Is Soulful House Dying?

My site and my newsletter is a vehicle to let you guys know about new mixes and upcoming gigs.  I rarely rant or use the newsletter or my site to stand on a soapbox but I do feel that this subject is connected to those two things and I would like to talk about it and ask your take on it. The Soulful (deep, funky, whatever) House scene has been changing a lot over the last few years.  The recent worldwide recession and financial crisis has left the music and clubbing business almost dead.  Here, in Los Angeles, it is so difficult to have people come out.  The heads are being very selective about where they go when they do go out.  The piece of the pie has gotten much smaller and all the promoters are fighting for it.  When a house promoter has an event and people don't come to it, week after week, they start to second guest the style of music they picked for their night.  Especially when they see the Hip Hop club across the street packed or the club next to it that plays cheesy electro with a line of people to get in.  So guest what? we have less and less house nights which in turns means that (soulful) house DJs have less gigs (where they really make their money) so they start making other type of music (like freakin' hard electro) so they can get gigs and so on, and so on.  It's like a domino effect. 

Is that how a scene dies?  Or if you look at it in another way, is that how a scene is re-born?  As our house nights are leaving the big clubs I noticed that they are going back to the underground where they originally came from. To me this is not a bad thing because the people who are taking it there are the ones who still do it for the love of House (yeah I know it's a cliche).  This is easy for me to say because I'm not making a living out of producing House Music or playing gigs.  I don't think I will ever compromise the style of music I love to play and listen to so I can get more gigs or get more "fans".  I would rather stop playing out and only have 50 people download my mixes than to start playing like David Guetta (no disrespect to his work and style).  At least I'll know that those 50 people really appreciate it and are of the same mind set as me. I know that just like me when that bass line kicks in they are going to close their eyes, say "dammmmm" and start bopping their head (don't do this while driving).  I totally understand those who are changing their soulful style to something that is more popular, after all like everybody else they have to eat and pay the bills.  I'm just glad that I'm not in that position.

Another argument that I'm also hearing is that the younger  generation of clubbers don't dig the soulful stuff and prefer the harder techno / electro beats.  I'm not convinced about that.  I do agree that a soulful/deep house sound is for a more mature listener but I just feel that the new heads need to be exposed to it more.  A good example is the Martinez Bros. These guys were introduced to House since they were toddlers and grew up, thanks to their father who was a Paradise Garage head, listening to this style of music.  Look at them today.  They are really successful DJs and travel all over the world spreading their sound. Another good example is also a young singer from Spain named Laura Estrada (one of her tracks is in the latest radio show - track 6).  This girl is a future House Diva in the making.  She has an incredible soulful voice and listening to her you would never guest she is only 20 years old.  It's not just DJs and singers but also club promoters / managers who are trying to do their part.  I'm not sure if this is public knowledge yet so I won't get into the details but I was recently talking to a someone who will manage a fairly large new club in Europe (that opens next year) who will stick to House and who said that they don't want the usual same old tired DJs.  Things like that give me hope for the future and the survival of House.

My question to you is how are things with Soulful House where you live? I know how they are here in Los Angeles and the West Coast in general.  Is it the same in your city?  If you have an opinion or want to respond to this rant leave a comment below.

(getting off the soap box)

Tags: Soulful House, Clubbing, Clubs