Trends change, and so do people, never more so than in the music industry, where half, if not all, of the real fun comes down to discovering the next new thing. By the time the “next new thing” is THE thing, often, the magic is lost.
So where does stutter house, a new genre alight with gated or chopped vocals and synths, fit into the ebb and flow in today’s incredibly fast-paced industry landscape?
We had the opportunity to sit down with Steve Cardigan, the man who coined the term on a whim and saw a near-overnight explosion in popularity in a sound he single-handedly defined, to talk about his thoughts on the terminology of the genre, where the genre is headed, and why it’s on track to dominate the charts, playlists, and club scenes this year.
So let’s dive into our conversation with Steve, who also runs an incredible music club for artists and trend-setters, and see where the genre’s been and where it’s going in 2024.
What motivated you to create a distinct label for this style of music rather than categorizing it differently?
I kept hearing a trend in dance music that started to get famous after Fred Again.. released ‘Turn off the lights’, and Odesza released ‘The Last Goodbye’. I called it out on Tiktok and compared Angrybaby’s ‘Hold You’ with these songs by saying they all had one thing in common: “The Stutter” (which sparked a conversation with the house community).
Then BUNT.’s ‘Clouds’ and Silk’s ‘Quiver’ made me start the playlist, and I added all of these songs to it. Everyone said the music was “Tremolo House,” but I hated how that sounded. I thought “stutter house” was a better fit, and I started digging for more and posting the ones I found.
In your opinion, what role does terminology play in shaping the identity of a music genre?
I think it’s huge.
When you hear “Stutter House” and then the songs on the playlist, you connect and understand exactly what it means. It’s also much easier for people to describe and remember, which helps so people don’t have to explain in detail “house songs that have those repeating vocals and sounds.”
I think it enables the spread of the “genre” much faster, and by putting all of the best songs like this in one place, people can get maximum exposure to it which helps the spread even more. Then, producers can post content and label the sound, confirming the playlist name is the genre name and that it carries on from there.
Can you recommend any resources or playlists for those interested in learning about Stutter House?
My playlist “Stutter House” is the one that started it all. Over 100,000 people followed the playlist in the first nine months, making it the biggest playlist on Spotify for this newly coined genre and style.
“Emotional Dance” is the Spotify Editorial playlist that seems to be inspired by mine. I made a post about this on TikTok actually!
@stevecardigan I caught them red handed @Spotify lets make an ACTUAL official stutter house playlist #spotify #houseplaylist #housemusic #stutterhouse #musictaste #storytime ♬ SILK Quiver – SILK
Are there any future plans or initiatives for promoting and preserving the term “stutter house”?
I’d love to work with Spotify to have my playlist become an official Spotify playlist. One of the main reasons is that many of the artists on the playlist are smaller independent producers, and the playlist has helped these artists grow.
That would increase that exposure and push for them, which is the entire goal of my company “putyouon“. I’ve set out to show the house music community the artists grinding and making unique and refreshing music.
We’ll see if they’d be up for that, but their naming “Stutter House” as a top emerging genre of 2023 in this year’s Spotify wrapped means they know it’s here to stay. Other than that, I plan on throwing a big Stutter House playlist party to celebrate the playlist and artists. This would again solidify the playlist that started it all and create more moments around it to push it across the dance music community.
Curious about Spotify’s playlist magic? Uncover ‘How Spotify’s Editorial Team Makes Their Playlists Using a Mix of Human Curation and Machine Learning’ – explore the blend here.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
