Tasman Clark
The History of House is a combined production between the three time Grammy winning group the Soweto Gospel Choir and Ministry of Sound collaborator DJ Groove Terminator that expectedly takes us through the History of House music. The entire show is designed and performed like a DJ set, yet I was delightedly surprised when the audience was taught the deep cultural and historical context within the history of house!
The performance was split into chunks of decades, starting with the club classics of the 90s, like You Don’t Know Me by Armand Van Helden and Crystal Waters’ Gypsy Woman, the Soweto Gospel Choir elevated these tunes, that are so ingrained into our brains, to another level. Chanting the vocal samples live and harmonising to the chord progressions underneath, with dancing to match the energy.
Then we were spun back in time to the 70s, where the History of House showed us the musical and cultural context in where the origins of house music was born, with Arethra Franklin and funk classics like CHIC’s Le Freak. Alongside uplifting grooves, the audience was taught the significance of this music to the black community during the civil rights movement of the time, with the choir singing the words Viva while performing the Black Power salute and images of the period flashed up on the visualiser, even sampling sections of MLK’s I have a dream.
Fast-forward to the 80s, where Blue Monday and Sweet Dreams swept the floor as the crowd of mostly middle aged white women were taken back to their youth! This decade during the performance didn’t musically hit as hard as the others, as the songs they chose for this period didn’t display the power of the choir, instead mostly just having a lead singer to 80s synth-pop songs. As much as the audience around me seemed to love the nostalgia trip, I felt disappointed as the choir was holding back their chops compared to what we saw earlier.
We then take a break from the History, and are brought into a sermon, where the DJ and the choir bring up the values of Christianity in a rendition of Hallelujah. At first I had my doubts about this; as I’ve always been uncomfortable around religious practices since my days in a Catholic school, however I was pleasantly won over when the DJ started preaching LGBTQ+ rights and praising inclusivity!
Finally, as the final act and what seemed to be the showstopper, is their own interpretation on what House music is today, with original songs coming from their album History of House. This chapter of the performance is where the mixture of a DJ set and a full 16 piece Gospel Choir truly came to life, with strong grooves carrying the velvet harmonies. The best moments were when the choir held long chords over a relaxed house beat. Simple, yet beautiful, with the Town Hall feeling like it was filled with hope, love and peace.
The energy of the choir was the heart of the show, with each lead singer bringing their own love and passion for this music to the stage, while the rest of the choir supported them with ironclad vocals. It felt like all the performers were singing from deep within their soul. The set itself was well mixed, and everyone worked synergistically with one another. My one main note, however, is they gotta bump the bass. More info on the season that was here.
Then we were spun back in time to the 70s, where the History of House showed us the musical and cultural context in where the origins of house music was born, with Arethra Franklin and funk classics like CHIC’s Le Freak. Alongside uplifting grooves, the audience was taught the significance of this music to the black community during the civil rights movement of the time, with the choir singing the words Viva while performing the Black Power salute and images of the period flashed up on the visualiser, even sampling sections of MLK’s I have a dream.
Fast-forward to the 80s, where Blue Monday and Sweet Dreams swept the floor as the crowd of mostly middle aged white women were taken back to their youth! This decade during the performance didn’t musically hit as hard as the others, as the songs they chose for this period didn’t display the power of the choir, instead mostly just having a lead singer to 80s synth-pop songs. As much as the audience around me seemed to love the nostalgia trip, I felt disappointed as the choir was holding back their chops compared to what we saw earlier.
We then take a break from the History, and are brought into a sermon, where the DJ and the choir bring up the values of Christianity in a rendition of Hallelujah. At first I had my doubts about this; as I’ve always been uncomfortable around religious practices since my days in a Catholic school, however I was pleasantly won over when the DJ started preaching LGBTQ+ rights and praising inclusivity!
Finally, as the final act and what seemed to be the showstopper, is their own interpretation on what House music is today, with original songs coming from their album History of House. This chapter of the performance is where the mixture of a DJ set and a full 16 piece Gospel Choir truly came to life, with strong grooves carrying the velvet harmonies. The best moments were when the choir held long chords over a relaxed house beat. Simple, yet beautiful, with the Town Hall feeling like it was filled with hope, love and peace.
The energy of the choir was the heart of the show, with each lead singer bringing their own love and passion for this music to the stage, while the rest of the choir supported them with ironclad vocals. It felt like all the performers were singing from deep within their soul. The set itself was well mixed, and everyone worked synergistically with one another. My one main note, however, is they gotta bump the bass. More info on the season that was here.