Classic House Music
Classic House Music
FOUR-TO-THE-FLOOR
So where does the term "House Music" come from, where did it start, and what makes a "House Classic?"
Depending on which source you choose to trust, House Music originated in Chicago as long ago as the late 1970s. A descendant of disco, soul, R&B and funk, HOUSE is all about sexuality, love, and dancing.
As is so often the case, it was the gay and "ethnic-monority" communities that embraced the new sound.
"The Warehouse" was a Chicago nightclub popular with black, latino, and gay men. DJ Frankie Knuckles built a fanbase by releasing his dance tracks and mixes on the Trax and D.J. International labels. Clubbers, keen to own tracks played at the club, would ask record stores for "Warehouse" music. This name was eventually abbreviated to "House."
Regional flavors in house music have always played a strong role in shaping the genre's many different layers of sound. The tracks that helped to define classic house music themselves had two very distinct origins. At first, the tunes coming out of Chicago's pioneering club the Warehouse were the only examples of the music available, but eventually word spread to Detroit where some of the same talents that had originated the techno genre would try their hand at this new style. The result was an edgier, less organic type of classic house music that would claim legions of followers and eventually colonize other cities across America.
See here for funky house music.
More recently, the regional distinctions in house music have become more global in nature. Latin house music sprang from the South American and Caribbean-tinged rhythms that floated their way up to Florida and took over the Miami club scene. Japan got a hold of house and melded it with their love for classic disco to create funky house and disco house music so radically different from the norm that it almost defied description. Europeans embraced house music but turned up the tempo, eventually transforming it into a super-rapid hybrid called hardcore, as well as UK hard house.
However it might be labeled, house music has managed to remain a staple at dance clubs on almost every continent. While other forms of electronic music ebb and flow with the vagaries of public opinion, house music has managed to endure as one of clubbing's pillars. This is largely a result of its diversity, its willingness to embrace and try new ideas, and its universal connection with dancers of all ages. Those who enjoyed classic house music in the 1980's can still find something that speaks to them in the modern house music pumping through today's scene.
