Deep house is a subgenre of

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

with the lush chords of 1980s

jazz-funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat ( groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creat ...

and touches of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of

Larry Heard Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ, record producer, and musician who has recorded under various names, most notably Mr. Fingers. He is widely known as a pioneering figure in 1980s house music, and was leader of the influential gro ...

(aka Mr. Fingers), including his influential track "

Can You Feel It Can You Feel It may refer to: Albums * ''Can You Feel It'' by Angel, 1989 * ''Can You Feel It?'' (EP) by Highlight, 2017 *''Can You Feel It'', a 1972 album by S.O.U.L. *''Can You Feel It'', a 1973 album by Lighthouse Songs * "Can You Feel It" (T ...

Characteristics

Deep house is known for tempos typically from 110 to 125 bpm, muted basslines, spacious use of percussion elements (typically using a

Roland TR-909 The Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1983, succeeding the TR-808. It was the first Roland drum machine to use samples for some sounds, and the first with MIDI functionality, allowing it to syn ...

drum machine), soft keyboard sounds (pads), use of advanced chord structures, ambient mixes, and soulful vocals. Lyrics usually focus on positive/uplifting themes or more melancholic subjects akin to

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

. The use of vocals persisted in deep house as new forms of house music often abandoned them, but as of 2019, this difference has largely disappeared.

History

Deep house was largely pioneered by Chicago producers such as

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

( On the House) and

( Mr. Fingers) and with tracks such as "Mystery of Love" (1985) and " Can You Feel It?" (1986); the latter had a similar impact on deep house to that of Derrick May's "

Strings of Life "Strings of Life" is a 1987 song by American electronic musician Derrick May, in collaboration with Michael James, and released under the name Rhythim Is Rhythim. It is his most well-known song and considered a classic in both the house music a ...

" (1987) on

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

. The jazzy sound became more common due to the favored use of gentler, more organic (yet still synthesizer based) production and instrument sounds. Author Richie Unterberger has stated that Heard's deep house sound moved house music away from its

posthuman Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of ...

tendencies back towards the lush, soulful sound of early

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

music (particularly that of old

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

and

Salsoul Salsoul Records is an American New York City based record label, founded by three brothers, Joseph Cayre, Kenneth Cayre, and Stanley Cayre (the Cayre brothers). Salsoul issued about 300 singles, including many disco/ post-disco 12-inch relea ...

records). "Can You Feel It" became a deep house blueprint; Heard used a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer to create the deep bassline, along with a

drum machine for the beats.The Mr. Fingers ‘Can You Feel It’ Bass Line
''Synthtopia'' DJ

Ron Trent Ronald "Ron" Trent (born May 23, 1973) is an American house music DJ and record producer. Music career After experimenting with beat machines and a small keyboard in 1986, he began recording the track "Altered States" while still in high school ...

stated that the term was initially used to describe the DJ work of

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the ...

and

Ron Hardy Ron Hardy (May 8, 1958 – March 2, 1992) was an American, Chicago, Illinois-based DJ and record producer of early house music. He is well known for playing records at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club. Decades after his death, he is ...

, who departed from a strictly

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

house sound to incorporate eclectic elements like

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, mainstream popular music culture. Underground music is intimately tied to popular music culture as a whole, so there are important tensions within underground ...

. In the 2000s and 2010s, the genre remained very popular. By around Aug 2014, however, the perception of the genre was resulting in a sense that some house music was being labeled deep inappropriately, and the term has since been used to encapsulate various types of bassline-driven house music, later named

Brazilian bass A : Emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines instead of lyrics. It has core electronic "squelch" sounds that were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who exper ...

slap house A : Emphasizes a repetitive, hypnotic and trance-like style, often with samples or spoken lines instead of lyrics. It has core electronic "squelch" sounds that were developed around the mid-1980s, particularly by DJs from Chicago who experi ...

, as the genre evolves from its historical origins.

Artists, DJs and record labels

For a list of deep house producers and disc jockeys, see:

Deep house musicians Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and Utah * Deep Creek (Mahantango Creek tributary), Pennsylvania * Deep Creek (Mojave River tributary), ...

. Record labels of the genre include Alleviated Records (

), AFTR:HRS, Glasgow Underground, Naked Music, Om Records,

Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records is a British independent record label based in London, England. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music, as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González, Nouvelle ...

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

, Source, Anjunadeep and

Spinnin' Deep Spinnin' Deep is a Dutch record label founded in 2009 and specializing in house, deep house, tech house, future house and other EDM genres. It is one of the 40 sub-labels of Spinnin' Records. The label gained success rapidly in 2014, catchi ...

. Examples of deep house albums from artists known from other genres include '' The Martyr Mantras'' (1990) and '' Modernism: A New Decade'' (1989) from

The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...

References

{{House_music-footer 20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres House music genres

Characteristics

History

Artists, DJs and record labels

See also

References