I walked into this gig feeling like I wasn’t in the mood for dancing. But house music doesn’t care if you feel like dancing. House music will make you dance regardless. That’s the house music agenda.
The 12-strong choir Soweto Gospel Choir deliver a 1.5-hour medley of house-y disco anthems that had my hips involuntarily moving. The soulful sounds of the choir permeate through The Rechabite Hall in an evocative joyful current.
History of House
I expected more of a narrative chronicling house music through the decades. Possibly due, in part, to a DJ narrating, which is a breed not normally given a microphone. (We tolerate Carl Cox’s microphone antics because the rest of his set makes up for it). However, upon further reflection I realised that it’s incongruent with the history of house. It didn’t start in the mainstream. There were no ticketed events to record the history of early house music gigs. They were underground parties that were on an IYKYK basis. The other element of house that makes it hard to chronicle is the fact that it manifests a rich tapestry of remixes and samples that would make it laborious to track the true origin of any given element of a song. House music borrows from gospel, hip hop, and so many other genres. It is an amalgamation of the backgrounds of all the people who created the songs and mixes in the scene. House music isn’t meant to be a cohesive recollection of the past, it’s a momentous celebration of immediacy to inject hope. So, on that premise, it was a well curated history of the genre.
History of House
I’ve never seen the Rechabite bursting with energy on a Wednesday night like this. The highlights for me include Homeless by Mr Belt & Wezol, which, whaddaya know, is a remake of Crystal Water’s song ‘Gypsy Woman.’ So, if we’re playing that in a chronological structure, do you put it in 1991 when the original made an impact on house music? Or do you put it in 2020, a time when many people around the world resonated with it for a different reasons with the closure of dance floors during the pandemic? Timing doesn’t matter in a fluid display of grooves, and Andrew Kay understood the assignment. It may seem strange that this review is turning into somewhat of a love letter to house music, but I have a feeling that he wouldn’t be upset that this review isn’t all about him and the choir. House music, after all, has always been about community. There have certainly been times in my life when the only place I’ve felt at home was on the dance floor.
A standout moment occurrs when Treaty by Yothu Yindi is mixed in. When Soweto Gospel Choir sung the chorus for that Aboriginal anthem, it gave me goosebumps. I have them again just writing this as I think about those 30 seconds. In that powerful moment, I was flooded with thoughts of the power of culture and art as a tool of empowerment for Aboriginal people. Music is healing and it makes people want to pay attention to what you have to say.
They play a rework of Hallelujah for the encore to close out the performance, reminding me how much house has been influenced by gospel music. It’s a match made in heaven, and you should go see it to get a dosage of joy and black excellence in your life. Anyone who has ever listened to house music or found themselves at least tapping their toes to the beat will love this show.
History of House is on now at Fringe World through to Sunday the 28th of Jan.