Hottrax is a well-established record label run by Jamie Jones and itâs the imprint that first introduced Patrick Topping to the world. The record label is a stripped-back and techy sibling to Hot Creations, which is Jamie Jones’ other label project. Now, the latest Hottrax release comes from the Italian artist Lorenzo De Blanck.
Camp Bestival in Dorset has broken the Guinness World Record for the largest disco dance with nearly 600 festival-goers taking part. Read more
For decades, all forms of dance music have gone through changes in sound, culture, and purpose. However, there is one inalienable truth at almost any party: Someone will yell out “ooh ooh!” Is it “woot woot” or “oowt oowt”? However you want to phonetically spell it, you know you’ve heard it. Perhaps you’ve even done it yourself. Don’t worry, embarrassed or not, like wearing a fedora, everyone at some point in their life has done it. While you might have left that party chant behind, it still happens to this day at the club and even at outdoor functions. There’s no escaping it. What’s your take on it? Do you get annoyed or join in? Where did this party chant come from and when did it become a “thing”?
New York is synonymous with a fast-paced rhythm of life, but Danny Tenagliaâs voice is anything but hurried. His thick New York accent seems to slow down time and makes you feel at ease. Humble in tone and demeanor, perhaps it’s all the dancing he’s done over the last 46 years of playing in front of crowds around the world that keeps him young. Danny Tenaglia sure does have plenty of rhythm and at 60 he admits he feels fresh as a daisy, well perhaps not in those words but you get the gist. “I feel like Iâm a 30-year-old guy again thatâs ready for the next gig,” says Tenaglia comments about his new home in New Jersey trading high rises for three acres of land. Tenaglia admits to âexperiencing things here Iâve never experienced before: groundhogs, coyotes, rattlesnakes, garden snakes. Iâm like âIâm never leaving the house,â he says with a laugh. Danny Tenaglia is embracing his newfound rhythm. He looks back on how paying dues has been an important part of his journey and how he’s been able to keep up with the demands of a touring lifestyle.
The legendary house queen Screaminâ Rachael has her supercut “U Used To Hold Me” remixed to perfection by many house pioneers on this new release from TRAX Records. The Chicago house legend Joe Smooth goes first with a timeless vocal version that layers up the piano chords and slinky beats to create a funky disco-inspired turn on the track. Read more
BIG Speaker Music label boss Joe Ventura joins the 6AM Guest Mix with a two-hour mix from Florida, USA.
“In the beginning, there was Jack,” say that to any house head, and they’ll know how to finish the sentence. House music is loved by countless music fans, yet while many take time to go crate-digging for musical gems the history of house music gets lost in the noise. The history of house music started in Chicago during the late 1970s when disco lost its shine and glitter.
House music’s roots run deep in Chicago’s Southside, the city that birthed the genre. Disco’s reign, albeit a short one from 1973 to 1979, came to an abrupt “end” during an MLB game on July 12, 1979. You might be scratching your head, “What do baseball and music have anything to do with each other?” Not much actually, it just so happens that not everyone was happy with the popular dance genre topping charts, particularly some in the music industry. Looking for a way to boost attendance at White Sox games, promotions will always look toward what’s trending to jump on a bandwagon in an effort to attract consumers. Back then, it was the rising disdain toward disco breaking into the mainstream and onto radio formats.
Radio heavily impacted society and its culture, and its formatting influenced music. Radio had listeners and advertisers needed those ears. Knowing that the White Sox were hurting with empty seats, the rock station WLUP âThe Loopâ approached them with an offer they couldn’t refuse. Comiskey Park (now known as Guaranteed Rate Field), home to the Chicago White Sox, and WLUP hosted a promo night where attendees gained admission to the game for 98 cents if they brought a disco vinyl. Unknown to event organizers then of what would transpire during the double-header, that night is now remembered as the Disco Demolition Night.
As the saying goes, build it they will come. Recognized as one of the most successful MLB promotions to date, Comiskey Park not only had butts in seats (figuratively) but surpassed the venue’s capacity of 45,000. Approximately 70,000 people showed up that night but the majority weren’t there for some peanuts and cracker jacks. The ballpark food and snacks weren’t the only things salty either. WLUP’s disc jockey Steve Dahl had a chip on his shoulder after he was let go from a previous radio gig as the station was switching format from rock to disco. He was also the brainchild behind the game’s promotion. In leading up to the night, Dahl had been fueling the public and promoting anti-disco events.
As the first game of the night ended, Dahl and Garry Meier, blew up a large box of the collected records before the second game. They led the crowd in chants of âDisco sucks!â turning a wholesome family event into a riot. Disco was forced to exit due to people’s backlash, but it found a new home in the underground.
You said you loved my high-hats
Then stripped me out my vinyl
So you could put me on CD
When all you wanted
Was to download meRemember me?
Disco“Remember Me” by Risk Assessment ft. Jemeni G (via Milk & Sugar)
By no means did house music dethrone disco more like it was a phoenix rising from the ashes. Entering a fresh decade, and with the advent of technology also introducing new musical elements that created sounds. Drum machines, samplers and synths drive the sound of house music along with hi-hats, snare drums and deep, rich vocals.
Disco had reigned in discotheques, nightclubs and private loft parties riddled with drugs and alcohol. However, these clubs were built around exclusivity aimed at a wealthy-class (white suburban living folks). House music was the opposite. House music was (and is) inclusive. It welcomed marginalized communities that didn’t “belong” at the chic, trendy clubs. Young, old, gay, straight, black, Latino–identities didn’t matter because house music wasn’t about segregation. Where did these minority members escape to? The Music Box, The Glass House and 178 were some of the places where minority communities found solace and belonging. There was also The Warehouse, and many attribute the origin of “house” music as a shortened version of the venue’s name. Void of glitz and glam and free of alcohol, people were there for just one thing: the music.
