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Origins of House Music Essay Rough Draft.
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View this Thread in Original format
| dinoXpress |
Long read...
Still lots of work to be done.
“And while one day viciously throwing down on his box, Jack boldly declared, "Let there be House!" And House music was born.”
-Mr. Fingers (Mr. Fingers – Can You Feel It)
House music is probably one of the most rapidly growing genres of contemporary music and has grown exponentially thought the last 20 years. While there is no one person or thing that started this movement, the evolution of house music in Chicago was indirectly caused by the fusion of late disco and 80’s Synth-pop/Electro with creative mixing by certain DJs in Chicago including: Frankie Knuckles, Walter Gibbon, and the producers and remixers out of Chicago. While this genre of music continues to evolve and change, much is owed to its humble beginnings, technology and the pioneers.
Part 1
The end of Disco and the beginning of House
During the 1970s, disco music was king of night clubs and was a growing phenomenon. With sweeping strings, loud melodic divas, and impeccable production, disco anthems reigned supreme yet their decline begun at the end of the 1970s with the emergence of a huge rock movement. As more and more people turned their backs on disco, less money was fueled into the genre and less disco was made every year. While there might not have been the large corporate support that it once had, there was still a large fan base, so while there wasn’t the money to make the huge disco records, an aftertaste of this movement still lingered in the mouths of many across the country.
As anyone would imagine, no music genre just appears out of nowhere and every genre has its roots in another genre, a genre which sets the stage for the next step in music’s evolutionary chain. The genre which set the stage for house music is the now defunct “disco” of the 1970s. Disco did quite a lot for the house music scene and so many characteristics of house music have roots in disco. And while disco may be dead now, it lives everyday through the mark it left in house music. One of the main elements of disco which are now a staple of true house is the trademark 4/4 time beats present in nearly every track.
It was because of this that that house music was born. Hardcore disco fans were finding a way to keep disco music going, and this involved cheap samplers, drum machines, and synthesizers from Japan, cutting up old disco records and re-mixing them. It was easy to do, didn’t cost a lot of money and got the attention of entire cities.
The 4/4 beats had an immense power to keep the dance floor going, and really had a way of keeping the energy up and the dance floor moving – which was the one of disco’s main goals. While the 4/4 beat isn’t the only thing which disco gave to house music, it certainly is the most recognizable, and something which is present in any proper house music song.
As the money had nearly stopped flowing into disco, one might think it would be difficult to re-create the majestic disco sound, which included huge string orchestras, high paid singers and live bands, yet with an influx of technology from Japan, fake orchestras could be commanded a low costs, precise bass-lines and drum loops could be crafted easily with a little practice and independent up and coming singers could be found everywhere in large cities like Chicago, one of the prime talent finding spots being community church choirs, so either a young singer was drafted, or a vocal was sampled off of an old disco record.
When these artists realized they could still make disco music, they did, and while their equipment was somewhat limited, and they didn’t have the corporate support anymore, they still pushed this new genre to great heights, maintaining many aspects of the old disco sound while pushing the envelope and finding influence from some of the newer electro-pop being produced at the time.
While yes, the music was still being made, where was it being played? Back in the mid 1970s, a DJ named Walter Gibbons was one of the first to master the art of technically mixing two records together live, creating smooth transitions between two songs. This set the stage for the so called godfather of house music and one of its legendary DJs, Frankie Knuckles. Now disco records could be played in clubs with out needing a live band to perform them, this made disco music so much more accessible and fueled the growing club scene, allowing any club with 2 turntables to play the latest and greatest disco hits very easily. This made vinyl and records a key part of DJing and Disco music, and later would be a staple of house music.
The end of disco was the beginning of house music in so many ways, and fortunately for fans of disco, they can still hear remixes of disco tunes from the 1970s being played in clubs all over the world and at this point it is clear that if house music keeps growing at this pace, it may one day be as popular as disco music.
