Future house

History and character

A variant that emerged in the mid-2010s: the term is attributed to the Frenchman Tchami, who around 2014 used it to describe his own sound; Oliver Heldens (Gecko, 2013, on Spinnin'/Musical Freedom), Don Diablo (Cutting Shapes, 2016), Malaa, Curbi, Mesto and Brooks are its main names. It combines the structure and groove of deep house with UK garage ("bouncy" basslines and chopped vocals) and festival EDM, with metallic basslines whose pitch moves, bright timbres and drops built on the bass instead of the lead.

Between 2014 and 2017 it dominated the Beatport charts and European dance radio; it then partly merged into bass house (more aggressive) and slap house (slower and more pop), leaving the idea of the "bass drop" as a hallmark of commercial house.

Aesthetic: energetic and clean, designed for festivals and radio; house groove with the bassline as protagonist and pop or R&B vocals.

Scales and keys

Convention: Roman numerals refer to the major scale on the same tonic (uppercase = major, lowercase = minor, ° diminished, ø half-diminished, + augmented; b/# = degree lowered/raised relative to the major scale: in A minor F = bVI, G = bVII). The notes and chords below are calculated exactly from the formula.

Aeolian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: T S T T S T T
• On F: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb
• Diatonic triads: Fm i · Gdim ii° · Ab bIII · Bbm iv · Cm v · Db bVI · Eb bVII
• Seventh chords: Fm7 i7 · Gm7b5 iiø7 · Abmaj7 bIIImaj7 · Bbm7 iv7 · Cm7 v7 · Dbmaj7 bVImaj7 · Eb7 bVII7
• Characteristic note: the b6 (Db): emotional yet radio-friendly i–bVI–bIII–bVII progressions.
• Use: pads and plucks in the verse, drop bassline that jumps between tonic, b7 and b3 with glide.
• Common mistakes: a bassline with no pitch variation: the future house character comes from the bass movement.

Dorian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 — steps: T S T T T S T
• On G: G A Bb C D E F
• Diatonic triads: Gm i · Am ii · Bb bIII · C IV · Dm v · Edim vi° · F bVII
• Seventh chords: Gm7 i7 · Am7 ii7 · Bbmaj7 bIIImaj7 · C7 IV7 · Dm7 v7 · Em7b5 viø7 · Fmaj7 bVIImaj7
• Characteristic note: the major sixth (E): garage/deep color in the verses.
• Use: i7–IV9 vamp with an R&B vocal, organ bass.
• Common mistakes: pads with Eb over the C9.

Minor pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — steps: T+S T T T+S T
• On A: A C D E G
• Characteristic note: no semitones: every note of the bassline "works".
• Use: drop riff (A–C–D–E–G with octaves and glide), vocal chops.
• Common mistakes: too many held notes: the bass must be short and bouncy.

Phrygian (darker drops)

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: S T T T S T T
• On E: E F G A B C D
• Diatonic triads: Em i · F bII · G bIII · Am iv · Bdim v° · C bVI · Dm bvii
• Seventh chords: Em7 i7 · Fmaj7 bIImaj7 · G7 bIII7 · Am7 iv7 · Bm7b5 vø7 · Cmaj7 bVImaj7 · Dm7 bvii7
• Characteristic note: the b2 (F): a "bite" in the more aggressive basslines.
• Use: bassline sliding E–F–E in glide.
• Common mistakes: using it with bright pop vocals.

How to choose between scales

Harmonic verses/breaks: Aeolian or Dorian. Drops: minor pentatonic for the bassline (glide between octaves and b7/b3), Phrygian for dark variants. Keep the same tonic and check that the bass sounds good between 50 and 100 Hz (comfortable keys: F, F#, G, A).

Harmony

Function

Two levels: breaks and verses with 4-chord pop progressions (pad, piano, pluck), drops with almost no harmony, built on the bassline and a stab.

Techniques

• i–bVI–bIII–bVII or i–bVI–bVII–v loops.
• m7/maj7 chords for a deep/garage flavor.
• The drop takes up the tonic of the progression and the bassline implies the chords (jumps to the b6 and b7).
• Pitch bend and glide as "harmony of movement".

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord per bar in the breaks; in the drop the bassline changes note every 1/8–1/4.

Examples

• Fm–Db–Ab–Eb (i–bVI–bIII–bVII).
• Gm7–Ebmaj7–Bb–F.
• Am–F–G–Em (i–bVI–bVII–v).

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Feel: straight four on the floor with a light swing on the hats (52–55% MPC); garage influence in the percussion and vocal chops.
• Bassline syncopated in sixteenth notes, with rests and jumps.
• Build: snare roll in eighth notes → sixteenth notes, HP filter, vocal chop; drop with the return of the kick and bassline.

Drums

Kick

Short and punchy (decay 150–220 ms), fundamental 50–60 Hz, click 3–5 kHz.

Clap and snare

Layered clap + snare on 2 and 4, bright; in the builds snare rolls (eighth notes → sixteenth notes → 1/32).

Hi-hat

Open hat on the offbeat, closed hats in garage patterns (x.x. with ghost notes), shaker.

Percussion

Rim, "click" percussion, passing toms; few.

Dynamics and ghost notes

Ghost notes on the hats (40–60%); minimal variation.

