Garage House
A soulful, vocal-heavy house style from New York and New Jersey club culture.
History
Garage house takes its name from the Paradise Garage, a New York club that ran from 1977 to 1987 s2. Its resident DJ, Larry Levan, mixed disco, soul and gospel with early drum machines in long, emotional sets s2. The sound was carried on in New Jersey by DJ Tony Humphries at the club Zanzibar s1. Garage house keeps the strong, soulful singing of disco and pairs it with a house beat s1. It is warmer and more musical than the rawest Chicago records, and piano and organ parts are common s1. In the 1990s the style was made by producers such as Masters at Work, Blaze and Kerri Chandler s1. Masters at Work, the duo of 'Little' Louie Vega and Kenny 'Dope' Gonzalez, became central to the scene s3. Their 1993 track 'I Can't Get No Sleep', sung by India, is one of the widely known garage house records s3. The style later fed into British speed garage and UK garage s1.
Sound
- Strong soulful or gospel lead vocals
- Warm piano and organ chords
- A steady four-to-the-floor house beat
- Rich, layered percussion
- Emotional, song-like arrangements
Key figures
- Larry Levan — DJ at the Paradise Garage
- Tony Humphries — New Jersey DJ at Zanzibar
- Masters at Work — Producer duo of Louie Vega and Kenny Dope
- Kerri Chandler — New Jersey house producer
Labels
- Strictly Rhythm — New York City , 1989
- Cutting Records — New York City , 1982
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Disco , Funk and Boogie
Led to: Afro House , Deep House , Lo-Fi House , UK Garage
Sources
- Garage house — Wikipedia
- Paradise Garage — Wikipedia
- Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey — Grove Press (1999)