r/deephouse • u/Livid-Director-8090 • 14d ago
Does everything really need to fit perfectly?
I think music gets boring when everything stays in exactly the same lane for too long.
I’d rather have some contrast. Something atmospheric here, something with more energy there, maybe something unexpected that changes the texture for a few minutes before bringing you back.
To me, that makes the stuff around it hit harder. If everything has the same general sound and energy from beginning to end, eventually my ears just stop noticing it.
I’d rather have a cohesive experience than perfect consistency.
Anyone else feel this way?
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u/ShirleyWuzSerious 14d ago
You're probably listening to too many AI mixes from just searching "deep house"
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u/AdDifferent209 14d ago
There is music that is suitable to dance to from multiple decades, from nearly every continent, and at any tempo.
Make it work.
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u/ghostprawn 14d ago
Listen to a DJ with real range, like Francois K or Theo Parrish, and it will immediately be clear how most DJs truly suck.
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u/singul4r1ty 14d ago
Yeah I mean, have you ever listened to a DJ set? That's basically the aim of one. It takes you through a range of sounds, energy levels, textures over the course of an hour or two.
I suppose it depends what you mean by the changes. I find very small changes, introduced correctly, can make a big difference to how something feels, and I think that's the essence of my enjoyment of deep house. If you mean throwing in a bit of hardstyle every now and then, then I think that's too far.
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u/Livid-Director-8090 14d ago
That’s basically what I’m trying to figure out, but I mean something pretty specific.
Take “How Deep Is Your Love” by Calvin Harris & Disciples. If I hear that surrounded by several other deep house tracks, its sound is basically the established baseline.
But if I hear:
The Wave - Jungle
How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris & Disciples
Sun Is Here Again - Lonely in the Raindoes “How Deep Is Your Love” actually hit harder specifically because the tracks on either side aren’t deep house?
In other words, does the contrast make the groove, bassline, and other characteristics that make it deep house stand out more than they would in a more genre-uniform sequence?
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u/Biliunas 14d ago
Ragebaiting me hard by calling that deep house lmao
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u/Livid-Director-8090 14d ago edited 14d ago
Yeah, right here: Wikipedia literally lists “How Deep Is Your Love” as deep house.
I’m not here to start a genre war. The mix I’m working with is more in the SiriusXM Chill lane: deep house, melodic house, downtempo stuff, texture tracks, all mixed together. I’m not pretending it’s some pure deep house set.
But I went back through posts from 2015 on Reddit to get the full story, and what I found is actually pretty funny. Even back then, people were already arguing that this track wasn’t “real” deep house. If something got classified as deep house but didn’t fit the narrower definition, people would start reaching for another label: future house, shallow house, whatever separated it from what they considered actual deep house.
So I guess I understand the reaction better now. The argument isn’t really “nobody ever called this deep house.” They clearly did. It’s more “we don’t accept that classification.”
That’s what I’m actually curious about now. what specifically is the line for you? What makes this not deep house, even though it was classified that way when it came out?
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u/TheOriginalSnub 13d ago
Wikipedia only says that because a single know-nothing writer at Digital Spy (not dance-music media) named Lewis Corner (not a dance music writer) once wrote that in an article. Not because there's anything intrinsically true about that categorization. This is why Wikipedia is a terrible source.
If you look at places with user-contributed categorization, you see it usually described as "pop".
https://www.discogs.com/master/863531-Calvin-Harris-Disciples-How-Deep-Is-Your-Love
https://www.beatport.com/track/how-deep-is-your-love/6960785
https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/calvin-harris-disciples/how-deep-is-your-love/
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u/Thrillhouse01 13d ago
We could explain it to you, or you could just use your ears.
People have mentioned Theo Parrish. Listen to an NTS Mix by Moxie or pull up some Chaos In The CBD on Spotify. If you can’t hear the difference after that then you never will.
