To coincide with the terrestrial broadcast of Jeremy Deller’s documentary film Everybody In The Place: An Incomplete History of Britain 1984-1992 we thought we’d take a look at some of our favourite proto-house songs from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s.
What is proto-house? We tend to use the term to describe songs and sounds from the post-disco / pre-house period that signalled what was to come in dance music in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Though we often think of house music (and more specifically rave culture) as a 90s movement it has been argued that the seeds of house were actually sown more than a decade earlier. We’d like to present a selection of songs which give us an insight into where some of the musical ideas and sounds of house music originate from.
1. You Don’t Know – SERIOUS INTENTION (Easy Street 1984)
I have to admit that the first time I heard this song I didn’t really get what was so great about it, but it’s often said that the mark of a great song is that it improves with every listen. Here we have a classic case of less is more. The simplicity of the composition is exactly what I didn’t get at first but when I really got it I understood that the use of space and the minimal approach to instrumentation are what make it so good. And therein lies the key to many a great house tune.
2. Walkin’ on Sunshine – ROCKERS REVENGE Featuring DONNIE CALVIN (Streetwise / London 1982)
A benchmark for me in so many ways. I have so much love for this song (or rather version, as the original was written by Eddy Grant) because it captures a really exciting period in dance music and pretty much contains something from every sub-genre from that time. The early to mid-80s was arguably one of the most experimental periods in the history of dance music, not least because of the use of both live instrumentation (bass guitars, acoustic percussion etc) and drum machines and synthesizers.
You might think me insane for suggesting that house music was present in dance music as early as 1982 but just listen to that breakdown at the six-minute mark. Pure house vibin’.
3. Electric Baile (Commercial Mix) – MASTER PLAN (Sunset 1986)
A record that always makes it into my DJ sets to the point where I probably play it too often, but it’s just a peak-hour banger. On first listen I thought that it sounded way too European to be from Chicago but it’s good to have your ideas and expectations challenged by music sometimes isn’t it? This song opened my ears to a different Chicago sound and really made me realise how varied a community it really was back then.
This one has a great pounding kick and snare and gnarly synth bass line. Together with the conga pattern and sweet vocal it’s a pretty irresistible mix.
4. Let Me Down Easy – RARE PLEASURE (Cheri 1976)
1976?! Yes, really. I mean, listen to that piano motif. Okay, so it’s a stretch to call this song proto-house but along with Dancin’ And Prancin’ by Candido (Salsoul 1979) it does shine a light on the roots of the classic house piano hook and helps us understand the lineage from disco to house.
It’s one of my favourite ever songs and was also a eureka moment for me in terms of my love for disco. It’s a beautiful composition and is one of the first disco songs that really connected with me in a big way. I still think it’s really ahead of its time too.
5. Release The Tension – J-A GROOVE (Studio 1986)
Another favourite that rarely leaves my record bag between DJ sets. The artist name is apt. It has such a tight groove and I love the overall production on this one. The original is a Boyd Jarvis composition and as far as I know there are several versions of it including one featuring Colonel Abrams, however this one is my favourite. It’s just really pumpin’ and soulful.
6. The Music Got Me – VISUAL (Prelude 1983)
“When the weekend comes around, I can’t wait to hit the dance floor”. Pretty good lyric to open a song with. Here’s another Boyd Jarvis creation which is one of the more well-documented proto-house jams. Boyd was definitely ahead of his time and sadly passed away last year, arguably still without the credit he deserved.
Jarvis created a musical sound through the use of home made, reel to reel and hand-played sparse synthesizer & drum machine tracks that were featured extensively as overdubs on early-mid ’80s NYC WBLS FM “extended music sweeps” with DJs Timmy Regisford and later, Merlin Bobb.
7. Through The Night (Dub Mix I) – BLUE MODERNE (Sunnyview 1986)
I hadn’t heard this jam prior to buying the Running Back Presents Front compilations, which are a celebration of Hamburg’s Front club (which hosted parties from 1983 to 1997) and its residents Klaus Stockhausen and Boris Dlugosch.
I particularly love the moment where the instrumentation kicks in at around 1:15 and the way the mix moves along from there. The super-soulful vocal by Audrey Wheeler really lifts the whole arrangement and it’s a very classy mix overall.
8. Call Me Mr Telephone (Street Dub Mix) – ANSWERING SERVICE (Third Label 1984)
Another song featured on the Running Back comp series, this Italo monster features a sweet gnarly bass line and heaps of reverb and delay applied to the drums and percussion. I love the double-time kick in the early breakdown followed by the rap and the atmospheric synths that come in and out through the track. It doesn’t really move anywhere in terms of melodic development but it doesn’t need to, it’s just a great groove and sometimes that’s all you need.
9. Out’A The Box (Club Vocal Dub) – JIRAFFE (GoldQwest 1988)
There are lots of great things about this jam from 1988. The drum programming, pumpin’ production, and the sparse funky arrangement make it impossible not to move to. You could argue that it isn’t specifically proto-house as it was made at the time house music had already developed some of its signature sounds and an identity, but I’m including it because it sits so well next to any post-disco or house track and everytime I play it in a set at least one person asks me what it is.
That semiquaver snare roll gets me every time. Love it.
10. Dancing Therapy – INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SYSTEM (Emergency 1984)
I first heard this Italo banger in a record shop in London and it was one of those moments where you just like the look of a record and then you listen to it and wonder how or why you haven’t ever heard it before. Having thought I was alone in my love for it and having never heard it anywhere in a DJ set or playlist I heard it at a Love Muscle party in Leeds sometime last year and it was wonderful to know that I wasn’t alone in my admiration for it.