Every game has its major players who are respected and admired not only by industry peers but also those who make up its culture. They are the key players in industries who lay the groundwork for future generations to build upon; sports, music, food, business, fashion, art, etc. Frankie Knuckles, known as The Godfather of House, was born in New York, but he was a pioneer of the house movement in Chicago. Larry Heard, Marshall Jefferson, Farley âJackmasterâ Funk and Steve âSilkâ Hurley are all house music legends who took inspiration from sounds across the pond. Synthesizing European styles with disco’s remains they laid a strong foundation for house music.
Another house music originator Jesse Saunders, who also forms part of the Chicago-based DJ collective The Chosen Few DJs, was a driving force behind the house music movement. His track with Farley “Jackmaster” Funk “Love Can’t Turn Around” was the first U.S. dance record that topped the U.K. charts. He also recently came out with his second book called In Their Own Words that captures stories from those who lived and breathed the house music culture from its birth. You also can’t talk about the history of house music without mentioning Chicago natives Cajmere (aka Green Velvet) born Curtis Alan Jones and Derrick Carter.
While Cajmere/Green Velvet is associated with tech house, a newer house music subgenre, he’s given the house music community timeless house tracks. They continue to be played, remixed, reworked, re-edited in many modern DJ sets. Carter’s exposure to the first wave of house music (the late 1980s – early 1990s) was from working at Importes, Etc, the first house music record store. He then had a prominent role in influencing house music’s second wave in the mid-90s both as a DJ and producer.
Women also played an important role in house music, and female vocals dominated both waves of house music. Crytal Waters‘ “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” and“100% Pure Love” remain classics to this day. Robin S‘ “Show Me Love” landed on both dance and R&B charts showing music’s power to transcend labels. It has received several musical accolades, and today is still widely sampled throughout various genres.
Remember radio? Well, everything comes back around. Just as it had incited people to turn their back on disco, this time it was increasing exposure to house music. Chicago radio stations WGCI and WBMX played a major role in spreading house music beyond the underground, secret clubs where it was played. Prominent labels also had their hand at popularizing house music including Trax Records, DJ International and Dance Mania.
The history of house music has strong roots in Chicago. After more than 30 years, the genre continues to bring together people from all identities and places of the world. It has evolved yet kept its integrity standing the test of time. House music is the base sauce in electronic music influencing many modern artists and their work. Steve Lawler packs a deep bassline on his remix of Groove Armada’s “(Time to) Put Up” that combines classic house music elements with an acid house drip. Weiss‘ hook and melodies in “Feel My Needs” released in 2018 bares resemblance to the 1986 record “Love Can’t Turn Around.” Several artists including French artists Tchami and Malaa as well as Tube & Berger have sampled singer, songwriter and producer Ron Carroll’s “The Sermon.”
We used to want to hear that sh*t Frankie plays
At the Warehouse, we call it House Music“That Shit Frankie Plays” by Jethro Heston
Chicago has ushered in a new wave of artists that honor its legacy. The Black Madonna, Mark Farina and Honey Dijon may not live in Chicago anymore but their craft still pays homage to the genre. Looking at other Chicago hometown heroes, Michael Serafini, Eris Drew and Kid Enigma all keep the house music flame alive.
House music isn’t only for the indoors or odd hours of the night either. The annual neighborhood outdoor West Fest gives Chicago residents and visitors a weekend full of house music, food and good times. During the summer you can also break away from the workday for a lunchtime house party at the Daley Plaza. The Chosen Few DJs organize their summertime “old school picnic” known as the âThe Chosen Few Picnic & House Music Festival. However, if out and about on a weekend night the underground independent music venue SmartBar is always a sure bet. Even on Sundays when Serafini hosts the weekly industry night QUEEN!
Now that you have a music history lesson under your belt, take a listen to some of the most iconic house music records.
Are you a history buff and want more? Check out these music-focused documentaries that highlight the underground scene everything from raves and clubs to the origins of house and techno.
On their stunning new album Made Me Feel, Fabrikate take a trip back to the glory days of disco, a time when love was the answer, inclusion was the only message worth spreading and everyone was invited.
Itâs arguably been far too long a time a cominâ, but there can be no doubt right now that the disco revival is very much in full swing right now, and Birdee is an integral part of that
The highly influential genre has experienced its fair share of highs and lows, and although it helped give rise to what we now define as âhouseâ music, itâs been put on the backburner for some time now. In recent years however, itâs storming resurgence can be attributable to the likes of Defectedâs Glitterbox parties, which have proved to be some of Ibizaâs best loved parties over the past few years. And besides⊠isnât disco just bloody great?!
One man who definitely epitomises this shift is Birdee aka Marcello De Angelis, an LA-based Italian producer making great waves recently thanks to a string of brilliant releases and killer collabs. Indeed, his latest releases see him side up alongside some seriously respected players, not least Strictly legend Barbara Tucker.
A man whoâs been doing his thing for years but is now rightly gaining prominence, we checked in with Birdee recently to find out whatâs happening in his worldâŠ
In this day and age, we all want to be classified as unique: we all want to sound like nothing and nobody else, something that nobody has ever heard before. Unfortunately, that is proving to be increasingly more difficult. While we can easily place our music into a specific category, with Beatport recently releasing the Afro House and the Melodic and Leftfield House & Techno categories, there now exist more genres of electronic music than ever before.
Many may argue that music is music and shouldnât be categorized or defined into one genre but then the same argument poses true to all electronic music being classified as EDM. Although EDM may stand for Electronic Dance Music, we all know that the acronym EDM no longer defines all Electronic Dance Music. If one was to walk into a record store and ask for EDM and then the clerk handed them an Acid House record, they would most likely not be satisfied with that selection.
