dave seaman’s idea of house

house was always about freedom, not convention. a truly independent and personal outlook – that’s acid house, not a smiley t-shirt in 88, white levi’s in 90, hardcore v. balearic in 92, “brand identity” in 96 blah blah blah. superclub? i’d rather go to a supper club. “proper” house? the more improper the better. “real” house? who dictates what’s real – as soon as anyone’s dictating, it ain’t real in my book. so i might listen to metal or r’n’b too – without the freedom i found in the spirit of house, techno, electronica whatever you want to call it – well i wouldn’t have found it in me to do that. everyone is welcome in the house music church – a tribal gathering that means a gathering of all tribes, not a gathering for one tribe only to the exlusion of all others. something happened when house came along – a democratisation and demystifying of everything about making music and the music industry. punk had walked the walk, but house talked the talk. suddenly you really could make & distribute your own music globally without going through legions of “suits”. no amount of corporatisation can change that fact. as the song says, “house is a feeling” – not an old school compilation (sic), not a double page glossy magazine ad, not a convenient musical formula for soundtracking tv ads for range rovers. 4/4 not 4×4. maybe the time has come to mutate a bit, kick over a few statues. but that needs to evolve away from the spotlight. maybe that can’t be done in this age of instant media saturation, but we can try. change or die. my idea of house – therapy for the soul. whatever your faith – keep it.
— dave seaman, audio therapy. photograph by davin.