ZONE OF THE FREE: PUMP UP THE VOLUME

Sunday, June 6, 2010

PUMP UP THE VOLUME

The origins of the term "house" are disputed.

The term may have its origin from a Chicago nightclub called The Warehouse which existed from 1977 to 1982. The Warehouse was patronized primarily by gay black and Latino men, who came to dance to disco music played by the club's resident DJ, Frankie Knuckles. Although Knuckles left the club in 1982 and it was renamed Music Box, the term "house", short for Warehouse, is said to have become popular among Chicagoans as being synonymous with Knuckles' musical selections as a DJ before becoming associated with his own dance music productions, even though those didn't begin until well after the closure of The Warehouse.

In the Channel 4 documentary Pump Up The Volume, Knuckles remarks that the first time he heard the term "house music" was upon seeing "we play house music" on a sign in the window of a bar on Chicago's South Side. One of the people in the car with him joked, "you know, that's the kind of music you play down at the Warehouse!", and then everybody laughed. South-Side Chicago DJ Leonard "Remix" Rroy, in self-published statements, claims he put such a sign in a tavern window because it was where he played music that one might find in one's home; in his case, it referred to his mother's soul & disco records, which he worked into his sets.

PUMP UP THE VOLUME is a three-part documentary series looking at the history of house music broadcasted by Channel 4 in 2001.

I. "A Time To Jack" - Looks at the roots of house music in 1976 in Chicago and New York and features many of the innovators and DJs involved in house music and the clubs that specialised in them.

II. "Can You Feel It" - Looks at the rise of house music 1986-1989, firstly in northern clubs, and how the increasing use of the drug Ecstasy led to the development of Acid House music. Also considers rave culture and clashes with the authorities over unofficial rave events.

III. "From Hardcore To Handbag" - Looks at how house music's influence has led to a whoe range of musical genres, such as jungle, garage, hardcore, 2-step and drum and bass. Covers the period 1990 to date and considers the demise of the original house music scene due to increasing concerns over ecstasy use, legal clamp-downs and the commercialisation of rave culture. Also the rise in status of the DJ. Includes interviews with Godie, Leftfield, The Dreem Teem and Artful Dodger, and features Masters at Work and Armand Van Helden.

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Sunday, June 6, 2010

PUMP UP THE VOLUME

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