Deep, tech and groovy house: what I play and when

People ask what I play and I say deep and tech house, and about half of them nod politely while thinking of something entirely different from what I mean. So here is the plain version.

Deep house

Warm, mid tempo, more chord than drum. It sits around 120 to 124 BPM, the bass is round rather than sharp, and there is usually something in it that sounds like a real instrument.

What it does to a room: it lowers everyone's shoulders. Deep house is the only dance music I know that works at a dinner table without becoming background noise. People talk over it comfortably and then find themselves nodding along, which is exactly the state you want a room in an hour before anyone dances.

Tech house

Tighter, punchier, more percussive. Around 125 to 128, the drums are the point, the bassline moves, and space is used as a weapon. Less melody, more groove and mechanics.

What it does to a room: it fills a floor and keeps it. Tech house is what I reach for once the room has decided it is a party. It has enough drive to hold a peak for an hour without exhausting people, which is the actual hard part of a long set.

Groovy house

Less a genre than a temperature. Disco and funk pulled through a house drum machine. Basslines you could hum, vocals used as texture rather than the main event, and a swing in the drums that straight four to the floor does not have.

What it does to a room: it makes people who do not think they like electronic music start dancing without noticing they have. Groovy house is the first thing I would reach for at a wedding, and it is what most people are actually describing when they say they want "house but not too intense."

Where each one goes

Part of the night	What is playing
Cocktail hour and dinner	Deep house, groovy house, disco edits. Low, warm, conversational.
The turn, roughly 9 to 10pm	Groovy house getting firmer. Basslines arrive. Tempo creeps.
The peak	Tech house and club records. Longer blends, no dead air.
The close	Depends entirely on the room. Sometimes harder, sometimes back to the warm stuff so people leave smiling.

The mistake is not playing the wrong genre. It is playing the right genre at the wrong hour.

The bit that is not genre

Ten years in, I think the genre question is the least interesting one. Two DJs can play the same six records and produce completely different nights depending on when each one lands and how long each one is allowed to breathe.

What I am actually doing all night is watching. Who came back from the bar. Who is looking at their phone. Whether the group by the door has committed or is waiting for a reason to leave. The tracklist is a set of options, not a plan.

If you want to hear it

My IYKYK mix is on the front page, and it is up on SoundCloud too. Thirty seconds of it will tell you more than any paragraph I could write.