A unique form,…, a unique form,… of music.
I’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog that my main musical taste is in DJ mixed House music. What is House music? Of course you could go to the Wikipedia entry for House and get a nice encyclopedia style history.
But you wouldn’t get the feeling.
Hat tip though to Unclouded By Ambition for posting about a trailer for an upcoming Untitled Documentary about House Music. If the documentary is true to the trailer, than it looks like this will be heavy on oral recountings from working DJs. This will be a nice update on Chip E’s The UnUsual Suspects: Once Upon a Time in House Music. The UnUsual Suspects was solid but somewhat parochial in that it focused on Chicago and New York and on a short period right at the birth of House. Very useful for understanding a handful of pioneers, especially Larry Levan, but a little uneven. Hopefully this new documentary will cover the global spread of the form, and also have a little higher production values.
I’d buy that for a dollar.
No scratch that.
Oh Please, Oh Please, Oh Please, Let This Movie Be Released and Let It Be Good!!!
Besides I like anything with Mark Farina.
And what is House music? In the trailer, I think Julius Papp, Kerri Chandler, and Derrick Carter (about 1:00 minute in) get the closest to a definitive answer. House grew out of underground, DIY aspirations and inspiration from Disco (the good kind, and yes there was a good kind). But being primarily progression based and dance oriented, the basic elements were easily mutated and recombined with other musical styles. So the core is four on the floor dance rhythms, roughly of a certain BPM. After that all bets are off. All that matters is whether the rhythm moves you or not.