House: the music born in a Chicago club

The name comes from a place: The Warehouse, a Chicago club where Frankie Knuckles held a residency from the late 1970s. The records he played, a blend of disco, soul and electronic sounds, came to be called “house music” by the regulars.

In the mid-1980s, local producers began making their own tracks with drum machines such as the Roland TR-808 and TR-909, punchy basslines and a steady four-on-the-floor kick, the foundation of almost all dance music since.

Across the Atlantic, the sound exploded in the UK at the end of the decade with the acid house movement. Knuckles became known as the “Godfather of House”, and the style split into dozens of sub-genres.

On the dance floor, house works because it is both danceable and elegant: it holds the energy without wearing people out and blends naturally with disco, soul and Brazilian grooves. That's why it shows up in almost every one of Rodrigo's sets.