Soulful House
House · 1991 · 120 to 126 BPM · also known as Soulful, Vocal House, NJ Sound
House that keeps gospel at its center: big voices, choirs, piano chords and written arrangements, a direct inheritance from New York garage. Masters At Work are its major craftsmen, working between house, Latin and jazz. The style has its churches, its standards and its faithful performers, and it ages like soul music: slowly, and well, always favoring musicianship over machine precision.
12 reference tracks
- Frankie Knuckles: The Whistle Song (1991)
- Kerri Chandler: Rain (1998)
- Blaze: Lovelee Dae (1997)
- Masters at Work: To Be in Love (1997)
- Dennis Ferrer: Hey Hey (2009)
- Louie Vega & The Martinez Brothers: Let It Go (2021)
- Kerri Chandler: On My Way
- Dennis Ferrer: How Do I Let Go
- Barbara Tucker: Beautiful People (Underground Network Mix)
- Moodymann: I'm Doing Fine
- Dennis Ferrer: Church Lady
- Barbara Tucker: Most Precious Love
At a glance
- Tempo: 120 to 126 BPM
- First appeared: around 1991
- Machines: Fender Rhodes, Korg M1, Roland TR-909, Akai S3000
- The sound: Voix lead gospel, Piano et Rhodes joués, Basse jouée, Percussions latines
- Labels: MAW Records, Vega Records, Foliage, King Street, Basement Boys, Quantize
- Key artists: Masters At Work, Louie Vega, Kerri Chandler, Blaze, Barbara Tucker
Producing Soulful House
Sit between 120 and 126 bpm with a live band feel: swing on hats and percussion, a straight kick, but keyboards and bass played by hand keeping their small human shifts, the vocal phrasing freely over the top. Build a softened kit, snare and clap together on 2 and 4, swung hats, and essential Latin percussion, congas in tumbao, bongos, shaker, guiro, dropping the kick on breaks so percussion and vocal carry alone. For bass, play a funky, melodic line following a jazz progression, walking between roots, chromatic passing tones and ghost notes, on electric bass or a fingered synth. Layer played Rhodes and piano jazz chords, written strings and horns, and a lead gospel vocal with choir harmonies and call and response, finished with hall reverb and chorus.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Soulful House?
House that keeps gospel at its center: big voices, choirs, piano chords and written arrangements, a direct inheritance from New York garage. Masters At Work are its major craftsmen, working between house, Latin and jazz. The style has its churches, its standards and its faithful performers, and it…
What tempo is Soulful House played at?
Between 120 and 126 BPM.
Who are the key Soulful House artists?
Masters At Work, Louie Vega, Kerri Chandler, Blaze, Barbara Tucker.
In the same family
- Chicago House
- Acid House
- Garage House
- Deep House
- Lo-Fi House
- Hip House
- UK House
- Italo House
- Hard House
- Progressive House
- Disco House
- French House
Listen to Soulful House in the atlas · Cette page en français
