House

House originated in the USA in the 1980s and became one of the most popular electronic dance music genres with lots of different subgenres following. It was named after legendary club »Warehouse« in Chicago where resident dj Frankie Knuckles began mixing 1970s disco, soul and funk – respectively the rhythmic instrumental parts of 12“ vinyl club mixes of these genres – with electronic beats by German band Kraftwerk and EBM (electronic body music) bands from Europe and thus forming the archetype of house music: Chicago house.

Typically, house is based on 8 bar sequences and has a rather moderate tempo around 120 bpm featuring the characteristic »four on the floor« bass drum, snare drum and claps on the »2« and »4« and an open hihat on the offbeat. Like in other electronic dance music genres, the classic Roland TR-808 and especially the TR-909 drum machines are the weapons of choice but house always has no totally machine-like feel to it but rather shows its black music roots with some certain funkiness and shuffle rhythms.