Interaction with bass and vocals

Bass in the gaps between the kicks; vocal chops that answer the bassline.

Sections

DJ intro; verse with vocal and light groove; build; bass drop; second break; varied second drop; outro.

Fills and transitions

Snare rolls, white noise, half-bar stop before the drop, impact.

Sound choice

Clean modern samples (bright kick and clap), clear hats.

Typical mistakes

Kick too long; claps too dark; a drop with no room for the bass.

Bass

• Sound: the "future house bass": square/saw or FM wave (metallic), with a pitch envelope or glide that makes the note "jump", a low-pass filter with a fast envelope, often a slight formant or comb; separate sine sub.
• Range: sub F1–A1, metallic part 200 Hz–3 kHz.
• With the kick: tight sidechain (6–10 dB) or volume shaping; notes on the sixteenth notes after the kick.
• Notes: root, octave, b7, b3, octave jumps with glide.
• Rhythm: syncopated sixteenth notes, 1–2 bar patterns.
• Examples: "Gecko" (Oliver Heldens); "Cutting Shapes" (Don Diablo).

Harmonic instruments

Piano, pads and plucks in the verses and breaks; garage-flavored organ stabs; little or nothing in the drop (one stab at most).

Melody and vocals

• Vocals: pop or R&B (verse/chorus), often female; in the drop pitched, rhythmic vocal chops.
• Backing vocals: doublings and harmonies in the chorus.
• Melodies: plucks, vocal chops, small leads.
• Effects: pitch shift, formant shift, dotted 1/8 delay, short plate reverb, sidechain.

Instruments

Software and hardware synths (Serum, Sylenth1, FM), modern drum samples, vocal packs, piano, pads.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• DX7 V — FM metallic bass: Algorithm with a modulator at a non-integer ratio (e.g. 1:3.5) and fast decay: metallic timbre; pitch envelope of 1–2 semitones upward over 30–60 ms.
• Korg MS-20 V — Bass with bite: HP+LP filter with resonance and drive for sharp basslines.
• Mini V — Sub and body: Sine or triangle underneath, mono, glide 30–60 ms.
• Prophet-5 V — Pluck and pad: Pluck for the verses, pad in the breaks.
• Piano V — House piano: Chords in the verses and breaks.

Song structure

Radio edit 2:45–3:15; extended 4–5 minutes.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Clean, bright and powerful: punchy kick, bass as protagonist in the drop with a solid sub and a readable metallic part, pop vocal up front. References: Oliver Heldens — Gecko, Don Diablo — Cutting Shapes, Tchami — Promesses.

Kick

HP 25 Hz; +2 dB 55 Hz; −4 dB 300 Hz; +2 dB 4 kHz; transient shaper +3 dB; clipper; mono.

Clap and snare

HP 200 Hz; +2 dB 1.5 kHz; +2 dB 8–10 kHz; compression 4:1 GR 4 dB; plate 0.8 s; widened layer.

Hi-hat and percussion

HP 500 Hz; dynamic EQ 8 kHz; panning hat 15%, shaker 40%; short room.

Bass

• Sub: mono sine, HP 25 Hz, LP 120 Hz, limiter for constant level.
• Metallic part: HP 120–150 Hz, +2 dB at 1–2 kHz, LP 6–8 kHz; distortion/saturation (Saturn 2, OTT moderate at 20–40%).
• Compression: 4:1, GR 4–6 dB.
• Stereo: mono sub; upper part slightly widened (above 300 Hz).
• Sidechain: 6–10 dB on both.

Pads, piano, plucks

HP 200 Hz; −2 dB 300–500 Hz; plate/hall 1.5–2.5 s; dotted 1/8 delay on the plucks; wide; sidechain 6–8 dB.

Lead vocal

HP 100 Hz; FET 4:1 (5 dB) + opto (2 dB); de-esser; +3 dB 3 kHz; air shelf +2 dB 12 kHz; plate 1.2 s + 1/4 delay throw; centered.

Vocal chops and backing vocals

HP 200 Hz; compression 6 dB; wide; short reverb; pitch/formant shift.

FX

Risers and noise with HP 300 Hz, impact on the drop, downlifter.

Buses and groups

Drum bus (glue 4:1, GR 2–3 dB), bass bus (sub + mid, mono below 120 Hz), music bus, vocal bus.

Sidechain

Bass 6–10 dB, pads 6–10 dB, FX 6 dB, reverbs 4–6 dB.

Master

EQ → compressor 1–2 dB → clipper → limiter. Target −7/−6 LUFS integrated (drop −5/−6 short-term), true peak −1 dBTP (streaming) / −0.3 (club), crest factor 6–8 dB.

Common mistakes

Stereo sub; distortion on the sub; metallic bass too loud above 2 kHz (fatigue); vocal covered by the bass between 1 and 3 kHz; drop with no punch because of insufficient sidechain.

Mix reference tracks

• Oliver Heldens — Gecko (2013)
• Tchami ft. Kaleem Taylor — Promesses (2014)
• Don Diablo — Cutting Shapes (2016)

Reference listening

• Oliver Heldens — Gecko (2013)
• Tchami ft. Kaleem Taylor — Promesses (2014)
• Don Diablo — Cutting Shapes (2016)