House Music
The origins of House music trace back to the 1980's, following a trail that reaches the Atlantic ocean, the Mediterranean dance floors of Ibiza, finds it's way into the backdoors of New York's recording studios, and includes V.I.P. passes to the clubs of Chicago and London. House is now considered by many the form of modern dance music. House music's earliest roots are found in the musical hotspots of Chicago around 1985. One particular New York DJ, Frankie Knuckles, had a regular show at a club called The Warehouse. Knuckles would play with soul and disco tunes by using a drum machine-generating a 4/4 beat on top of them (jahsonic.com). The clubbers loved this new sound and "house" music, named for the club, was born. More DJs took to the tables and the studios, and soon there was an abundance of new house tracks penetrating both the clubs and airwaves of Chicago. The new sound found its way to the East Coast, where DJs in Philadelphia and New York spun their own interpretations of classic dance tunes with a house beat on top. However, the biggest fans of the Chicago sound were not in the U.S. at all (Interview Brandon Klitz: 2002).Simultaneously, pirate radio in Britain took to the Chicago sounds. Inciden
By 1989, the acid house scene had transformed into the rave scene. U.K. promoters would hold events in the countryside outside of London to contain the thousands of people now attending, while extending the hours throughout the night. The allure of big money and a semi-captive audience hindered the music's spirit a bit, but the energy of the raves catered to its growing audience (Reynolds 1999: 84-87). In 1989 a few of house's original players finally received their dues. The man who started it all, Frankie Knuckles, teamed with fellow Chicago veteran Robert Owens on "Tears," one of the most influential house tracks. While it did not chart well, the power of the track landed Knuckles work with powerhouses Diana Ross and both Michael and Janet Jackson. Knuckles would also go on to be the first winner of the Remix of the Year Grammy in 1997 (fortunecity.com). Acid music, as it came to be known, was a hybrid of house with its roots on both sides of the Atlantic, and would define a new generation of dance music. "Acid House parties" sprang up across the U.K., scaring parents senseless with its double-entendre. Of course, the drug inferences and the trademark t-shirt symbol, a smiley face with a bullet hole in the forehead, increased acid music's popularity with the kids, and the music world took note. Mainstream pop artists began exhibiting acid influence in their records, and more crossovers from the underground appeared on the charts (Interview Brandon Klitz: 2002). Another popular drug connected with the dance scene is ecstasy. This drug is widely used at many raves where house, techno, jungle, trance, and a variety of other forms of music are played. The drug makes the music "sound cleaner and more engulfing" to the user and they can not get enough of it (Reynolds 1999: 84). tally, at the time pirate stations were the only ones playing black music of any kind in the U.K. Before long, house was the new soundtrack of the underground
Some common words found in the essay are:
Remix Grammy, Musical Freedom, Brandon Klitz, Acid House, Warehouse Knuckles, DJ Sammy, Acid Trax, Ten City, Pump Volume, Britain Chicago, house music, dance music, mainstream pop artists, reynolds 1999, acid trax, chicago sound, house tracks, music house, deep house, mainstream pop, brandon klitz 2002, interview brandon klitz, pop artists,
Approximate Word count = 1322
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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