What really makes a GREAT house track ?

[the crackhouse]

I think that some things always work :
- some tribal, bongos, samba rydyms, even if the track ain't based on them,
- a little sound repeating during the whole track (can be a voice saying "whoooo" or a bleepy sound) for the hypnose sensation, absolutly necessary imo,
- a good break, or a sudden change in the track in rythm or in the melody, or big synth fxs (but please, not the beat going "boom - boom - bobooom-bobooom -bobobobobooooooom !"),
- good lyrics, and a diva shouting and making some very long notes,
- a "slogan" (dunno the word in english) like "release yourself", or "don't stop", or "can you feel it", or "does your mama know ?", a good sentence that'll stay in minds forever,
- some old chicago beats, like in poindexter "work dat mofo", or Chip-E's "Like this", or FJMF "Jack the bass", I can imagine these have a name, maybe 303 beats or ?..
- Some acid sound like in dj pierre first releases, but in the background, not going to distorded and "uplifting trancey" ones,
- A funky bass, and some strange randomly putted sounds.

[AD]

You forgot to mention "Gabber." No track is complete without a little splash of Gabber. http://deephousepage.com/smilies/smokin.gif

[beaniboy67]

Being out youre nut on E with sum dame giving you the eye! :D graemlins/rofl.gif

[Kemi J]

Its the extras. Like that litle Louie track, , with the guy talking aobut relationships, you know with the girls voice on the phone "Where were you...You weren't taking care of business..."and the guy talking back. Its all standard stuff, until she says "I followed you...in my blue car". That line, "in my blue car", really gives a nice cute kick to the lyrics, its unexpected and serves no purpose, but is very cool for that reason. Another example of this per se cool is that chicago classic the one with the refrain "A path we all must take, gotta go up, etc...", when the records breaks down to the word "path being said over and over again. Very cool.
Or intelligent stuff, like when producers borrow bits and snippits from and build on rare tracks, but in a creative manner, so that the peole dancing and the serious heads that stand in the corner and analyse every beat are all happy. See E-man "Its Yours" and Cabrini Greens and Cornbread "The Supreme Wisdom", which is pretty much my signature house record.

love 2 all.

kemi

['Magic' Juan]

Hey Kemi ... that Cabrini Greens is not the one on Cajual, is it? I don't remember that track being on there.

magic_juan graemlins/conf44.gif

[Kemi J]

Originally posted by Magic Juan:
Hey Kemi ... that Cabrini Greens is not the one on Cajual, is it? I don't remember that track being on there.

magic_juan graemlins/conf44.gif Its not on Cajual...I can't remember what its on, i'll have to dig it up. One side has The Supreme Wisdom and Supreme beats, I think the other side has a track called Plan A, though i'll check. The Supreme Wisdom is a loop of the horns from Natalie Cole's Annie Mae (big Ron Hardy tune) with tribal percussion over it. That's it. Sublime record, I'll look into the label and get back to you. I'm gonna get me another copy, because its impossible to mix without the beats.

kemi

"...and if it does happen, i won't even notice. I'll be too busy looking good."

[beaniboy67]

ive said this before somewhere but there is a track on the flip of kerri chandler's street musiq 1 called tommorrow!Its very simple with a great vocal and it just captures what house is all about for me!Simple but extremly effective!!

[upliftdisco365]

Four things.

1 The Drum Track. It's gotta be sick; nice kick, moving perc, nice hats.

2. The Main Melody/Hook. Whatever your track's selling point is, out there in front, i.e. that SICK-ass, fat synth in "Twisted" by Donnie or "la-da-deee-la-da-daaa in "Gypsy Woman", it's gotta to be compelling. It's gotta be that joint that people will twirl to on the dance floor, but more importantly, hum to themselves on the bus or while doing dishes (who said dishwashing music was bad...)

3. Bassline. I don't think there's a bassline formula. You've gotta just find one that works for your track. Sometimes moving/walking("Life Goes On" - Blaze) is better, sometimes simple/repetitive ("Like This" - Chip E. Inc.)is better.

4. Production/Arrangement. Having the hottest elements on earth mean nothing without an interesting arrangement and tight, simple production. Consistently turning your idea into a commercially viable product takes regular practice.

Side note: Check out the trend.

Don't be a trend whore and just copy Phil Asher's track or Blaze's track snare-for-snare/conga-for-conga. Understand the underlying elements in their songs that make them successful, then re-interpret some of those elements in your voice.