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Who's into house?


Shrdlu

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After decades of listening to jazz, I recently got into the music in the "house" family. This is partly because that's what they play in a lot of clubs. (Been going out dancing, lol.)

By "house family", I mean the 4/4 music at about 145 bpm, including house, electro/house and trance. (There don't seem to be sharp dividing lines between the various genres, and I don't care what category each set is in anyway.) It all consists of 4 and 8 measure segments and is pretty simple theoretically.

A lot of this really grooves and swings, and, of course, it's perfect for dancing. I've always loved creative repetition and bass pedal points. It's been a blast hearing it all. I don't find this kind of repetition boring at all. And it is slowly progressing along all the time. You need to stay with it for long periods to appreciate the progression.

Even though a lot of it is electronic, some of it entirely so, a lot of it has a lot of soul and feel. There are a lot of very imaginative and creative writers and mixers out there. (Mixing, with several different mixes of some tunes, is something you don't get in classic jazz, and it is fascinating to hear what a mixer can do, and how different the various mixes of songs are.)

I'd recommend guys like GarthIvan, Darin Epsilon, Zachary J. Brooks if you want some samples.

Try "Live at the Spybar, Chicago" on

http://www.darinepsilon.com/music.html

Try "Edinburgh" on

http://www.garthivan.com/

Try "Endless Sunset" (very funky, with a real guitar, bass and electric keyboard) on

http://www.xtcradio.com/mixes2.html

There are many other very talented guys doing this.

XTC Radio London, available online (only) with Winamp, has all these guys and plays some great sets. In spite of the station's name, it's run by Zachary Brooks, who lives in Sacramento, CA.

Some of my favorite mixers are England's Seamus Haji (he's The Man!), Paul Emanuel, and Sweden's Eric Prydz, who did a famous remix of Pink Floyd's "Brick on the Wall" song. Eric has a fantastic mix called "Armed" - minimalist electro.

If you have not tried this stuff, you might like it. Hey, it's a change from all the fuss over the various remasterings of Blue Note sessions, lol.

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Shrdulu, I've been off into house for about a year and a half nw, and those are all new names to me!

Some of my favorite producers/players/etc (sometimes it all blends together becuase of the technology, sometimes because the of roles) have become Louie Vega, Masters At Work (Vega teaming w/Kenny Dope), Joe Claussell, DJ Spinna, Kerri Chandler, and a few others I'm not bringing readily to mind because I've not yet had my coffee... But these are all guys who put the emphasis on the musicality of their work, not just the functionality, and I find the results equally satisfying for both the body and the mind. As you note, the is a lot of creativity going on inthis music and although at one lvele, the functional aspect of it leads to one set of "realities", above and beyond that, it's not at all "predictable" in a lot of other ways, and the way that this music defines different levels of time and space simultaneously is not at all simple or cliched, and is actually pretty...profound.

Yes - profound.

HAve you at all checked out the presominately London-based "Broken Beat" scene? This stuff is often explicity coming at dance music from a jazz perspective in terms of harmony and rhythmic sophistication/intensity, although in style it's a lot like the mosre advanced funk/fusion (and don't be put off by the "fusion" word - these guys can take realy complex rhtyhms and make them swing, not at all stiff or ponderous like the worst fusion...) Leading names are Mark de Clive Lowe, Bugz In The Attic, 4Hero, and the solo work of the various members thereof.

Thre's also a lot of good stuff coming out of Japan from Kyoto Jazz Massive, UFO (Untied Future Organization), Mondo Grosso, and, again, the solo work of the various members thereof. Europe is alos well represnted, again with a lot of names I can't remember because I've not yet had my coffee...

And of course, there is Monday Michiru, a woman whose sensibilities & musics are...as Ellington siad, "beyond category".

The "dance underrground" (yeah, it's an genuine MOVEMENT! :g ) has lately been providing the vast majority of my musical stimulation & surprises. In no way can/will it "replace" anything from the past, but it's interesting to me to look at a from of purely functional "social" music gradually becomeing a vehicle for actual musical/creative expression above and beyond its base functionality. Of course, that functonality is nothing to hide from, dancing is one of humankind's most basic and joyous activities doe as long as anybody can tell, and sociteties who don't dance are...problematic, it seems to me. But looking back at how jazz evolved, it's hard for me not to see some parallels... Of course there are differences, but there are definitely similartities.

