Dear all,
I was surprised to be unable to find much about it on this forum. This may be against the religion of some … Anyways, i would like to introduce you to some deep house. As one of the fastest growing music trends, it should not be missed in high end audio for the following reasons:
Musical aspects: I agree, a lot of the music is produced for clubs (especially EDM) with focus on loudness comprising monotonous dance beats. That also means that the producers likely compressed the files to get max decimal output levels to compete with other songs and to the detriment of quality but there are labels that focus on nuances and the overall coherency of their sound. Those recordings will have you on the edge of your seat whether you like the music or not because, if you have a decent system, you'll hear elements you've never heard before.
Attracting a different audience to the world of high end audio: As one of the fastest growing genres, at Hifi shows, i am always wondering why there are still only a few rooms daring to play electronic music. Some reasons might be understandable such as, for the sake of comparison between systems, it makes sense to play similar music to the other rooms. Others simply refuse to play anything but Classic and Jazz to maintain the integrity of their “sophisticated” reputation. Atleast Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd is often heard but that's a bit outdated for the younger generation. Attending the Man’s World in Zurich, which in a nutshell, is a fair for producers presenting and selling luxury consumer goods such as whisky, cars, boats, BBQs and other “manly” toys, a highend retailer let people play their own music on a very nice Piega / T&A system. Someone turned on electronic music and the room quickly filled up and people started to come in to dance or enjoy the music. Also many girls and moms were attracted making the ratio about 50-50, even though the population of the show was rather 70-30 male. Also the audience was much younger in the room than the traditional audio aficionado. Maybe show hosts assume that those people will not be able to afford a highend system, it’s fallacious. Many youngsters, a couple years into their careers buy 911s and a 2-5k Bose, Sonos or pricier B&O home entertainment systems. Some of my friends happen to fit the type and be sitting on my couch flabbergasted by the sound.
Motivational life hack: This may sound weird to some but electronic music is great to perform tedious or monotonous tasks with ease. For example, at the gym or running, the music lets you keep rhythm and time passes by quick. I personally also use it when performing dead-boring tasks such as reading a research paper or filing my tax declaration. I could imagine, the effect might be, atleast to some extend, similar to focus-enhancing substances such as methylphenidate (ritalin).
…
To the actual music (some of my deep house favourites):
(If you never listened to the genre, i only selected a handful songs as, similar to classical music, each song is composed of several sections and there is an intended build-up in the music. Hence, I would encourage to listen to the entire length of the song before judging)
Solomun:
One of the most famous deep house, Ibiza-style DJs. A long time in the business as a producer running the very successful label Diynamic.
Favorite track: “Somebody’s Story”
Album as producer: “10 Years Diynamic”.
Adriatique:
The duo from Zurich has been on Solomun’s Label Diynamic and is also signed on Afterlife. I feel, these two labels produce great music content of which some is dedicated for clubs, other more lounge and deep house style.
Favorite tracks:
“Ion” from the Album “Rollox” is a great song to test nuances in the base response and dynamics of your system.
Tale of Us:
“Alla sera” from the Album “Endless”
“Polar Peak” by Kevin de Vries from the Tale of Us release “Unity Pt.2” Great build-up, especially around 4min until the drop at 4.35min is remarkable.
“Pancho Villa” by “Kiko” from the same Album
“Rebirth” by “Coeus” from the “Unity” (Pt 1) release.
The whole Unity series is great. I am using it frequently for my workouts and testing gear.
Recondite:
The Album “Placid” is well produced and almost every song is a good test for your system. The bass is nuanced and there’s lots and lots of detail to be heard.
Favorite tracks:
“Compel” from the above mentioned “Placid” Album
“Subdue” from the Album “Placid”
“Mirror Games” from the Album “Dwell”
Joachim Pastor for Lounge sessions:
Favorite tracks:
“Reykjavik”
“Eternity”
“Oulan Bator”
Interested to know what you think. Hope some of you will be encouraged to share your favourite electronic tracks.
Cheers,
J.
