Acetate [Level 1]
Which came first - House or Hi-NRG?
DiscoMusic.com Owner / Administrator
Living in the NYC area I recall hearing the term Hi-NRG as early as 1982-83. Whereas House was around 1984-85.
Bernie (Bernard Lopez)
Owner/publisher of DiscoMusic.com - on the web since 1996.
DiscoMusic.com on Facebook and MySpace
Acetate [Level 1]
Do you think House was influenced by Hi-NRG, or was it just a progression from Disco?
Advance Promo Copy [Level 3]
I think House evolved from Funk/Soul with an influence from Disco. House seems to have it's roots also in Gospel whereas Hi-NRG came more from Disco's fusion with Pop music.
Chart Hit [Level 6]
I agree however it is a tough call on whether high energy was first or house. but i think high nrg because Freeze - AEIOU came out in '82 and the first house track Jesse Saunders - On & On came out in '83. Therefore probably high nrg.
Acetate [Level 1]
Hi-NRG was first, but House is the offspring of Hi-NRG. Hi-NRG is the offspring of late 70's Eurodisco. Hi-NRG has been around since 1981 and went stong until 1984 then in 1985 House had arrived, and is still going till this very day. But...Hi-NRG was kind of whatever it wanted to be as long as the music somewhat fast paced.
Platinum Record [Level 8]
Hi-NRG - which was called "boystown" around 1982 by James Hamilton of Record Mirror - could also mean bpms below 120, as in the case of the extremely popular "Stop Bajon...Primavera" by Tullio di Piscopo. Other midtempo acts that reached the offical Record Mirror Hi-Nrg chart were OFF with their Electrica Salsa thing and loads of Italian tracks inluenced by early electro, such as Capricorn.
Underground Hit [Level 5]
pffffftHouse is the offspring of Hi-NRG.
Womb Prayer!
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Once I read that quote, I had to reply! As a long time house music lover/afficianado, let's get our facts straight:House music is not an offshoot of Hi-NRG. House music is definitely rooted in R&B and soulful disco, whereas hi-NRG evolved from the eurodisco sound of people like Cerrone,Moroder,and Constandinos. If you checked your history, the Paradise Garage (which is credited with being one of the main pioneering clubs for house)and the Saint(which is credited with pioneering hi-NRG)were bitter rivals on the gay dance circuit,and attracted different crowds:the Garage-predominately black and Puerto Rican gay oriented,and the Saint-more upperclass,white gay men. Other than sexuality, the clubs had very little in common and this included the musical selection:Larry Levan played a wider variety of music because he traced his clubbing roots back to the open music policy of the Loft and the Gallery, while the Saint's deejays favored a more quasi-classical, Euro approach that would eventually define the hi-NRG ethos. House is about funk basslines, swingy drums,jazz-inflected keyboards,Latin percussion, and soul/gospel-inflected vocals, while hi-NRG was more about velocity,octave basslines, and euro synths. While Cerrone's "Love In C Minor" and Moroder's early works with Donna Summer(along with some solo stuff)did manage to get played at some of the black loft parties, it was clear that house would develop from the Philadelphia soul sound and other more black-based dance, than European dance music. House traces it's roots back to the pre-disco era, so naturally it came before hi-NRG.The term "house" came into fruition in the early 1980s,when Frankie Knuckles brought New York disco mixing/editing techniques to Chicago, and inspired the midwesterners to create a culture from his Warehouse party. Again, while Chicago jocks did listen to and play Italo-disco tracks like Klein & MBO's "Dirty Talk" or Telex, it was out of functionality( lack of disco production due to backlash, and the Chicago crowd's lust for uptempo music),and the early house records sampled basslines and beats from Philly disco classics,which would prove over time to be house's true disco heritage. I have nothing against hi-NRG music, but house music has been around much longer(eurodisco was just that-a european response to American black disco a la' Gamble & Huff) and has survived, because it's musical roots are much richer- a piece of the puzzle in a long tradition of black dance music styles. Let's not get it confused because both house and hi-NRG evolved from disco's tree, and both embraced new technology at the time.I will give you this-hi-NRG did spawn trance/progressive and that 'circuit party' music business, which is the Saint's direct influence-but it did not spawn house!
Chart Hit [Level 6]
One more thing: I know the difference between the two styles, because I remember that era when you had Hazel Dean,Evelyn Thomas,Bobby O, Miquel Brown, and Eastbound Expressway along with Ian Levine. House was rawer,funkier,dirtier,and more soulful and it has evolved into a more organic and soulful style. H-NRG has evolved into the commerical dance-pop and over-the-top trance music that personally makes me cringe. Just a little side note.
Acetate [Level 1]
Great explanation NuSoul, thanks for digging up this old topic 8)
Underground Hit [Level 5]
God!!!Bernie wrote:
Living in the NYC area I recall hearing the term Hi-NRG as early as 1982-83. Whereas House was around 1984-85.
You're lucky Bernie....
I think here in Brazil, we spent the whole 80's decade without hearing the term HI-NRG (I am not joking)... In the press (whenever it was mentioned - once in each 5 years) it was just DISCO.
ONLY around 1988/89/90 we heard names such as EBM, NEW SUMMER OF LOVE, HOUSE, ACID HOUSE....
Platinum Record [Level 8]
HINRG evolves after the disco boom had died out and had gone back into the underground black/latin and gay clubs from where it had originally evolved. In the UK - Ian Levine started to write fast stompy dance music geared towards the underground gay club scene - it was originally BOYSTOWN the changed its name to HINRG/Eurobeat.As far as I can tell - HOUSE music evolved from the roots of 70`s disco/funk and has no relation to HINRG....
I remember having a big debate about this issue when I DJ `d yaers ago....Interesting topic that makes good reading !!! :D
Chart Hit [Level 6]
Hi NRG certainly came first.Although both genres are bastard sons of disco and both had certain European influences, they are different and have different fans. Many of the Northern soul DJs progressed to Hinrg producers; Ian Levine, Ian Antony Stephens to name 2. Hinrg as mentioned was championed by discos like The Saint, Tracadero, Heaven and house in The Warehouse, Music Box. House took the soul and speed from disco and blended it with the electronic sounds from Kraftwerk, Human League etc. Hinrg kept the strings, speeded up the tempo with melodys to the forefront. Yes, there were many Hinrg hits which were of an electronic nature by the like of Patrick Cowley etc. Hinrg crossed-over easier chartwise than house, as it could appeal to a wider and predominately white audience.
Platinum Record [Level 8]
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British produced HINRG was extremely influential (especially in the US) Ian levine was very popular on the East Coast scene and would regularly debut his new recordings in clubs like the Saint. I believe his Track "So many men".. caused quite a sensation in New York and topped the dance charts for months... 8)
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