure.

Techno and trance, which developed alongside house, share this basic beat infrastructure, but they usually eschew house's live-music-influenced feel and Black or Latin music influences in favor of more synthetic sound-sources and approach.

History

House is a descendant of disco, which blended soul, R&B, funk, with celebratory messages about dancing, love, and sexuality, all underpinned with repetitive arrangements and a steady bass drum beat. Some disco songs incorporated sounds produced with synthesizers and drum machines, and some compositions were entirely electronic.

Origins of the term

The term "house music" may have its origin from a Chicago nightclub called The Warehouse, which existed from 1977 to 1982. The Warehouse was patronized primarily by gay black and Latino men, who came to dance to disco music played by the club's resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles.

Lyrical themes

House also had an influence of relaying political messages to people who were considered to be outcasts of society. It appealed to those who didn't fit into mainstream American society and was especially celebrated by many black males. Frankie Knuckles made a good comparison of house saying it was like "church for people who have fallen from grace" and Marshall Jefferson compared it to "old-time religion in the way that people just get happy and screamin”. Deep house was similar to many of the messages of freedom for the black community. Both house CDs by Joe Smooth, "Promised Land" and Db "I Have a Dream" give similar messages of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. "Someday" by CeCe Rogers, would move house further into the gospel stream later titled "gospel house". House was also very sexual and had much mystic in it. It went so far as to have an "eroto-mystic delirium". Jamie Principle's "Baby Wants to Ride" begins in a prayer but surprisingly is about a dominatrix who seduces a man to "ride" her through the rest of the song.