The web is a precious resource, even for those who want to know why the most common speed of EDM/house music is 128 BPM. I’ve found dozens of interesting pages, written by true experts, although, as it seems to me, much younger than me. Well, I can briefly summarize what those experts have said, and I can, humbly, add something more, partly based on my personal philosophy about the dance DJ activity.
According to my findings, the popularity of rhythms at 128 BPM is motivated as follows: 1) it’s easier to dance; 2) the musical composition is easier, because at 128 BPM you have 32 bars of 4 beats, so that the phrase of music is exactly 1 minute; 3) it’s a sort of convention, depending on the praxes of the earliest DJs of house music, such as Mr. Jesse Saunders; 4) at 128 BPM, the work of the dance DJ is less heavy, and less subject to mistakes; and so on. Sincerely, I can’t agree the motivation under the sign 3), because I know perfectly the most common rhythms of the earliest house music, given that I’ve utilized almost all the tracks. More precisely, the “standard” rhythms of the earliest house music are at 122 BPM, and not at 128 BPM. Despite, in effect 128 BPM has become the standard speed of EDM/house music. Exactly when? As my memories and my knowledge suggest, starting from the year 1991, when Italian house music conquered Occidental nightclubs. The kingdom of Italian house music approximately lasted from 1991 to 2003. In detail, the Italian record label UMM (Underground Music Movement), born in the year 1991 from Flying Records, has been responsible of the standardization of rhythms at 128 BPM, because it became the most fashionable in the field of deep house, especially thanks to the “superstars” DJs of NYC. Why 128 BPM? At this point, my personal contribution can be proposed.
You need to know that, differently from what historically happened all-over Anglo-Saxon nightclubs since the mid-60’s, Italians use to go to disco chiefly for socialization and dancing. Of course, the abuse of recreational drugs is present, but at low percentages (I estimate from 1% to 5%), while, for instance, from late 60’s to early 80’s, at British northern soul venues the 90% of partygoers was high on amphetamines. When the 90% of partygoers use to dance all night, the dance DJ needs a new mentality, notably different from the pioneer disco DJs of the Big Apple, or from the legendary DJs of the original northern soul scene. In case everybody’s dancing, melodies and rhythms are much more important than the messages in the music. My philosophy has come by observing people, while dancing without a stop for 1 hour or more. I’ve seen that there’s a relationship between heart rate and the speed of the beat of music. Incidentally, the rhythms from 100 to 110 BPM are the most appreciated by those who want to dance for a long time. Talking about the rhythms at 128 BPM, I’ve observed that they correspond to the climax of collective dances at the disco, when dancers dance at their best for about half an hour. In effect, a heart rate at 128 BPM corresponds to some sports, and to the lowest heartbeats of high-intensity exercise.
What can I say about the many northern soul tracks at the rhythms of house music? First, according to reliable scientific studies, the average heart rate of people on amphetamines is 7 BPM higher, and, in a state of relax, it varies from 115 to 130 BPM. That happens because amphetamines provoke hypertension and tachycardia. Second, the heart rate of historic northern soul dancers, while doing the common “shuffle”, could go from 170 to 183 BPM. If my theory, in the matter of heart rate and speed of music, is correct, 128-130 BPM was the heart rate typical of partygoers not dancing, but simply listening to the music. The conclusion might seem paradoxical: my new mix, made of classic northern soul from 128 to 130 BPM, would not have been good for dancing at northern soul venues, but suitable to the relaxation of the frequenters of the same venues.
File name is “Riker liker can relax at the rhythms of house music, by Max Look DJ (Dec 2024)”, about 1 hour and 22’ of classics from the legendary Wigan Casino, at the rhythms of house music
Restless relax, the playlist:
Barbara Lewis - I remember the feeling
Voices Of East Harlem - cashing in
Posse - evil
Ivories - please stay
Young Holt Unlimited - California montage
Four Tops - I can't help myself
Erma Franklin - gotta find me a lover
Marvelettes - I'll keep on holding on
Masquerades - do you love me baby
Willie Mitchell - the champion
Deon Jackson - that's what you do to me
Bunny Sigler - girl don't make me wait
Teri Nelson Group - sweet talkin' Willie
Prince Phillip Mitchell - I'm so happy
Thee Midniters - you're gonna make me cry
Nancy Ames - I don't want to talk about it
Bernard Williams & the (original) Blue Notes - it's needless to say
Skull Snaps - my hang up is you
Professionals - that's why I love you
Darrow Fletcher - what have I got now
Barbara Lynn - I'm a good woman
Stanley Mitchell - get it baby
Robb Fortune - crazy feeling
Ann Sexton - you've been gone too long
Four Larks - groovin' at the go go
Charmaines - eternally
Ad-Libs - New York in the dark
Marjorie Black - one more hurt
Sharon Scott - I'd like to know
Danny Wagner & the Kindred Soul - I lost a true love
L J Reynolds and the Chocolate Syrup - what's the matter baby
Ronnie and Robyn - Sidra's theme
Morris Chestnut - too darn soulful
Commodores - keep on dancin'
Commodores - the zoo (the human zoo)
Jimmy Soul Clarke - (come on be my) sweet darlin
Howard Guyton - I watched you slowly slip away
