Tribal House Music

Tribal House Music

BLOOD-BOILING, BONE-SHAKING GROVES

Tribal house music is one of the rare examples of modern technology meshing almost perfectly with traditional instrumentation that is in some cases thousands of years old. Usually when digital techniques are applied to music which has its basis in the history of ancient peoples, the results end up sounding hacked together. There is just something about primitive handmade instruments that doesn't always translate well into current musical templates.

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Tribal house music, on the other hand, has been able to get around this roadblock by focusing on the rhythms found in the source material and augmenting the audio side of the equation with modern production. Recognizing that the soul of the music is just as important as the authenticity of the instruments, tribal house artists incorporate the blood-boiling, bone-shaking grooves found in tribal drumming and infuse it with the electric energy that powers today's dance floor hits. The goal is to evoke the power of ancient tribal music, not necessarily replicate it in excruciating detail.

House music is uniquely capable of tapping into this source of inspiration, because unlike pop music it is not restricted to the standard ‘verse / chorus / verse' structure that imprisons the creativity of many artists. This makes it perfect for incorporating long drum breaks, as well as slowly building layers of rhythm that mount tension to an unbearable level until release is provided in an explosive form. Tribal house music is light on melody but heavy on complexity, and it is a form of electronic dance music that invites careful, involved listening in order to get the most out of what it is trying to communicate to partiers and dancers. Sometimes the most basic of origins are the most adept at accessing the human spirit that has always been such a driving force behind the house music movement.