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The Rise Of House Music In The 80's
In this article from The Long + Short, we dive into the deep roots of house music, with influences being traced as far back as the 1980’s. In the beginnings, it’s clear that what we now coin as house music had a purpose, an objective, and that was too make people feel good.
One of the key players in the rise of house music was Lerry Levan, a notable DJ who was known for his expressiveness and creativity while performing his sets.
If he was heartbroken, he would make sure his audience knew it, slamming huge tearjerker ballads or acapellas down in the middle of peak dance sets. If he was angry, he could also smash records together in a discordant, aggressive manner that would make disciples of beatmatching feel queasy.
Levan used this emotional style of DJ’ing to his advantage, adding a new and distinct element of performance to spinning records. In return, he received strong reception among early fans of house music, and put together some of the most prevailing mixes for the time. You can listen to one of his more popular mixes in the video below.
If you want to brush up on even more history, watch this video featuring one of the first DAWs from 1986.