Tech house

Tech house
Stylistic origins	House Techno, minimal
Cultural origins	Late 1990s, United States and UK
Typical instruments	Synthesizer, Keyboard, Drum machine, Sequencer, Sampler
Subgenres
Electrotech, Deeptech, Pumping house (complete list)

Tech house is a subgenre of house music that mixes elements of minimal techno into simple, 4-to-4 beats found in soulful deep house. The genre came to prominence in the late-1990s atmosphere of American clubs as soul influenced Detroit-style techno that also borrowed elements from house before reaching Europe. As one reviewer for Amazon.com suggested, this style fuses "steady techno rhythms with the soul and accessibility of house."

Unlike progressive house that arose on European dance scene during the same era, tech house does not represent a breakaway from electronic simplicity, but rather takes it to a new level, by experimenting same simplicity in techno subgenres. Reaching mainstream popularity worldwide from 2000 to roughly 2005, tech house was eventually succeeded by the more prominent electro house movement.

Characteristics

As a mixing style, tech-house often brings together deep or minimal techno music, the soulful and jazzy end of house, some minimal techno and microhouse (especially with a soulful feel, such as Luomo’s music), and very often some dub elements. There is some overlap with progressive house, which too can contain deep, soulful, dub, and techno elements; this is especially true since the turn of the millennium, as progressive-house mixes have themselves often become deeper and sometimes more minimal. However, the typical progressive-house mix--which might integrate some funky house, trance, and even some hard techno at times--has more energy than tech-house, which tends to have a more “laid-back” feel. Tech-house fans tend to appreciate subtlety, as well as the “middle ground” that adds a “splash of color to steel techno beats” and eschews the “banging” of house music for intricate rhythms.

Also in contrast to most progressive house, which tends to have a progression over the course of the mix ending in an ecstatic release of energy at the end, tech-house often aims at achieving an even “groove.” Although there might be dips and peaks in the energy level — any interesting mix will have them, after all--they will be more on the restrained side. As such, tech-house is found to be as enjoyable a "headphone experience" as it is a dancefloor one, a fact not lost on the creaters of such music - a classic release by the duo MRI on the Force Tracks label was their 12" titled "Nightclubbing at Home". Later tech house tracks include "Dirty Vegas - Days Go By" (2002) and "Fab Four - Last Night a DJ Blew My Mind" (2003).

Musical structure

As a musical (as opposed to a mixing) style, tech-house uses the same basic structure as house. However, elements of the house 'sound' such as realistic jazz sounds (in deep house) and booming kick drums are replaced with elements from techno such as shorter, deeper, darker and often distorted kicks, smaller, quicker hi-hats, noisier snares and more synthetic or acid sounding synth melodies from the TB-303, including raw electronic noises from distorted sawtooth and square wave oscillators.

The well known tech-house producer, Jean F. Cochois, also known as The Timewriter, has often used jazzy, soulful vocals and elements, and equally as much raw electronic sounds in his music. However, a rich techno-like kick and bassline seems to be a consistency amongst tech house music.

The term tech house has proved controversial over the years as some say that the use of the expression has mutated to represent a very particular and narrow style of music (see above), rather than the broad-minded attitude and approach to DJing and production that the tech house scene once was during the mid-nineties. For this reason, certain artists such as Asad Rizvi no longer attach the term with their work, as they feel that popular perception of tech house is a vastly inaccurate representation of their work.

Subgenres

Electrotech

Electrotech arose in Western Europe in late 2000 as the result of mixing high-attack basses found in electroclash with general tech house structure. As such, compositions still featured simple, discernible lyrics and single-note basslines, however, the final sound had a somewhat rough, "fuzzy" attitude very commonly found in electroclash. Examples of electrotech include "Keep Control" by Sono, "This World" by Slam and "I Want You" by Paris Avenue.

Electrotech can be seen as precursor of electro house to this point, although it was not the only contributor to that fusion genre.

Deeptech

Deeptech is a derivative form of electrotech highly influenced by both progressive and dark house. No definite song illustrating deeptech exists, suggesting that the name might have been coined from various concepts that set a "deep" atmosphere, but were not popular enough to hit the mainstream.

Pumping house

Pumping (tech) house is another, much more successful subgenre of tech that originated in Southern Europe when a trio called "The Biz", consisting of the Italian DJ Benny Benassi and two Swiss/French signers created a hit "Satisfaction" in late 2002. The signature sound was characterized by a modulated ("granulized") bassline, notable sidechain techniques, minimalist hitting and a heavy amount of reverberation used on either riffs or robotic voices. Pumping house became a huge success in 2003-05, as many other European producers (notably Vanguard, Royal Gigolos and Global Deejays) also took on the style and created their own distinctive variations of it.

Pumping met the so-called "popularity roller coaster", when it fell down as quickly as it rose after progressive house lost prominence, while electrotech started separating into a distinct genre around 2006. Some bands kept their sound intact and were kicked out of the mainstream later, others tried to implement new changes and even sacrificed their original sound.

Though not official, it is presumed that pumping house actually served as precursor to the now underground bassline genre that appeared in the UK around the time pumping went scarce.

Proponents

Main exponents of the genre include Mr C (who is said to have first coined the term), Eddie Richards, Terry Francis, Terry Lee Brown Junior, Dave Mothersole, Gideon, Justin Bailey, Laurant Webb, Layo & Bushwacka!, Jean F. Cochois aka The Timewriter, John Tejada, Tony Thomas, Lee Burridge, Steve Lawler, Relentless, Craig Richards, Aubrey, James Zabiela, Laurent Garnier, Ian Pooley, D-Unity, Koen Groeneveld, Gastek, Adam K and Soha, Steve Angello and Deadmau5, Lincoln Molina.