Throw the term "house music" into a conversation and you are bound to get a strong reaction. Someone might come back with, "That's computer music, heard it all already," someone else with, "It's only the greatest music ever conceived by man." But house music is a canvas, a launching pad from which mind-boggling divergent musical pieces are created, it is hard to call it a mere genre -- it is too big to be a genre. It takes elements from all other styles and restates all other musical statements. It is a freedom to play, explore, mix, merge, separate, distort, meld, twist and turn whatever that is at your hands; Classical music, blues, jazz and their respected worlds are just as fair game as heavy metal or current pop. But not even there lay its limits; throw in children's tunes, sci-fi movie themes, gangsta rap, dog food commercials. Imagine all these are pieces to be used, and not just a riff in isolation to explore on its own. House has greater ambitions; the DJ might take a part from here, a chunk there and mold it together until a whole new expression is formed. House music has so much freedom of innovation that any creation can strive to be its own entire new world.
House music came out of Chicago. In the late '70s/early '80s "Disco" was fading and "New Wave" had not yet hit big; subcultures were being thrown together in the clubs. People like African American-, Latin American- and gay/lesbians-
communities were being exposed to each other for the first time and instead of friction, there was wonder, delight and joy! Each started to borrow from the other and as they saw the magic they were creating, they let their ears wander and let more and more in. The beats were slower, more cautious than what's embraced today and the sounds were closer to disco but what was born, was house music. It spread to New York, then Europe where all hidden clubs began to bounce and swirl with frenetic energy late at night, until it simmered to a boiling point and burst forth into
mainstream music. This created an entire dance music culture of its own.
House music is a dance music genre. It's up-tempo, it's there to be danced to and it's there to get you moving, jumping, throwing up your arms and not letting go. Slower rhythms are called "chill house" and you merge with the people around you, all going back and forth together. You can almost see the whole dance floor moving as
one with the beat. The genre "Hard house" is a frenetic cauldron of flailing bodies, flying arms, and heads tossed around with abandon. The rhythm is almost too much to keep up with, but the skilled DJ knows how to tease and test the mood on the floor and push the room. "Standard house" is somewhere in between and something a bit more sustainable than the other two, not as much emotional involvement as "chill" but not as much punishing energy as "hard" and is a place where the DJ knows he can get your attention more easily as he plays with you and brings out one of his many tricks.There is a beat to the music, it is raw, it is strong, it holds it all together, it holds the room together, it pounds and pulses in what is known as "four to the floor" beat. You have over a hundred beats per minute and the music is challenging you; "I'll keep pounding you and you'll keep fighting back.".
The basic drum sound is a kick drum, you might know this from other music and it is the element i house music that will hit you in your face. It hits on every beat as many as 165 times a minute and is it not something subtle. You do not hide on the dance floor.The other half of the rhythm is the bass. This is something you feel, it is like a concussion, a freight train, it grabs your attention in a way you cannot put in words, it's something you sense on the most primitive of levels, it talks to parts of you that you don't even know are inside you, it hits you below consciousness -- And it feels
like thunder.
Think of all the music you have been exposed to in your life: Jingles for ice cream, your grandmother's door buzzer, 125-piece Wagnerian orchestras, The Beatles, Tiffany, a guy playing a harmonica at a bus stop, a clock in a square in Belgium, monks chanting on a hill in Korea -- the house DJ does not hear these as separate forms neat and orderly confined in air-tight boxes. The house DJ yearns to throw them in a blender, to try something new, could be for humor sake or it could be an angry juxtaposition, but mostly: "This sounds so amazingly cool" or "here is a new idea", or "here is what'll make everybody dance.".
Imagine a chimerical mix with a llama head, an alligator body, and kangaroo legs sitting right behind you, thumping its lobster tail on the floor. That's the level of creativity the DJ accesses. The sound gets mixed in the booth and then floods the dance floor. The old classic rock song you grew tired of so many many years ago is not only fresh, but you'll totally love it again, mixed in with an amazing groove and imagine Richard Nixon speaking over it, slowed down and squeaking like an alien and before you are sure what is going on you are lost again, dancing close to someone else. The rhythm slows and you rock and sway. You notice quick riffs in the music, flashes of something almost recognizable in this slow pleasant stream and now it cannot be just the music. but all of life gently speeding up, everything is moving so much faster. We are headed towards something and I am sure not going to look... Then the world explodes and the air is awash with sound and rhythm and in all of this chaos, there is suddenly that song you loved in Jr. high and the whole club recognizes it too. A roar goes up and you thrill to be so alive, so connected; you put your brain on
hold and all your energy into the beat as the tempo climbs and climbs to a frenzy, and then you notice that, huh, wait!?! This is Rico Suave. I hate that song! So why am I loving this?
- By DJ Visualize | www.Djvisualize.com
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