House Gospel Choir

House Gospel Choir (HGC) is a London-based vocal group which debuted in 2014 at Glastonbury Festival.[1] Founded by creative director Natalie Maddix, the choir combines two distinct musical genres – house music and gospel.[2] HGC's debut album RE//CHOIRED (2020) includes reimagined house classics and dance anthems, as well as original tracks.[2]

House Gospel Choir
Choir
OriginLondon
FounderNatalie Maddix
GenreFusion of house and gospel music
Websitehousegospelchoir.com

The choir has featured on Ella Henderson and Just Kiddin's "Risk It All" and also performed with Kylie Minogue for her virtual concert Infinite Disco.

As of February 2020, HGC had 150 members of diverse religious backgrounds.[3][1]

Background

Based in London, House Gospel Choir was by vocalist Natalie Maddix, who had been working in music programming and management.[3] Maddix grew up singing gospel at her Pentecostal Church in Vauxhall and Latin hymns at her Catholic secondary school in Camberwell, and developed interest in garage when she was sixteen.[3] She was inspired to pursue house music while at Pretoria House 22 in Johannesburg, when she was in South Africa with producer Atjazz to promote "Selfish Skies".[3] She went on to be featured in "Eye Know" by Scratcha DVA from his 2012 album "Pretty Ugly".[4]

In 2014, Maddix published an Instagram post inviting people to join a house choir.[3] The first twelve members formed House Gospel Choir in a rehearsal space in Hackney.[3]

Prior to their first rehearsal session, Maddix booked their first gig on the acoustic stage at Glastonbury.[1] She secured the opportunity while programming choirs for Olympic Park, when one of the directors she was working with mentioned that a booker was looking for a choir.[1] By the time of the gig, the choir had thirty members, including DJs, keyboardists, and vocalists.[1]

Performances

At Glastonbury Festival in 2014, House Gospel Choir performed a set with songs such as "Beautiful People" by Barbara Tucker and "Up Above My Head" by Kirk Franklin.[1]

House Gospel Choir and Adelphi Music Factory performed their "Salvation" at Homobloc Festival 2019 in Manchester.[5] Mixmag called it an "utterly storming piano houser" that "really summed up the warmth of the whole Homobloc experience."[5] In 2020, House Gospel Choir performed at the online-only Notting Hill Carnival.[6]

In 2022, the House Gospel Choir featured in a live tour with entrepreneur Steven Bartlett in the stage adaptation of his podcast, The Diary of a CEO.[7] The HGC accompanied Bartlett throughout the show, punctuating his autobiographical anecdotes with songs such as "Oh Happy Day" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".[7] Reviewer Marianka Swain of The Daily Telegraph described the show as "the most bonkers night I have ever spent at the theatre".[7]

Later that year, the choir performed with musician John Cale at the Wales Millennium Centre in commemoration of his 80th birthday,[8] and on the BBC One New Year's Eve special.[9]

Releases

Singles

In 2017, House Gospel Choir and MNEK featured on "Deeper" by Riton, and in 2018, they released a cover version of "Battle" by Wookie, produced by Wookie himself.[10] In 2019, HGC released "Salvation" with Adelphi Music Factory,[10] which stayed on the Billboard Dance Club Chart for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 5.[11] On 24 April 2020, they released the Toddla T-produced "Blind Faith", which was written in 2018, and whose video consisted of a virtual choir.[12]

On 7 November 2020,[13] HGC featured on Kylie Minogue's Infinite Disco livestream, on the songs "All the Lovers" and "Say Something".[14] A review in Retropop Magazine praised "Say Something" for its "stellar guest vocals from the House Gospel Choir".[15]

In 2021, HGC featured on Blinkie's "Stronger",[16] and later that year they and Just Kiddin featured on Ella Henderson's "Risk It All",[17] which charted at No. 100 on the UK Singles Chart.[18]

Album

On 23 October 2020, House Gospel Choir released their debut album, RE//CHOIRED.[2] Mixmag called the album "a spirited and feel-good celebration of house music and soundsystem culture...a testament to the power and healing potential of collectivity in music."[19] Along with HGC, RE//CHOIRED features house DJs and musical artists such as Todd Terry, Alex Metric, DJ Spen, Todd Terry, Toddla T, and Wookie, gospel musician Nicky Brown, and multi-instrumantalist Troy Miller.[19]

RE//CHOIRED charted at No. 69 on the UK Album Downloads Chart and No. 4 on the Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart.[18]

References
  1. "House Gospel Choir. The Original House Meets Gospel Experience - Church!". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  2. Ochoa, John (31 October 2020). "Meet House Gospel Choir: The London Vocal Group Bringing Faith To The Dance Floor". Recording Academy – Grammy Awards. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  3. Langley, Edwina (10 February 2020). "House Gospel Choir founder Natalie Maddix talks inspiration and their upcoming show at Electric Brixton". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  4. "How electronic dance music shapes and shifts our ideas of beauty". dmy.co. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  5. Ekanyake, Manu (2020). "SWEET SALVATION: Started as a reaction to the cheesiness of Manchester's gay clubs, with the massive Homobloc, Homoelectric unleashed a 10,000 strong celebration of unity, queer culture and musical power". Mixmag. No. 344. pp. 23–28. Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  6. "The Londoner: 'Time for museum of colonialism in East End". The Evening Standard. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  7. Swain, Marianka (23 February 2022). "The most bonkers night I have ever spent at the theatre". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  8. Wetherall, Greg (1 November 2022). "John Cale - still doing things his way". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  9. "What to Watch". Daily Telegraph. 31 December 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2023 – via EBSCOHost.
  10. "House Gospel Choir Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  11. "House Gospel Choir – Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  12. "Let House Gospel Choir uplift you with their new track Blind Faith". Red Bull. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  13. "Watch Kylie Minogue perform 'Say Something' with The House Gospel Choir in 'Infinite Disco' preview". NME. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  14. Arnone, Joey. "Kylie Minogue Announces "Disco" Reissue, Shares Video for "A Second to Midnight" Feat. Years & Years". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  15. "Kylie Minogue – Infinite Disco". Retropop Magazine. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  16. Warren, Alexandra (21 May 2021). "'I'm comfortable playing on my own again'". South London News. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  17. "Ella Henderson Teams Up With House Gospel Choir and Just Kiddin". Warner Music Australia. 20 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  18. "HOUSE GOSPEL CHOIR". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  19. Skala, Jemima (1 November 2020). "House Gospel Choir's Debut Album 'RE//CHOIRED Is Out Now". Mixmag. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
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