house
A genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s, built on a four-on-the-floor beat with soulful elements.
In Depth
House music emerged from the Chicago club scene, particularly the Warehouse nightclub where DJ Frankie Knuckles blended disco records with drum machine patterns and European electronic tracks. The genre retains disco's four-on-the-floor kick pattern and soulful vocal sensibility while adding synthesizer bass lines, drum machine rhythms (especially the Roland TR-808 and TR-909), and a driving energy suited to extended club sets.
From Chicago, house spread to New York, the UK, and continental Europe, spawning countless subgenres: deep house, acid house, progressive house, garage, and many more. The "Second Summer of Love" in the UK (1988–89) saw acid house fuel a massive cultural movement, while house music's influence pervades contemporary pop production. Its fundamental four-on-the-floor pattern and 120–130 BPM tempo range remain the backbone of global dance music.
House music gets its name from the Warehouse nightclub in Chicago where Frankie Knuckles DJed, though Knuckles himself preferred the term "disco."