It’s easy to attribute deep house music to current headliners such as Solomun. Yet, deep house music has much earlier origins.
“Deep house music is a unique genre blending Chicago house, jazz funk, and soul music… What many people don’t realize, is that if you trace back the sound’s origins, you’re probably going to be looking at the early 80’s… Deep house is not a new genre. It has passed the test of time and has been heavily refined to get to the sound we hear today…”, says Johnny Bells, music aficionado and content writer at The Academic Blueprint.
Indeed, the initial birth of the sound has been attributed to Larry Heard’s 1984 track entitled “Mystery of Love”. As you listen to the track, common themes prevalent in today’s music become noticeable. A deep muted bassline. Spacious percussion elements. Soft pads. Advanced chord structures. Repetitive and soulful vocals. Combined together, these elements make for a hypnotic and relaxing experience that entrances the listener.
Today, perceptions of the subgenre have shifted due to mislabelling. For instance, future house tracks with heavy basslines are often incorrectly labelled as deep house.
Mislabelling or not, deep house is here to stay, or at least until the next revolution in electronic dance music. What defines deep house for you?