New Jersey house

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New Jersey house, also known as the Jersey sound, is a genre of house music originating in Newark, New Jersey during the early 1980s with an emphasis on soulful vocals influenced by Newark's gospel legacy.

Contents

Name

Besides the term "New Jersey house", there are alternative names for the genre: "In the UK, for fairly unfathomable reasons, it became known as garage music (named after the Paradise Garage in New York), while in NJ itself they simply called it club (or perhaps more pertinently, the Jersey sound)." [1]

History

Club Zanzibar in Newark, New Jersey, where DJ Tony Humphries began his residency in 1982, helped "spawn the sometimes raw but always soulful, gospel-infused subgenre" of deep house music known as the Jersey sound. [2] The Jersey club scene also gave rise to the ball culture scene in Newark hotels and nightclubs. [3] "Queen of House" Crystal Waters and other house luminaries performed on the Newark scene. DJ Kerri Chandler, another Zanzibar DJ, was another pioneer of the "Jersey sound" variety of house music. Jersey artists like Jomanda found success on the early 90s house music scene. Some have said that "when New York went to rap [during this period], Jersey stayed with club. Because of Zanzibar.” [3]

Newark female singers famously remixed by house music DJ Larry Levan included Gwen Guthrie ("Ain't Nothin' Goin On But The Rent") and Taana Gardner ("Heartbeat").

Abigail Adams's house-music record label and store, Movin’ Records in Newark's neighbor East Orange, was another contributor to the Jersey Sound. [4] [5] [6]

In 1992, Union County's Aly-Us released their deep-house hit "Follow Me." [7] [8]

Artists and producers who work in the style

The popular current electronic sound of Jersey club can be deemed a descendent of New Jersey house.

Festivals

Annual summer events like the Roselle House Music Festival in Warinanco Park, the Trenton House Music Festival, the Weequahic Park House Music Festival, and the Lincoln Park Music Festival attract families and house music enthusiasts, also known as "househeads," dedicated to the classic Jersey sound. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Tony Humphries (musician) American disc jockey

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Club Zanzibar

Club Zanzibar was a dance club that opened in 1979 at 430 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Its presence in Downtown Newark was noted for its influence on house music and garage house genres and scene. Club Zanzibar, along with other gay and straight clubs in the era, was both a straight and LGBT black and Latino nightlife destination.

Aly-Us is a house music group from New Jersey that was active mostly in the early 1990s. Their most famous record was “Follow Me” from 1992.

References

  1. ↑ "The 20 best New Jersey house records". Mixmag. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  2. ↑ "Jersey club: From Newark to the world". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  3. 1 2 "History of Queer Club Spaces in Newark | Queer Newark". queer.newark.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  4. ↑ "The story of Abigail Adams and New Jersey's Movin' Records". The Vinyl Factory. 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  5. ↑ "Kerri Chandler". Attack Magazine. 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  6. ↑ "HMC Rewind: Abigail Adams / Moving Records". housemusicchannel.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  7. ↑ "Aly-Us "Follow Me" | Insomniac" . Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  8. ↑ "Official Tickets and Your Source for Live Entertainment | AXS.com". www.axs.com. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  9. ↑ "Magic's Royal Productions House Music Events & Festivals". Magicsroyal. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
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