The origin point of house music can be traced definitively back to Chicago, where the form arose as a reaction to disco and became popularised by its Black, mostly queer, progenitors at the South Side’s The Warehouse nightclub from which the genre takes its name. But house would also find a home in New York, an offshoot that took root most distinctly in the ballroom scene of Harlem in the late 80’s. Here, house took on a more staccato and fiery energy, propelled by the MCs of the ball who would spit words over each bar and to the beat of performers voguing, strutting and serving face. This approach would come to shape the “en mode” aesthetic of 90’s house, and defined the genre as emblematic of fantasy chic and queer opulence. While ‘house’ has inevitably disseminated into the mainstream and been usurped by a new guard of (predominantly) cis-white creators, if anyone is pushing the genre back to where it belongs it’s Honey Dijon. The Chicago DJ and producer has continued in the legacy of house music’s true pioneers, evolving her sound through modern influences from Berlin techno to pop, but never mutating her house into one of its many contemporary subgenres. Her sound is classic, rooted in history but conceived for contemporary ears. On her latest single, Work she’s paying tribute to the sounds and culture of the Harlem ballroom scene more outwardly than anything she’s made before. It’s less eurocentric than La Femme Fantastique, and instantly more ferocious than smooth party starter Downtown.
Joining forces with lyricist Dave Giles II, Brooklyn singer-songwriter Cor.Ece and iconic house producer Mike Dunn, Dijon delivers a track dripping in the energy and panache of the ballroom. The beats hit like a death drop, and the slight maximalist approach is fitting of the culture Dijon evokes here. Incorporating live jazz elements like a double bass, horns and percussion into the mix gives Dijon’s classic house a deep, sensual soul. A wonky, modulating bassline gives Work a sense of dizzying buoyancy. Cor.Ece takes the role of MC here, punctuating each beat with a sass-soaked delivery of lines like “just centre yourself and see”. The motifs and aesthetics of 90’s house have become increasingly more present in dance and pop music over the past two years, yet many of these have reduced the form to its most essential parts. Dijon’s four-on-the-floor is not like others; it’s complex, steeped in a knowledge of an archive that she inherently understands and is capable of accessing. It makes Work feel essential, not only to her ambition as an artist, but to a revival of the soul of house music. As the latest single from her upcoming LP Black Girl Magic, Work points toward Dijon being on the precipice of a cultural shift more than she has ever been before. Her direction and commitment to turning her music into both history lesson and trendsetter couldn’t be more prescient. She’s doing the work, and there’s little more to say than ten across the board.
Work is accompanied by an equally as glam music video, featuring high-fashion clad dancers and models voguing and lip syncing to Dijon’s ballroom fantasia. Watch below.
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