Definitely

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Shrdulu, I've been off into house for about a year and a half nw, and those are all new names to me!

Some of my favorite producers/players/etc (sometimes it all blends together becuase of the technology, sometimes because the of roles) have become Louie Vega, Masters At Work (Vega teaming w/Kenny Dope), Joe Claussell, DJ Spinna, Kerri Chandler, and a few others I'm not bringing readily to mind because I've not yet had my coffee... But these are all guys who put the emphasis on the musicality of their work, not just the functionality, and I find the results equally satisfying for both the body and the mind. As you note, the is a lot of creativity going on inthis music and although at one lvele, the functional aspect of it leads to one set of "realities", above and beyond that, it's not at all "predictable" in a lot of other ways, and the way that this music defines different levels of time and space simultaneously is not at all simple or cliched, and is actually pretty...profound.

Yes - profound.

HAve you at all checked out the presominately London-based "Broken Beat" scene? This stuff is often explicity coming at dance music from a jazz perspective in terms of harmony and rhythmic sophistication/intensity, although in style it's a lot like the mosre advanced funk/fusion (and don't be put off by the "fusion" word - these guys can take realy complex rhtyhms and make them swing, not at all stiff or ponderous like the worst fusion...) Leading names are Mark de Clive Lowe, Bugz In The Attic, 4Hero, and the solo work of the various members thereof.

Thre's also a lot of good stuff coming out of Japan from Kyoto Jazz Massive, UFO (Untied Future Organization), Mondo Grosso, and, again, the solo work of the various members thereof. Europe is alos well represnted, again with a lot of names I can't remember because I've not yet had my coffee...

And of course, there is Monday Michiru, a woman whose sensibilities & musics are...as Ellington siad, "beyond category".

The "dance underrground" (yeah, it's an genuine MOVEMENT! :g ) has lately been providing the vast majority of my musical stimulation & surprises. In no way can/will it "replace" anything from the past, but it's interesting to me to look at a from of purely functional "social" music gradually becomeing a vehicle for actual musical/creative expression above and beyond its base functionality. Of course, that functonality is nothing to hide from, dancing is one of humankind's most basic and joyous activities doe as long as anybody can tell, and sociteties who don't dance are...problematic, it seems to me. But looking back at how jazz evolved, it's hard for me not to see some parallels... Of course there are differences, but there are definitely similartities.

Definitely

That is deep, Jim. :cool:

I will concede the creativity by the dudes mixing it up but that's about where it stops. It all sounds like shit to me and I don't see much in the dancing either. Unlike Shrdlu, I think it lacks heart and soul. Of course this could just be me. Maybe I don't have the mind to grasp what is going on but, I can't imagine Soul Train's finest getting to excited about these beats.

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Thanks, Jim. I haven't heard those people you mention. Must check them out.

The better examples of this kind of music don't lack heart and soul at all. Many of the creators and mixers are very sincere about it. Read what GarthIvan has to say on his page, and his travel blogs (link provided on his page), for example. I don't like blatant pop a great deal, but with all my music experience, I would not listen to this type of music if it was just junk. There's some good stuff going on. I am cursed with a good memory for music, and bad music bores me quickly - hate going into most supermarkets for that reason, lol.

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For my house fix, I subscribe to four podcasts, all available in iTunes.

Plug this address into your podcast subscription for two 30 minute shows that come out of France a couple of times each month: http://www.freedomrecord.info/podcast_rss/feed.xml . This is superb stuff, deep and soulful, and sure to get things moving.

The second is one that I have plugged many times here because this DJ plays all kinds of things, from Japanese 'Club Jazz', house, broken beat, soul jazz and classic jazz. [He seamlessly mixed a cut from Roy Haynes' Cracklin' album into a set. Michael Rutten has been at it for some time, and this two-hour show is consistently rewarding. Soul Searching Radio Show.

The other two are from The Netherlands. One is by DJ Tiesto titled Club Life and the other is by Dennis Ruyer titled Dance Department. Search in iTunes for them. You will get new episodes every couple of weeks.

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I can't imagine Soul Train's finest getting to excited about these beats.

Maybe not (or maybe so!), but I bet their kids do. (just as I didn't see Glen Miller fans getting all excited about James Brown....)

