House music’s four-to-the-floor groove is so ubiquitous as to seem both universal and timeless. In fact, the style was born in Chicago, in the mid-’80s, as the underground soundtrack to the city’s Black and LGBTQ communities. House began as an offshoot of disco, as artists like Jesse Saunders, Frankie Knuckles and Marshall Jefferson used analogue synths and drum machines to craft skeletal rhythm tracks fleshed out with silky electronic melodies, punctuated by the occasional spoken refrain or splash of gospel. The original house tracks were minimalist to the extreme, but the style soon mutated in new directions. Mr. Fingers (a.k.a. Larry Heard) drew on soul music’s moody depths. Phuture harnessed the livewire frequencies of the TB-303 to create acid’s writhing basslines. And Green Velvet (a.k.a. Cajmere) brought a wicked sense of dark humour that would help the style spread from basement clubs to raves around the world.