Part 2
Chicago
If there was one city which was most responsible for the popularity of house music, it is Chicago. No one city can claim to have a bigger part in the beginning of house music as Chicago did. Chicago is where it all began. Chicago housed the warehouse, a large night-club where house music may have gotten its name; Chicago is the home of Trax, one of the most influential early house music labels; and was home to some of the most influential characters of the early house movement.
The warehouse was more than just a club, it was melting pot of different styles and tunes were mixed together by premier DJ, Frankie Knuckles. The Warehouse was a place where disco, funk and soul records were all mixed together on a level playing field. Many records were remixed live using multiple copies of records and adding reel-to-reel recording into the mix. It was a style of mixing which emphasized dancing and smooth coherent transitions and track selection. This club created an environment in which house could be created and gain support of the public.
One thing that made Chicago a prime birthplace of a new genre was the fact that one of house music’s up and coming artists, Larry Sherman, owned a pressing plant. He was far more inclined to press the records for far less than most places as he was pressing his own stuff as well. Larry eventually ended up pressing the records for free and accepted a commission from the sales, which worked out best for both parties. This pressing plant made way for one of house music’s most influential record labels – Trax.
Trax was founded by the combined efforts of Jesse Saunders and Vince Lawrence. Both of these two men merged their two projects and decided to continue as one. Saunders provided the labels first release while continuing to work for the label, as many trax artists did. This labeled gave artists like them a place to express what was happening musically and fueled the early movement. While the label was slightly disorganized and the funds weren’t always evenly distributed – some artists did not see any money from the songs they produced – there is and always will be a great respect for Trax and all that it did for the blossoming house scene in Chicago.
So while Trax was releasing tunes that would later change house music forever, and the warehouse was playing all sorts of different tunes, house music was slowly taking shape and forming an entirely new genre which would soon be able to stand on its own. Chicagos diverse musical background only helped make sure house music would combine as many styles and mash up as many unique influences as possible, giving it that something else.
Part 3
The People Who made it Happen
House music would not exist without the unique individuals present in the scene early in the movement. Many of these people’s contributions can still be heard in house music today. Many of the producers, DJs and businessmen who appeared very early in the movement are still the most influential people in the genre.
The man who first gave the world a taste of what the house music generation would be like was a man named Walter Gibbons. At the beginning of his rise to fame, he popularized and mastered the techniques of modern day vinyl mixing. This was the man who turned 3 minute radio tracks into massive 11 minute dance floor movers. This man set the stage for nearly all modern DJs, most notably the house DJs of the early 1980s in Chicago. While he disappeared from the scene just as house was beginning to take shape, he re-emerged in 1984 with a hit single entitled called Set it Off, leaving his mark in the rising house scene.
Another influential character was the great Frankie Knuckles. This man is no doubt the godfather of house and deserves credit for a large part of the formation of this genre. When he first moved to Chicago from New York, he started what would go down in history as the most influential club the dance music world had ever seen – The Warehouse. While Frankie’s chief accomplishment was creating the melting pot of music which was the Warehouse, he did far more for the genre than just that. He was a creative DJ and producer and while he denies that he had anything to do with the origins of the word House, there is much evidence to contradict that.
Another group of people which had a substancial influence on house music were the producers and remixers. These groups consisted of people who weren’t scared of making something new and were creative enough to make that new thing sound good and appeal to the masses. Producers such as: Farley Jackmaster Funk, Larry Heard, JM Silk, Steve Hurley and Marshall Jefferson deserve a large amount of credit for the blossoming house scene and were some of the true pioneers of house music.
Part 4
The Songs the Fueled the Movement
TO BE CONITNUED WHEN I FINISH! |
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| Vlad |
| I see anything in there about New York City and the rediculously famous Larry Levan, if you dont know who this is just throw away all your house records. |
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| JakeC |
| The first digital sampler was the fairlight (1979) and was made in australia. ;) |
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| tiesto14 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vlad
I see anything in there about New York City and the rediculously famous Larry Levan, if you dont know who this is just throw away all your house records. |
Agreed...
