‘Tis the season as Spotify launches their annual event throughout the music industry, Spotify Wrapped. The Electric Hawk research team returns to educate everyone about a genre that likely emerged on a good chunk of people’s top genres list: Stutter House. A big debate amongst the electronic community comes about when wondering – WTF is Stutter House and whether it really is a genre. In the past, we covered genres such as Vapor Twitch, Phonk, and Escape Room. Now, it’s time to open the files on Stutter House.
What is Stutter House anyway?
Well, let’s start with the general definition of which people have categorized what the genre is.
Unlike some other subgenres or scenes, Stutter House is based around a distinct production effect: a pulsating or stuttering vocal, lead, or synth pad. And its popularity is largely down to London-based producer Fred Again.
Will Betts from the Musiio Blog
Where the f*ck did Stutter House even come from?
From a deeper look into the genre, there have been multiple claims about when Stutter House first started. With arguments from Odesza and their track “The Last Goodbye” or The Chainsmokers & Ship Wrek track “The Fall,“ which both came out last year, but with some digging, we found a track that follows the definition of what Stutter House is. Almost a decade ago, the remix of Miike Snow‘s track “Silvia” from the artist Robotberget showcases a similar stuttering and bouncy pattern that you would hear in Stutter House today! Immediately through the drop, you notice that the genre has been alive for quite some time now.
The genre itself has gone through multiple different identities throughout its history. While others call it Tremor, Sparkle House, Future Garage, or Flutter House, it appears that the audience has found it hard to give a solidifying name for it. In early Spring 2022, the term “Tremolo House” started to gain traction from the artist CHEEKS. As well as the community trying to figure out what genre to consider Fred Again.. during his massive rise in popularity. And soon enough, this particular style of music began to gain attention as we head into 2023.
The unofficial, official coining of the term “Stutter House.”
While entering 2023, the lingering sensation of trying to define this emerging sound into a singular term slowly became a running joke within the EDM community. Eventually, people began asking others to share songs that were “Fred Again.. vibes.“ Despite the comradery in the EDM Twitter-sphere, on TikTok, a curator was gaining momentum in collecting tracks into a new playlist.
Steve Cardigan from putyouon music club began highlighting tracks like “Clouds” by BUNT and “Hold You” by Angrybaby. His admiration for the sound design soon enough drew an audience. Eventually, he asked his audience about potential names for this genre. They gave ideas such as “Trance House,” others tried to bring more attention to the name Tremolo House, or they simply called it “Fred Again..” And on February 24th, Cardigan officially released a new playlist on his Spotify called “Stutter House” for everyone.
Even with the wild success of the playlist, now accruing more than 94,000 followers today, the term became a name that stuck with the masses. However, with the rise of another new genre name and like anything in the EDM world, people voiced their opinions.
An emerging genre that has caused such controversy!
With the rise of the genre, the community quickly came to make their ever-loving thoughts on the emerging “Stutter House.”
A wide range of opinions arose, and even someone higher up at SoundCloud made a brief mention of the topic.
“I personally don’t think it’s a genre in itself. It’s more a moment in a set that can create a build-up, a peak, a change in direction or energy. Two or three tracks in a row are too much for a listener. When you hear a Fred Again.. set, even he’s not playing track after track of this chopped-up vocal sound, it’s interspersed.”
Jack Bridges, Senior Label Relations Manager at SoundCloud
Although this comes from someone at Soundcloud, there seems to be this algorithmic approach that Spotify loves to do that solidifies if a genre is real. The Spotify Editorial playlist called “Emotional Dance” currently has a little over 35 thousand followers and is similar to the algorithm-generated playlist called “The Sound of Stutter House.“ Naturally, if we continue to move forward, no matter the amount of hate and discourse, once Spotify adds it into their algorithm, it becomes set-and-stone.
Now, is Stutter House here to stay, or will it be a trend that disappears next year?
Overall, if we are following the trend, then yes, Stutter House is here to stay as an official genre. Is Stutter House the big trend for 2023 that people leaped onto? That’s for everyone to find out next year as we head into 2024 and watch if more mainstream artists follow suit. The growing trend has been gaining momentum for rising artists in this micro-genre and popularity from the commercial side of music. Nevertheless, the community and artists are the true ones who will see if the genre will survive past 2023 or if it will be just another trend that people will forget come next Spotify Wrapped.
SOURCES: MusicAlyst, Every Noise At Once, Spotify
Stay in touch with Electric Hawk & all our coverage
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Twitch | Radio Show
If you’re looking for new music, keep up with our weekly Spotify Playlist, Fresh Hunts, or follow us on Twitch. Whether it’s the newest drops, something new from your favorite artists, some old school, or underground—we just want you to hear it.
