Tribal House
Percussion-heavy house music built on layered drums from Africa and Latin America.
History
Tribal house is a form of house music that uses rhythms from world music s1. It is known for layers of hand drums, such as congas and bongos s1s2. By the late 1980s, house producers were mixing the four-to-the-floor beat with polyrhythms s1. Tribal house became popular through labels such as Tribal America and Strictly Rhythm s1. The music was played at large New York clubs such as the Sound Factory and Roxy s1. Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez, Deep Dish and Murk made records in the style s1. It usually has no main melody s1. Instead, it relies on complex drum patterns s1. Some tracks use chanting or ululation as vocals s1. In the early 2000s the sound became very hard and repetitive, and people called it 'pots and pans' s1. Later it became smoother and used more vocals s1. Tribal house is still common at large dance events s1.
Sound
- Layered hand drums and percussion
- A steady four-to-the-floor kick
- Few or no main melodies
- Chants and ululation as vocals
- A dark or uplifting mood
Key figures
- Danny Tenaglia — New York DJ and producer of tribal house
- Junior Vasquez — New York DJ linked to the tribal sound
- Murk — Miami production team with tribal house records
- River Ocean — Project of Masters at Work behind a tribal classic
Labels
- Strictly Rhythm — New York , 1989
- Tribal America — New York , 1992
- Nervous Records — New York , 1991
Defining tracks
Connections
Came from: Chicago House , Garage House
Sources
- Tribal house — Wikipedia
- Tribal House — Melodigging