Tribal house is a subgenre of house music

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 similar in structure to deep house

Deep house

Deep house is a subgenre of house music that fuses elements of Chicago house into the 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. In the early compositions , influences of jazz music were most frequently brought out by using more complex chords than simple triads which are held for many bars and...

, but providing elements of ethnic or indigenous

Indigenous music

Indigenous music is a term for the traditional music of the indigenous peoples of the world, that is, the music of an "original" ethnic group that inhabits any geographic region alongside more recent immigrants who may be greater in number...

 musical percussions (typically conga drums or its synthesized

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

 derivative). The genre remains one of the most minimalist

Minimalism

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

 in the history of electronic dance music since the appearance of house in the mid-eighties and up to the recent days.

Characteristics

In many tribal house tracks, it is rare to find a core melody or prolonged synth sound, such as those found in house music

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

 and similar electronic music styles. Instead, tribal house tracks rely on sophisticated drum patterns for their rhythm. A track can consist of several different drum sounds.

Tribal house rose to prominence during the early 1990s, notably off the releases of New York labels Tribal America Records and, to a lesser extent, Strictly Rhythm Records. The music was staple in New York's most prominent clubs such as the Sound Factory and Roxy NYC. Tribal America Records' infamy within this sub-genre stemmed from their globally popular releases by Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez, Deep Dish, Eric Kupper (aka K-Scope) and MURK amongst others. This popularity led to the formation of a UK sub-label, Tribal United Kingdom. The label also helped launch European artists Farley & Heller, Salt City Orchestra, The Underground Sound Of Lisbon and others who produced in this style.

There is no clear-cut definition of tribal house music, instead tracks are usually classified or perceived as tribal because of their live sound. Tribal house is reminiscent of the ethnic music of various tribes of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and it is not unusual for this music to feature chant

Chant

Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...

ing and ululation

Ululation

A is a long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound resembling a howl with a trilling quality. It is produced by emitting a high pitched loud voice accompanied with a rapid movement of the tongue and the uvula. The term ululation is an onomatopoeic word derived from Latin...

 as a cappella

A cappella

A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

s. Tribal music can be produced with either live (ie. with real drums and instruments) or digital instrumentation: however, live-produced music of this sort in the purest sense is seen as ethnic, while digital tribal music is called 'tribal house'.

Tribal house is a fusion of various styles of electronic dance music (see Latin House

Latin house

Latin house is an electronic dance music subgenre that mixes together house and Latin American music, such as that of Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban, Dominican and Colombian origin.-Origins:...

), and can range from uplifting and cheerful to dark and aggressive in mood. It can sometimes distort the boundaries between dark house, which is an offshoot of progressive house, and tech-house, a more techno

Techno

Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...

-driven, "sharper" house percussion beat, as if mixing intelligent dance music

Intelligent dance music

Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...

 and minimal techno

Minimal techno

Minimal techno is a minimalist sub-genre of techno. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition, and understated development. This style of dance music production generally adheres to the motto less is more; a principle that has been previously utilized, to...

. Tribal music can be produced in such a way that it absorbs the characteristics of all styles of house music.

Examples

Some artists and disc jockeys that support this type of music include Thunderpuss, Danny Tenaglia

Danny Tenaglia

Danny Tenaglia is a New York-based DJ and Grammy nominated record producer.-Early life:At the age of ten, Tenaglia first started to collect records. In 1979 he began going to nightclub Paradise Garage, where DJ Larry Levan's genre-less blend of music appealed to him...

, Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...

, Manoo, Peter Rauhofer

Peter Rauhofer

Peter Rauhofer is a DJ, remixer and producer who formerly went under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he is famous for his remixes of a number of Madonna's songs including "Nothing Really Matters", "American Life", "Nothing Fails, "Nobody Knows Me", "Get...

, Offer Nissim

Offer Nissim

Offer Nissim is a popular Israeli DJ and producer. He was born in 1964 in Tel Aviv, Israel.Nissim produces house music in mostly tribal, hard and progressive styles, including exclusive tracks featuring female vocalists and Meital De Razon...

, Steve Lawler

Steve Lawler

Steve Lawler is a British house music producer and DJ born in Birmingham, England. He has held residences at many popular dance clubs such as Space, The End and Twilo. Because of his successful performances at Space in Ibiza, he has been nicknamed "King of Space". Lawler has released several mix...

, D-Unity, Superchumbo, DJ Vibe

DJ Vibe

This article refers to the House DJ Vibe, not the hardcore DJ Vibe DJ Vibe is a house music DJ.-Career:Vibe was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and became a DJ at 15...

, Sandy Rivera

Sandy Rivera

Sandy Rivera is an American record producer, House music DJ and label owner. Born in New York City, he is now based in New Jersey.-Biography:...

, Ralphi Rosario

Ralphi Rosario

Ralphi Rosario was a founding member of the influential Chicago DJ group, The Hot Mix 5. When this group formed in 1981 on radio station WBMX, Rosario, the youngest member of the group, was still in high school...

, Rocco

Rocco

Rocco is an Italian given name or surname, and may refer to:* Rocco Baldelli, Major League Baseball player and coach for the Tampa Bay Rays* Rocco Buttiglione, Italian politician* Rocky Colavito, given name of a Major League Baseball player...

, Victor Calderone

Victor Calderone

Victor Calderone is a house music producer, DJ and remixer.-History:Raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Calderone was introduced into New York City's nightlife by his older brother, Cesar, who was very active in the club music business. Calderone began to dabble with turntables and...

, Antoine Clamaran

Antoine Clamaran

Antoine Clamaran is a French house music artist and music remixer. Clamaran was born in Villeurbanne. In the early 90's, his local fame interested Maximum FM, the leading parisian dance radio station at that time. Impressed by his mixing gift, Clamaran gained a huge audience and started to be...

, Dj Alex F, Robbie Rivera

Robbie Rivera

Roberto "Robbie" Rivera is a prolific house music producer and DJ born in Puerto Rico. He has an extensive catalog of original productions and remixes to his credit, ranging from Tribal to Progressive House, as well as incorporating Garage and Latin elements. He and his wife Monica Olabarrieta...

, Peace Division

Peace Division

Peace Division is the production name for the tribal house duo Clive Henry and Justin Drake. Together, they have proven to be one of the most prolific UK tribal house producers starting with their first record in 1994....

, John Creamer, Chus & Ceballos, Tamer Fouda

Tamer Fouda

Tamer Fouda is an Egyptian musician working in a house or tribal style.-Biography and career:Born on the 10th of December in 1980 and hailing from Egypt, Tamer quickly created for himself his own charisma and music line...

, DJ 9-9, wally lopez, Roger Sanchez

Roger Sanchez

Roger Sanchez, also known as Roger S. and The S Man, is a Grammy award-winning American House music DJ who has scored many hits in the European and World Charts...

  Pete Tha Zouk, jasebaillie,
DJ mickey.