House Music - Fusion of American Styles and Elements of European Music - Essay Example

House Music House music has been around for more than a decade and has an unmistakable sound. With its electronic beat and remix of new and old music, it is being heard in dance clubs around the world. What has made this type of music so popular It would appear that one isn't able to turn on the radio without hearing a song that has a deep bass beat and catchy lyrics. Even some of the more popular television commercials use some form of house music in the background. House music is a mutation of disco, which was popular in the 1970's. In 1985 house music began in Chicago as a result of anti-disco movements. Disco records were burned and the quality of disco music went steadily downhill, as the music was mass produced. An underground scene at this point had already been forming. The underground music scene was developing music that was designed to make people dance. DJ's were already being targeted as disco records had used extended mixes with long percussion breaks. In the underground dance music scene: "The DJ bears the sole responsibility for the music, including his choice records, his style of mixing, how long a particular record will play, or when to change volume, timbre, tempo, or style" (Fikentscher, 82). House music became of fusion of American styles and elements of European music. This new style was breaking through in places like Chicago and New York. There were bands using electronic pop and earlier disco methods that were very popular in many urban areas. The music was being produced from underground clubs, and not for any commercial success. Jazzy M is attributed to bringing the Chicago house sound to the UK. Jazzy M, born Michael Schiniou, began DJing at the age of 17. It is said of Jazzy M that "through his influential stint at Nottingham's garage, it was Jazzy M who first brought the music to the nation's capital via his regular House show on pirate radio" (Bidder, 173-174). The reasons for their popularity within the underground: two clubs leading the front of dance music. New York's Paradise Garage and Chicago's Warehouse broke the barriers of sex and race. Most people from each race and different sexual orientations had remained segregated from one another up until this point. They incorporated strong messages for pro-diversity in the music. Both clubs had a strong emphasis on music, and birthed music that was known from each club - garage and house. There were many phases and rebirths of house music from the beginning in 1985, where different genres such as techno, deep house, and acid house made their way from and through different nations such as the UK, Canada, America, and even Italy. Cities like Detroit, Chicago, New York, and Toronto were undergoing a quick paced dance with the genre as the styles continued to rapidly change and again bore the underground crowd. Different songs by various labels and artists impacted cities in unexpected ways. 1989 was the year when house music was brought to the masses. The qualities that shape house music are simple. Kick drum beats on every beat, made most of the time by drum machines, strategic high hat cymbal beat placement, snare drum, and eighth notes played off beat. This style of play has been termed within the business as "four to the floor" drumbeats, which were popularized by drummers in the 1960's and 70's. Most of the songs derive samples from jazz, synth, blues, and pop styles of music. There are many subgenres of house music, such as techno and trance, but there are three in particular that will be addressed. Those three are Tech house, Minimal house, and Deep house. Each style shares features in common with the other, making them often difficult to differentiate from one another to the untrained listener. Tech house, is a combination of house and techno. It often leans more towards techno and its jazzy feel. It still maintains the same feel of house, but the snare, bass drum lines, and high hat are noisier, faster and higher. There has been great debate among DJs as to the label of tech house, and often times most do not feel their music fits into this genre. Notable artists from this genre include Mr. C and Alien Funk Movement. Both of these artists are from the UK and have continued within the line of music. Minimal house, often assimilated with microhouse, uses minimal elements of the house genre. It is often stripped down to very basic elements, and lacking the layers of regular house music. It is very repetitive with a few bars of notes at a time being used, focusing on the repetition and rhythm. It can be classified into the styles massification or skeletalism. Skeletalism refers to the inclusion of only core elements of minimal techno. Massification refers to sounds being layered, but little variation of the elements used. Artists worth mentioning in this genre are Ricardo Villalobos and Luciano. Villalobos has been within this genre since 1993 and is currently still making music today. Deep house is differentiated from the others in that it uses more vocals than tech or minimal. It borrows elements from Chicago house, Detroit techno, jazz-funk, and 80's soul. Frankie Knuckles and Kaskade are two deep house artists and DJs that are worth mentioning. Frankie Knuckles was listed as being one of the pioneers of house music itself when it began to surface in 1986 at the Warehouse in Chicago. His tracks stayed true to disco when he first began. He was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2005 for his work as a DJ. House music has become increasingly popular in the recent years due to the ability to have it commercially available world wide through clubs, satellite radio stations on Sirius and XM, and of course the internet. Internet resources like person to person downloading software from Napster, Kazaa, and Podcasts, allow artists and their fans unlimited ways to access this style of music. CD burning technology was a way for people to make their own mixes of different DJs. Since the advent of the iPod launched by Apple in 2001, people can carry their music in mp3 format, without the burden of carrying numerous CDs. In general, more and more people are enjoying dancing at clubs and numerous commercial exercise videos use some form of music, whether it be house music, or a remix of a popular song set to a techno beat. Television commercials have popularized this genre, with Moby often a huge contributor. Digital technology has helped the music industry progress in ways that have been unimaginable as mixing software has made turn tables a thing of the past. In conclusion, house music took root in 1985 within two large cities in the United States, Chicago and New York. This music has maintained a lasting impact as it broke into subgenres and gained popularity among the masses in the late 80's. With its use in commercials and wide spread availability on the internet, house music is again making a comeback. Those DJs attributed to beginning the house music movement still remain active within the industry and continue to shape the music of today. Works Cited: Bidder, Sean. The Rough Guide to House. Short Gardens, London: Rough Guides Ltd, 1999. Cheeseman, Phil. "History of House." DJ Magazine, 1993. Fikentscher, Kai. You Better Work! Underground Music in New York City. University Press, New England: Wesleyan University Press, 2000. Read More