Something to keep in mind, though, is that the type of House that I listen to (and I imagine Shrdlu as well) is not going to be heard on the radio, on MTV, on TV in general, or even "mainstream" clubs. This stuff is very specific to its own crowd, and unlike the ubiquitously booming bass beats of hip-hop, you're not likely to find it unless you go looking for it.

Plus, so much of what is on the market as "dance music" is roboticized, synthetic, Pavlovian garbage. That kind of stuff you will hear without looking for it, and for years I thought that this type of "dance music" and "house music" were the same thing. And maybe at one point they were, I don't know. All I know is that over the last 7-10 years or so there's apparently been something going on away and apart from that type crap, becasue you talk to devotees of "Deep House" and you'll find out that they have no use for it either, and for precisely the same reasons I don't.

You'll also find that the many of the people who are into the underground stuff value things like soulful vocals (of which there are many), live playing (of which there is more than you might think, Vega/MAW use a bassist name Gene Perez who is a freakin' GROOVE MONSTER), jazz harmony (comes out the wazoo in the best stuff), improvisation (not a lot of it, but again, more than you might expect, and on Vega's stuff in particular, it's frequently done by Names You Know), and above all, the "spiritual" aspects of the rhythms and the dancing.

It's that last aspect that I've been picking up on more than any of the others myself. Not for nothing have I valued a good "groove" in my music over the years (and that includes music where the beat is implicit rather than explicit. Roscoe Mitchell, for instance, grooves like a MF if you know where he puts it). But shoot, Pops, Basie, Trane, all them cats touch something beyond just "toe taapping" with their rhytmic impeti. They move the soul as well as the feet. So making a spiritual connection with rhythm is not something I shy away fro, Hell, life moves in rhythm, the most fundamental particles of creation vibrate in rhythm. So...yeah, I don't at all think it silly or anything else derogatory to look at dancing and rhythm as having a spiritual component. Far from it.

And as I've said before, I think that too much of today's jazz is being made by too many people for whom "dance" represents only the lowest common denominator acting out of substance-induced hormonal suicide. Either that, or people who are so uncomfortable with their own physicality/sensuality/spirituality that "dancing" represents some Calvinistic Violation Of The Will Of The All-Punishing God, and you know I ain't got time for that!

I guess all I'm saying is that there is some quality stuff going on, musically and "spiritually" (I use quotes, becasue that's going to mean so many different things to so many different people, yet a common thread will probably run through all of them) in some areas of some recent dance music, that it's not something you're going to find unless you look in some pretty specific places, and no, it's not for everybody. Nothing is.

But unless and until one has heard some specific examples of this music, then one runs the risk of thinking that they have an opinon of something which they may well in fact have never heard. I can tell you in total honesty that that would have been me less than two years ago. To say that I was blindsided but all the...substance I found is putting it mildly.

I can also tell you that the electronic storytelling-through-rhythm-and-color of OTC-through-Pangea Miles is directly relevant to much of this music, in intent if not always in style, so if that stuff don't work for you at all, then hey, probably best to not bother.

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For my house fix, I subscribe to four podcasts, all available in iTunes.

Plug this address into your podcast subscription for two 30 minute shows that come out of France a couple of times each month: http://www.freedomrecord.info/podcast_rss/feed.xml . This is superb stuff, deep and soulful, and sure to get things moving.

The second is one that I have plugged many times here because this DJ plays all kinds of things, from Japanese 'Club Jazz', house, broken beat, soul jazz and classic jazz. [He seamlessly mixed a cut from Roy Haynes' Cracklin' album into a set. Michael Rutten has been at it for some time, and this two-hour show is consistently rewarding. Soul Searching Radio Show.

The other two are from The Netherlands. One is by DJ Tiesto titled Club Life and the other is by Dennis Ruyer titled Dance Department. Search in iTunes for them. You will get new episodes every couple of weeks.

Thanks for this info!

I also turn to podcasts, some of more consistency than others.

http://www.radiogotsoul.com/archives/index.php is a treasure trove, although soem DJs mixes are more consistently to my liking than others.

http://www.digital-djs.com/podcast/SolidGround/ I really like most of this guy's programming, but his commentary over the music gets out of hand sometimes. It is, howver, a good way to hear a lot of the more overtly jazz-influenced dance music being made today. Most of the Hardcore Old Schoolers here will probably be repulsed, but that's cool.

