Deep house

Deep house is a subgenre of house music^[1] that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with 1980s jazz-funk^[2] and touches of soul music.^[3] The lengths of the tracks are usually around 7 and 10 minutes and lie between 120-130 bpm. This style of house music can often have an acoustic feeling.^[4] Beatport is credited in driving the popularity of Deep House,^[5] but also mislabeling a lot of artists in the process^[6] and giving rise to Future House.

Characteristics

	A deep house example (credit: Cihangir - Turn to Dust feat. Miss Bee (Manic Depresion Mix))
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Deep house is known for complex melody, use of unrelated chromatic chords underlying most sequences, and a soul, ambient, or lounge vibe to the vocals (if any). In the early compositions (1988–89), influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads (7ths, 9ths, 13ths, suspensions, alterations) which are held for many bars and give compositions a slightly dissonant feel. The use of vocals became more common in deep house than in many other forms of house music. Sonic qualities include soulful vocals (if vocals are included), slow and concentrated dissonant melodies, and a smooth, stylish, and chic demeanor. Deep house music rarely reaches a climax, but lingers on as a comfortable, relaxing sound. Though many of these traits have still carried through to modern Deep House, the genre has become much "techier" when compared to its roots.^[7]

History

	Mr. Fingers – "Can You Feel It?" (1986) "Can You Feel It?" (1986) by Mr. Fingers (Larry Heard)
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Deep house was largely pioneered by Chicago producers such as Marshall Jefferson (On the House) and Larry Heard (Mr. Fingers)^[2] and with tracks such as "Mystery of Love" (1985) and "Can You Feel It?" (1986);^[8] the latter had a similar impact on deep house as Derrick May's "Strings Of Life" (1987) did on Detroit techno.^[9] The jazzy sound became more common due to the favored use of electric pianos such as the Rhodes and Wurlitzer, and the Hammond organ. Author Richie Unterberger has stated that Heard's deep house sound moved house music away from its posthuman tendencies back towards the lush, soulful sound of early disco music (particularly that of old Philadelphia International and Salsoul records).^[10]

Future house

Future House is an electronic music genre that emerged in the 2010s, described as a fusion between deep house and EDM.^[11] According to French producer Tchami, the label was originally invented by himself in 2013 as a "joke" to describe tracks he had uploaded to Soundcloud, but was later adopted by fans and the media in an earnest sense. Oliver Heldens, who scored international chart successes with 'Gecko (Overdrive)' and 'Last All Night (Koala)', is considered to be another prominent producer and DJ within the genre. Tchami has spoken out about how he believes that Heldens is copying his style. This has led to minor feuds via the Twitter medium.^[11] Future house has been the feature of considerable mainstream interest since 2014.^[12]

Future house is normally characterized by a muted melody with a metallic sounding drop and a slow feel of 120-128 BPM. The first drop will feel 'messy', but the second drop will bring out the future house feel.

Artists, DJs and record labels

Deep house artists, DJs and producers include:

Record labels of the genre include Anjunadeep, Glasgow Underground, Naked Music, Om Records, Peacefrog Records, Soma among a great many others. Examples of deep house albums from artists known from other genres include The Martyr Mantras (1990) and Modernism: A New Decade (1998) from The Style Council.

See also

• List of electronic music genres

References