House music: Chicago's gift to the world
Four-on-the-floor beats and bass so deep it can start an earthquake. Can you feel it?
From the warehouses of Chicago in the eighties to the main stages of many of today's biggest electronic music festivals, the beat of house music has run throughout club culture. Since those early days, house has evolved to become one of dance music's most popular sounds.
During the 1970s, nightlife was powered by disco tracks by artists like Donna Summer and Gloria Gaynor until the genre's popularity dramatically dipped towards the end of the decade.
This kickback came from a commodification of the sound and oversaturation, in part driven by John Travolta's hit movie, Saturday Night Fever. Although the film took the disco sound into the mainstream, its ubiquity also led to underlying prejudices against those minority communities originally behind disco flaring up. The fallout culminated with the infamous Disco Demolition Night in 1979 where DJ Steve Dahl incited the destruction of disco records.
As ugly as the scenes of vinyl being torched at Chicago's Comiskey Park were, it was from these ashes that house music emerged and became, as electronic music pioneer Frankie Knuckles once famously said, "disco's revenge".
How house music evolved
House music started picking up the beat dropped by disco thanks to producers turning to early synthesizers and drum machines. Now iconic pieces of kit like the Roland TR-808 and 909 were vital in music-makers coming up with their own rudimentary productions.
House music takes its name from The Warehouse, a legendary Chicago nightclub where resident DJ Frankie Knuckles (arguably the godfather of house music) blended disco and soul with the European synthpop of Depeche Mode, Giorgio Moroder and Soft Cell.
There were numerous other DJs and producers helping fly the flag for this fledgling genre, too. At New York's Paradise Garage, Larry Levan pioneered a more soulful, gospel-tinged take on house, blending sensual sounds with electronic disco grooves.
Other luminaries included producer Marshall Jefferson who was behind the influential "Move Your Body" on Trax Records and Ron Hardy, a Chicago DJ and resident at influential club, The Music Box.
House music's global spread
Not unlike when Chicago-based musicians gave the blues its' edge, the sound of house left Chicago during the 1980s, reaching different American cities before heading to the United Kingdom, then Ibiza. Although UK rave and acid house was already being played in British clubs from the mid-80s, a much mythologized trip to the White Island from DJs including Paul Oakenfold and Nicky Holloway in 1987 saw a new Balearic sound land on British dancefloors.
This led to the Second Summer of Love where illegal warehouse raves and outdoor parties exploded, resulting in the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act. From this point, house music needed to look more presentable and professional to find a home in nightclubs.
Fast forward to today and nightlife and electronic music is a legitimate and hugely successful global business with lively scenes influential well beyond Chicago, including Berlin, Tokyo and Vancouver. According to the 2026 IMS Business Report, the world's electronic music industry hit a record valuation of US$15.1 billion.
House music genres and trends
As production technology advanced, house splintered into numerous subgenres including the squelching acid house sound and more uplifting soulful deep house grooves.
Tech house is another popular iteration, featuring percussive and stripped-back elements. UK garage fused house rhythms with dancehall, bass and R&B grooves. The French touch found the right balance between deep house and disco.
As the genre evolved, house music has found itself the star of huge events including Tomorrowland and Coachella while many mainstream artists â including Madonna and BeyoncĂ© on her Renaissance album â have used the musical architecture of house to crossover into pop and create their own commercial hits.
With internet connections crossing borders and bringing global scenes closer together, a broad array of sounds has become easily accessible with DJs and producers incorporating them into their production aesthetic. As scenes increasingly splinter and boundaries blur, amapiano, UK funky, grime and even trance have all come into vogue, bringing new sonic shapes to dancefloors across the world.
What does house music sound like?
The classic house sound is one full of pulsing energy, driven by a kick drum that lands on every single beat in a bar. The majority of artists use drum machines to capture this in their music rather than relying on live musicians (although there are some exceptions). House tracks often feature a bassline and chord progressions created on synths. Contemporary house music artists often program all of this on a computer while keeping the tempo upbeat and the mood uplifting â this is music aimed at making you dance, after all.
Different artists and subgenres have broadened the sound and appeal of house. Techno took the more soulful aspects and transported it into the future with productions from pioneers like the Belleville Three reflecting the dystopian landscape of their Detroit home. Music from producers like Juan Atkins or Kevin Saunderson's Inner City had a sharper, more metallic sound compared with their house music peers. If you've been to an electronic music festival recently, then EDM (electronic dance music) was probably inescapable. Initially born out of the dubstep music brokered by producers like Skrillex, it has grown to be an all-encompassing aesthetic with Diplo, Fred again.. and Four Tet all pushing their own eclectic takes.