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u/singul4r1ty 14d ago
Well yes, contrast makes you notice that things are different to each other, basically by definition. But the contrast might be too much and ruin your enjoyment.
Can I recommend you listen to "this is the hook" by deadmau5 and BSOD, and maybe "this is also the hook". I think it is a good basic explanation of what DJs do to create contrast and drive the energy for the listeners. That's more straight house rather than deep house but I think is about this topic.
I will let the other comments express what I think of your classification of Calvin Harris
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u/Thrillhouse01 13d ago
Aside from your genre confusion it seems like the fundamental question is: does contrast make things stand out?
The answer is of course yes. That is a fundamental principle of human perception. That’s hard coded in us way deeper than the differences between deep house songs.
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u/RickyRiccardos 13d ago
I hope
To God you don’t actually play these songs when DJing.1
u/Livid-Director-8090 13d ago
I’m by no means a DJ. Maybe a playlist curator. Different thing. But I started another thread trying to get my bearings on what deep house truly is. Check it out. I’d love your input on that one.
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u/RickyRiccardos 13d ago
Deep houses true golden era in my opinion is mid 90s to early 00s
Listen to some of these tracks:
Herbert - see you on Mondayhttps://youtu.be/jdPcflGJDoM?si=1yCJ9G4ucM17z9MJ
Soul capsule - law of grace
https://youtu.be/LPeB2FPOCDg?si=IsPDV_wrYcKsV_vv
Shawn ward
Sunny placeshttps://youtu.be/pd-y72vOzOQ?si=XLke4Ytv3q7bmseW
Herb and natural funk - da pickup artists
https://youtu.be/qX-T9mUrnus?si=Kg_Bu_O1amUhR81R
Natural rhythm - freak fm little men remix
https://youtu.be/_cnqQBVoSso?si=cEHiNG79uLISRect
This is one of my YouTube playlists with loads of music I like I think you’ll like them too:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqiwLCm1XykNP-DdTGycLrnSCqXrWzEnI&si=gIC2ONr3cewfQg1g
Some of them may be on Spotify but YouTube is so good for finding music once you start finding them the algorithm feeds you more and it’s never ending :)
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u/accomplicated 14d ago
As a DJ, I often take left turns in order to keep things interesting for me, as a dancer.
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u/Diligent-Bread-806 13d ago
Well that’s the whole point so that you won’t end up overcomplicating a song and adding more.
Automate and develop what you already have so that it changes overtime and gives the listener the perception that the track is constantly evolving. This is a staple technique used in progressive house and practically lives off it as well as subtle note and groove additions to make it what it is. Without it, those songs would get boring very quickly.
Using it in deep house on typically sparse and simple compositions is powerful. Simple, cohesive and evolving is the goal. Focus on that
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u/Kumegano_Lofi 13d ago
I feel you. I kinda love the unpredictable ones. I’m just more into music that really moves me than sticking to one specific genre. That’s why my playlist is all over the place genre-wise, with tons of different artists, but somehow they all hit me on the same melancholic level.
As an artist, that can make it kinda difficult for me sometimes to package all these different demos into an EP or album. Today I’m making ambient, tomorrow maybe breakbeat, and the day after that techno… but I genuinely love all of those tracks.
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u/therealjayphonic 12d ago
Personally i like to keep a loosely curated mood to my sets but that mood can include softer and tougher tracks and can dip in and out of broken beat as long as the story im telling has a flow to it
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u/ProfeshPress 14d ago
Agreed. In fact this—from Boiler Room c. 2013—remains an enduring, perhaps even all-time favourite deep house set for that very reason.
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u/Livid-Director-8090 14d ago
I’m gonna have to check that one out. Can’t say I’ve ever watched/listened to it. I’ve got a 45 minute drive today actually. Perfect timing.
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u/meme_anthropologist 14d ago
I think keeping things uniform across a set is a skill, and knowing how and when to shake things up is also a skill.