And THIS chick: http://www.digital-djs.com/podcast/iMix/default.asp?id=10455 , hey. if more men had more women with this much musical savvy by thier sides as life/career partners, the world would be be an exponentially better place almost, like...immediately! :g

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I dig House, though people keep telling me its not as good as it was at the beginning.

:g

For those more interested in the TV show than the "music", here's a great site that tells you if they got the medicine right for each show:

http://www.politedissent.com/house_pd.html

Thanks for the link, Dan. I often wonder on the accuracy of the shows' medical prognosis and treatments.

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Oh Shrdlu, I almost forgot, there is a distinct subgenre of House - Gospel House - that combines old-school sanctified vocals and lyrics with house beats and productions. Kenny Bobien, Stephanie Cooke, Ann Nesby, Jasper Street Co., these are some of the dominant names in this area of the music, but there's actually a fair amount going on

http://www.basementboys.com/main.htm

http://www.creativesoulsartists.com/index.htm

http://www.annnesby.com/

Thought you might like to know.

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I can't imagine Soul Train's finest getting to excited about these beats.

Maybe not (or maybe so!), but I bet their kids do. (just as I didn't see Glen Miller fans getting all excited about James Brown....)

Something to keep in mind, though, is that the type of House that I listen to (and I imagine Shrdlu as well) is not going to be heard on the radio, on MTV, on TV in general, or even "mainstream" clubs. This stuff is very specific to its own crowd, and unlike the ubiquitously booming bass beats of hip-hop, you're not likely to find it unless you go looking for it.

Oh believe me, I found it and not willingly. ;)

I realize this is not the MTV stuff, but that doesn't matter, I still don't get it no matter what they want to call it today.

Just to be on the safe side of my opinion, I'll sample a few of your suggestions and see if we're talking about the same shit.

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Just to be on the safe side of my opinion, I'll sample a few of your suggestions and see if we're talking about the same shit.

Fair enough.

I don't think you're going to like any of the purer forms of house, you don't strike me as that type of guy (no insult intended, jsut that old-schoolers like you got your own thing and it works for you, and that's as it should be). But you might find some of the "jazzier" forms something that, if you don't exactly like them, at least something that you'll be "glad to know about", if for no other reason than to reassure you that the field of contemporary club/dance music is not a total wasteland...

Allow me to suggest:

nuyoricanso_nuyorican_102b.jpg

(the 2CD "expanded edition" is actually the better musical experience)

markdeclive_melodiusb_101b.jpg

koop~~~~~~~_waltzfork_101b.jpg

Goofy-ass cover, but solid music

rawartistic_yougotrhy_101b.jpg

Just downloaded this podcast and am really enjoying it so far: http://broadcast.underground-fusion.com:80...%20classics.mp3

Lots of other stuff to recommend, but the nature of the market is that things are pressed in samll quantity, are often import, and go OOP really quickly. If by any chance you dig these enough to go further, gimme a shout and something can be done.

One thing though, if you got a...."philosophical issue" with things like drum machines, sampling, etc. above and beyond to what uses they are or are not put to, as well as with musical energy explicity and unambiguously devoted the stirring of the body, then it's probably best to just....stay away. :g

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Also interesting to me is that in Chicago, one of the "birthplaces" of House and always a healthy residence for musics that lay in the cut between "dance" and "jazz", Kalil El Zabar has been doing some house/jazz mixtures ("fusion" is both a loaded and not wholly accurate word), Nicole Mitchell did some sort of Masters thesis on the music, and Pevin Everett, a jazz trumpeter of some expertise, has developed a little cottage industry (is there such a thing as a large cottage industry?) making quirky self=produced house music, including hand-drawn painted covers.

So the notion that some "jazz people" could be attracted to some of this music on its own terms is not at all an unreasonable one.

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One thing though, if you got a...."philosophical issue" with things like drum machines, sampling, etc. above and beyond to what uses they are or are not put to, as well as with musical energy explicity and unambiguously devoted the stirring of the body, then it's probably best to just....stay away. :g

I'm still brave enough to try another listen, but it's the drum machines and visions of all those clowns bouncing around the dance floor that makes it all bad for me. That constant beat, doom doom doom doom doom doom.... :crazy:

I feel the same way about all this bullshit the skater kids/emo rockers or whatever you call them, listen to.

You know what I mean?

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