progressive house

A term used to describe forward thinking electronic house music originating in the UK in the early 90's. Originally coined as a joke by a Mixmag journalist, it came to describe the sound championed by Sasha & John Digweed at Renaissance, Venue 44, Mansfield in the early 90's. "Renaissance - The Mix Collection" released in 1994 was the first ever DJ mix album, and defined the "progressive house" sound, taking in elements of trance and U.S. house. Other prominent DJ's in the "progressive house" scene include Dave Seaman, Nick Warren and James Zabiela.

Digweed was playing some proper deep prog last night
I love my progressive house but I also like tech-house and breaks
I love Sasha's progressive sound
This quality prog just stomps along
Sasha & Digweed B2B always does it for me

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Progressive house

Progressive house is a very broad sub-genre of house music. In the late 90's, the sub-genre initially became attributed to Sasha & John Digweed's Northern Exposure album mixes, which is often seen as the genre's inception.

Progressive house entered into a 2nd phase in the mid to late 00's. This phase is often and largely attributed to the works of deadmau5, as well as Pryda and Kaskade.

The early to mid 2010's marks prog house's successful assimilation into mainstream pop music. This period is the peak of mainstream prog house, with Avicii's "Levels" and SHM's "Don't You Worry Child" being one of the many tracks that managed to become a worldwide hit. Also notable are Zedd's Clarity and deadmau5's The Veldt.

From 2015 and onwards marks its slow demise in the realm of mainstream music, and now only remains in the underground scene.

There is really no right way to define progressive house music, as its sound is quite eclectic. Aside from technical differences, the main key differences between prog house and other similar genres (e.g. trance, deep house, techno) are the feelings and emotions associated with it. Prog house is generally more happy and uplifting compared to techno (i.e. more melodic). And unlike uplifting trance, it lacks the energetic qualities and instead makes you feel calm, meditative, and peaceful. It can also elicit feelings of nostalgia.

For examples of what 'true' progressive house sounds like, check out MrSuicideSheep's 'Taking You Higher' Mixes.

Mary: OMG I think I just found my new favorite genre! Progressive house!

Justine: Oh cool, never heard of that genre before

Mary: It's EDM but it's nothing like you'd hear at a nightclub. When I listen to these songs I imagine myself chillaxing on a beach or going on a cruise

Justine: Oh wow that sounds amazing! Where can I find some songs like that?

Mary: I just look up 'progressive house mix' on YouTube and start binge-listening to those. My favorite prog house artist so far is Dinka.