Funky house

For the UK garage subgenre, see UK funky.

Funky house
Stylistic origins	House disco funk boogie
Cultural origins	Late 1980s, United States
Derivative forms	UK funky
Other topics
Nu-disco nu-funk G-funk French house future funk

Funky house is a subgenre of house music that uses disco and funk samples, a funk-inspired bass line or a strong soul influence, combined with drum breaks that draw inspiration from 1970s and 1980s funk records. It often includes disco strings, though not consistently. Funky house is familiarized by a specific sound, characterized by bassline, swooshes, swirls and other synthesized sounds which give the music a bouncy tempo with around 128 BPM. Overall, it has influenced the development of several other subgenres, such as tech house, nu-disco, and UK Funky, which have borrowed its rhythmic elements and upbeat energy.

Production and Characteristics

Funky house music draws inspiration from the rhythmic complexity and soulful vibe of 1970s and 1980s funk and disco. Key production characteristics include

Disco Strings

• Lush, orchestral disco strings, which create a vibrant sound.

Funk Inspired Basslines

• This includes deep, groovy basslines that add rhythmic depth.

Vocal Samples

• Vocal loops or samples from older soul and disco records, creating a familiar yet fresh sound.

Tempo and Synth Effects

• Typically set at around 128 BPM, funky house features synthesized swooshes, swirls, and filtered sounds, giving it a bouncy, feel-good vibe that is key to the genre.

History

1990s

Funky house was initially popularized in the 1990s, with artists such as Daft Punk helping popularize the style through tracks like "Around the World" and "One More Time". These tracks incorporated repetitive, groove-heavy basslines with soulful, filtered vocals, which became defining features of the genre. A member of Daft Punk founded one of the many early labels, Roulé, making an effort to distinguish funky house from other house subgenres by blending classic funk with modern production techniques.

2000s

It was particularly successful in the early and mid-2000s. With its influence spreading across club scenes globally, popular record labels such as Defected Records, Ministry of Sound, Hed Kandi, and Fierce Angel all released compilation albums dedicated to the genre. Notable compilation series include Defected’s "In the House" and Hed Kandi’s "Beach House." Artists like Joey Negro (Dave Lee), Armand Van Helden, and DJ Sneak were instrumental in crafting the genre’s sound, blending funk, soul, and house into vibrant, feel-good music that resonated on dance floors worldwide.

2010s–present

With the renewed interest in funk and disco in the early 2010s, a new wave of music incorporating funk and disco samples emerged. Still, the song's structure and characteristics remain to be from the plain house, leading to the development referred to as funk-house. This is a development of the parent genre and could arguably be related or not related to funky house. While some argue this is a misinterpretation of funky house's defining characteristics, others note that the genre's influence is evident in modern production styles of deep and tech house. Additionally, certain modern producers continue to keep the funky house tradition alive, remixing classic funky house tracks and keeping its vibrant sound relevant in club culture.

Influence on Modern Music

Funky house’s influence can be seen across various modern house subgenres. The uplifting nature has become intertwined contemporary deep house and tech house, with many producers incorporating funk-influenced basslines and disco-inspired samples. Though tech house is less vocal-centric than funky house, it occasionally incorporates vocal loops or snippets that recall the soulful, disco-inspired samples of funky house. These vocals are usually chopped and looped, blending into the percussive structure of tech house. Both funky house and tech house inherit the trait of a very energetic feel, using a driving beat prioritizing a dance-floor appeal.

Tech House

Tech house often utilizes a repetitive, groove-focused bassline that is a direct nod to funky house. However, where funky house features a rich, bouncy bassline, tech house basslines are usually more restrained and minimalistic, fitting the genre's techno-inspired aesthetic.

An example of blending tech and funky house is "You Little Beauty" by Fisher (musician) (2019). Using soulful influences, a sampled vocal is featured that harkens back to the disco-inspired sounds of funky house. The groovy bassline and upbeat energy resonate with the funky house tradition, despite being categorized as tech house.

Another example includes "The Movement" by Matroda (2020), where the song "In and Out of My Life” by Adeva (1988) was sampled. Like many funky house tracks, "The Movement" uses vocal samples from older recordings. The vocal cuts are manipulated to add a rhythmic, chant-like quality that aligns with the disco-funk tradition of reworking older material to create something fresh and danceable. This is a key technique in both funky house and tech house, blending nostalgia with modern beats.

Deep House

Although rooted in Chicago house music in the 1980s, deep house evolved further by the 2000s. It has a more sooth, mellow sound, also often featuring disco influences - elements that tie it to funky house. Deep house producers have integrated funky house's distinctive baselines, rhythmic grooves, and soul foul sampling techniques, but in a more laid-back yet equally oriented manner. While funky house is known for its bouncy, dance-floor tempo (around 128 BPM), deep house generally has a slower tempo (usually between 115-125 BPM). Despite this difference, it still allows for cross-genre remixes and collaborations between deep and funky house artists, bridging the dance-floor vibe of funky house with the introspective ambiance of deep house.

"Love Tonight" by Shouse is an example of deep house that uses a groove-focused, repetitive bassline, creating a sense of warmth and depth. It includes anthem like vocals building a communal, uplifting energy that often presents in funky house tracks. The song’s call-and-response structure and harmonized vocal loops give it a familiar, soulful vibe, making it both introspective and danceable, which is a hallmark of both deep and funky house.