The House Music Phenomenon

Inspired by new the DJ’ing techniques pioneered in the late 70’s and early 80’s by ‘Kool Herc’ and later ‘Chris the Glove Taylor’ - the undisputed Godfathers of hip-hop and what has now become known as Turntablism – a new breed of DJ/Producers started playing experimental electronic music fusing elements of disco, electro/hip-hop, and funk & punk in the bars and clubs of Chicago and Detroit,

The term ‘House Music’ being derived from the definitive Grandfather of house Frankie Knuckles’ Chicago based club ‘The Warehouse’.

In the mid 80’s the scene exploded to the deep sleazy sound pioneered by Ron Hardy and Marshal Jefferson at Chicago’s Music Box. Chicago however was not alone. In Detroit, Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kenny Larkin where also fusing beats and bleeps to form what has become firmly entrenched in our minds as ‘House Music’, the first ‘House Music’ appearing on vinyl in 1985 on DJ International Records and subsequently on Trax Records.

It was not until House Music hit the UK underground in 1985 that it started to become the musical phenomenon it now is. Ironically a music form pioneered in America found its home in England, whilst fading to almost insignificant levels in its native homelands. The late 80’s and early 90’s saw a prolific influx of genres and subcategories such as Garage, Techno, Drum ‘n’ Bass, Jungle, Progressive, Hard House, Trance, Breaks, Tribal and Lounge - to name a few - propagating throughout Europe. By the mid 90’s it became evident that the tide was irreversible.

The hip-hop and reggae influences of Drum ‘n’ Bass & Jungle lead the way for a mass return of all genres to their spiritual home. The enormous increase in professional and home DJ’s triggered by the dance scene has lead to a phenomenal increase in demand for high spec equipment and 12” vinyl – a medium touted as a dead/legacy product by the music industry as they flooded the market with CD’s. They couldn’t have been further from the truth. Whilst traditional 7” sales plummeted, 12” sales soared and a whole plethora of industries from clubs to clothing evolved as the dance industry grew-up. The reach and influence of dance music is still growing exponentially with new scenes propagating from the West Cost of the USA to the far reaches of the former USSR. Never has one music form had such an impact on lifestyles and economy, as the demands on our work and personal life’s increase more and more people turn to ‘dance’ for release from everyday pressures, after all life should be a party, so have a ball…

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Yannick Lord is a Los Angeles based Fashion, Glamour, Commercial and Lifestyle photographer with a passion for music, art, design, entertainment and technology. please feel free to explore these pages for more news, reviews and of course, my photography.