And i didnt see anything about New York's "Paradise Garage"...that has just as much right to be there as The Warehouse in Chicago....Didnt Frankie Knuckles start spinning House at Paradise Garage BEFORE The Warehouse? |
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| Vlad |
| quote: | Originally posted by tiesto14
Agreed...
And i didnt see anything about New York's "Paradise Garage"...that has just as much right to be there as The Warehouse in Chicago....Didnt Frankie Knuckles start spinning House at Paradise Garage BEFORE The Warehouse? |
I think Knuckles has the residency at Warehouse and Levan had residency at Paradise Garage. |
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| tiesto14 |
Frankie Knuckles tlaking about The Paradise Garage in NYC::
"A club like the Garage as big as it was and influential as it was within the music industry. It played a really big role, I mean, it was no other club in history that had that much of an impact on the music industry. You hear a lot of talk and you've read a lot of different things about Studio 54, but Studio 54 didn't have an impact on the music industry. It had an impact on the entertainment industry, but that's two completely different things. And some times you hear people say that, you know, Studio 54 was a real big influence for Disco in the seventies. I'd say that's not necessarily true, it had a big influence I think on the entertainment industry by large, because of all the celebrities and everyone that used to go there and hang out. And granted it was a big Discotheque but I don't think it had any kind of influence on the music industry. And that's pretty much what the Garage was.
I mean, the Garage were probably the premium place, you know, for anyone in the music industry that was trying to make a name for themselves or even if they already had a name for themselves to introduce themselves to an arena that they might not necessarily been familiar in. All people would, you know, would very rarely see them in a place like the Garage and the Warehouse in Chicago was pretty much the same thing. You know, they were underground clubs, as big as they were, they were underground clubs. And underground clubs for the most parts never really got any recognition at all in those days." |
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| tiesto14 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Vlad
I think Knuckles has the residency at Warehouse and Levan had residency at Paradise Garage. |
yep you're right...but Knuckles did play Garage before moving to Chicago. |
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| smokeape |
I'd argue that House arose from contemporary music with some light rock or even disco influences. I don't see it as a result of disco alone. For example, Burt Bacharach was out there before disco was even born.
Trance, on the other hand, was the progression of disco in my view.
:cool:
[[[smoke]]]
kd Lang - Constant Craving |
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| teegee |
| quote: | Originally posted by smokeape
:cool:
[[[smoke]]]
kd Lang - Constant Craving |
ch00n! |
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| dinoXpress |
se may have eveolved from other influences than disco, if you anazlyze late disco tunes and compare them with the early house tunes, its almost like disco is pop house and house is underground disco.
all the points mentioned in this thread will be taken into consideration. |
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| Aiwendil |
| disco and funk ARE house. house is the music Knuckles played at the wareHOUSE. guess what he played? disco and funk. |
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| dinoXpress |
| quote: | Originally posted by Allied Nations
If there was one city which was most responsible for the popularity of house music, it is Chicago. No one city can claim to have a bigger part in the beginning of house music as Chicago did. Chicago is where it all began. Chicago housed the warehouse, a large night-club where house music may have gotten its name; Chicago is the home of Trax, one of the most influential early house music labels; and was home to some of the most influential characters of the early house movement.
The warehouse was more than just a club, it was melting pot of different styles and tunes were mixed together by premier DJ, Frankie Knuckles. The Warehouse was a place where disco, funk and soul records were all mixed together on a level playing field. Many records were remixed live using multiple copies of records and adding reel-to-reel recording into the mix. It was a style of mixing which emphasized dancing and smooth coherent transitions and track selection. This club created an environment in which house could be created and gain support of the public.
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| quote: | | The Warehouse was a place where disco, funk and soul records were all mixed together |
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