House music subgenres
House music over the last decade has continued to exist in a state of flux, moving between the all-conquering EDM to underground bass and beyond.
The period has been defined by subgenres alongside viral social media crossovers and an explosion of global influences. Appetites for genre can often be cyclical due to the way house music lovers now have access to so much music, but some of the most popular genres are below.
Tech house
Tech house has been one of the most dominant forces in clubs during recent years. The sound features rolling basslines, crisp percussion and electronic hooks with producers including Dom Dolla and Fisher spearheading a revival in a genre that initially emerged during the late 90s.
The beginnings of the sound traces back to parties in London where pioneering selectors such as Evil Eddie Richards and Mr C (once of The Shamen) played records mixing house grooves with a darker, more electronic edge. Richards' legendary Wiggle parties alongside Terry Francis and Nathan Coles brought the sound to London club Fabric. In the US, it was down to DJs like Derrick Carter, then Claude Von Strokeâs Dirtybird label to help platform these chunky beats and make them a mainstay at clubs and festivals. Today, tech house is everywhere with major players including Michael Bibi, Patrick Topping and Jamie Jones championing the sound.
Deep and melodic house
If you're looking for lusher, more atmospheric moments in the club, then deep house is for you. Here, pads and synths are beautifully combined to create more melodic and euphoric moments with producers like Pépé Bradock, Kerri Chandler and Dusky some of its most prominent creators.
The deep house sound is thought to have first originated from Larry Heard, a Chicago native who had a defining influence on house music by melding futuristic beats with the emotion of disco. His classic moment was in 1986 with "Can You Feel It?", released under the name of Mr Fingers and made on rudimentary equipment: a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer and a Roland TR-909 drum machine.
More recent examples of a genre that marries musicality with the dancefloor can be heard in Tensnake's "Coma Cat" and Morgan Geist's Storm Queen alias and his killer pop moment, "Look Right Through".
Afro house and amapiano
Originating in South Africa, amapiano has been one of the most dynamic new genres to enter nightclubs and festivals, taking off around the world.
Championed by artists like Keinemusik or Black Coffee, its blend of warm bass with organic instrumentation has proved to be a global hit. The latter's "Superman" has a deep bass line running through it with a soulful vocal from collaborator Bucie, making this one of the foundational tracks of Afro house.
Kabza De Small is often known as the king of amapiano and is a proponent of private school piano, a subgenre where jazzy chords and melodies come together for a slightly less rough-hewn sound.
Featured house music playlists
At Soundtrack, house music lovers and those new to the genre can enjoy a huge range of playlists showcasing certain sounds, moods and subgenres.
House Spirit
Enjoy uplifting tracks, bursting with energy and soulful vocals to get you on the dancefloor. Listen to productions from Kerri Chandler, Chez Damier, Peggy Gou, Kings of Tomorrow, the Lisa Marie Experience, Roger Sanchez, Sebb Junior, Todd Terry and many more.
Lo-Fi House Heaven
Contemporary house music but with an old school vibe where you can feel the club's energy. For fans of Black Loops, Chaos in the CBD, Gold Panda, Felipe Gordon, Pete Herbert, HNNY, Pacific Coliseum, Young Marco and more.
Jazzy House
Jazz melodies intertwine with house rhythms to create music suitable for listening as much at home as on the dancefloor. Artists like Raffaele Ciavolino, Dublon, Folamour, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Jo Paciello, St Germain, Tour Maubourg and Walter G are skilled at offering a slightly more sophisticated take on house.
Dancefloor Classics
Many of us want to lose ourselves in some of the most anthemic house music classics. These tracks are designed to ramp up the energy of any party. Includes music by ATB, Avicii, David Guetta, Armand van Helden, CeCe Peniston, Eric Prydz, Stardust and Technotronic.
Disco House Euphoria
The glittery disco of the seventies may have gone into decline during the seventies but the sound lives on, partly due to a resurgence from pioneers like Nile Rodgers to Daft Punk's love for the genre. Includes music by Adelphi Music Factory, Coeo, Crazy P, Dombresky, Eli Escobar, Junior Sanchez, Session Victim and Tensnake.
Listen to Soundtrack's huge house music selection
Whether you are new to the world of house music, have a casual interest in the genre or are a devoted fan, then our house music playlists offer a huge range of tracks and artists to get you moving.