I was surprised to be unable to find much about it on this forum. This may be against the religion of some … Anyways, i would like to introduce you to some deep house. As one of the fastest growing music trends, it should not be missed in high end audio for the following reasons:
Musical aspects: I agree, a lot of the music is produced for clubs (especially EDM) with focus on loudness comprising monotonous dance beats. That also means that the producers likely compressed the files to get max decimal output levels to compete with other songs and to the detriment of quality but there are labels that focus on nuances and the overall coherency of their sound. Those recordings will have you on the edge of your seat whether you like the music or not because, if you have a decent system, you'll hear elements you've never heard before.
Attracting a different audience to the world of high end audio: As one of the fastest growing genres, at Hifi shows, i am always wondering why there are still only a few rooms daring to play electronic music. Some reasons might be understandable such as, for the sake of comparison between systems, it makes sense to play similar music to the other rooms. Others simply refuse to play anything but Classic and Jazz to maintain the integrity of their “sophisticated” reputation. Atleast Depeche Mode and Pink Floyd is often heard but that's a bit outdated for the younger generation. Attending the Man’s World in Zurich, which in a nutshell, is a fair for producers presenting and selling luxury consumer goods such as whisky, cars, boats, BBQs and other “manly” toys, a highend retailer let people play their own music on a very nice Piega / T&A system. Someone turned on electronic music and the room quickly filled up and people started to come in to dance or enjoy the music. Also many girls and moms were attracted making the ratio about 50-50, even though the population of the show was rather 70-30 male. Also the audience was much younger in the room than the traditional audio aficionado. Maybe show hosts assume that those people will not be able to afford a highend system, it’s fallacious. Many youngsters, a couple years into their careers buy 911s and a 2-5k Bose, Sonos or pricier B&O home entertainment systems. Some of my friends happen to fit the type and be sitting on my couch flabbergasted by the sound.
Motivational life hack: This may sound weird to some but electronic music is great to perform tedious or monotonous tasks with ease. For example, at the gym or running, the music lets you keep rhythm and time passes by quick. I personally also use it when performing dead-boring tasks such as reading a research paper or filing my tax declaration. I could imagine, the effect might be, atleast to some extend, similar to focus-enhancing substances such as methylphenidate (ritalin).
…
To the actual music (some of my deep house favourites):
(If you never listened to the genre, i only selected a handful songs as, similar to classical music, each song is composed of several sections and there is an intended build-up in the music. Hence, I would encourage to listen to the entire length of the song before judging)
Solomun:
One of the most famous deep house, Ibiza-style DJs. A long time in the business as a producer running the very successful label Diynamic.
Favorite track: “Somebody’s Story”
Album as producer: “10 Years Diynamic”.
Adriatique:
The duo from Zurich has been on Solomun’s Label Diynamic and is also signed on Afterlife. I feel, these two labels produce great music content of which some is dedicated for clubs, other more lounge and deep house style.
Favorite tracks:
“Ion” from the Album “Rollox” is a great song to test nuances in the base response and dynamics of your system.
Tale of Us:
“Alla sera” from the Album “Endless”
“Polar Peak” by Kevin de Vries from the Tale of Us release “Unity Pt.2” Great build-up, especially around 4min until the drop at 4.35min is remarkable.
“Pancho Villa” by “Kiko” from the same Album
“Rebirth” by “Coeus” from the “Unity” (Pt 1) release.
The whole Unity series is great. I am using it frequently for my workouts and testing gear.
Recondite:
The Album “Placid” is well produced and almost every song is a good test for your system. The bass is nuanced and there’s lots and lots of detail to be heard.
Favorite tracks:
“Compel” from the above mentioned “Placid” Album
“Subdue” from the Album “Placid”
“Mirror Games” from the Album “Dwell”
Joachim Pastor for Lounge sessions:
Favorite tracks:
“Reykjavik”
“Eternity”
“Oulan Bator”
Interested to know what you think. Hope some of you will be encouraged to share your favourite electronic tracks.
Cheers,
J.
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