Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in Chicago in the 1980s. It is known for its tempos, typically ranging from 110 to 125 bpm, muted basslines, spacious use of percussion elements (typically using a Roland TR-909 drum machine), soft keyboard sounds (pads), use of advanced chord structures, ambient mixes, and soulful vocals. Lyrics usually focus on positive/uplifting themes or more melancholic subjects akin to blues. Deep house is a subgenre of house music that is revered by its fans for its faithfulness to Chicago house and New York garage.
According to, deep house contains elements of Chicago house with touches of soul music, 1980s jazz funk, and garage house. The origins of deep house stemmed from Larry "Mr. Fingers" Heards experiments with more soulful and jazzy styles of house music, and it was initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk.
Deep house is often labeled as a downtempo and more delicate rendition of house music. Nowadays, deep house frequently crosses over into the realm of pop music, mainly because its surge in popularity made it more viable for mainstream music consumption.
