Are House and Minimal music really different?

In a town that prioritizes fashion over fidelity, it should come as no shock that hyperbole often ranks higher than the product we actually get. In no niche is this more evident than the electronic music scene. DJ rankings are even more skewed than the number of people we admit to sleeping with (rule of thumb: for a girl's number, add five; for a guy's, multiply by five). Labeling of the dance music types of Minimal and House has also always confused me–exactly what are these and is there enough difference between them to justify separate promotions?

From a (proxied) Wikipedia, "Characteristics of Minimal include a steady beat, static harmony and a focus on intonation." House on the other hand is known for its "4-on-the-floor, sampling of organic sounds and a basic beat infrastructure." But wait, isn't a steady beat a 4-on-the-floor beat? Static harmony and organic sounds? Infrastructure and intonation?!

I decided to ask our local guys to clarify things. Tootekool, best known for his mon:day at LOgO explains, "I would say Minimal is a reduction on the key elements of electronic music. There is still a lot of hype around the term Minimal, but in the end, you can also just call it Techno!" OK–so Minimal is really Techno. This is a good start, but what about House? "House music is the collective name used for the modern electronic dance music scene," says DJ Paul London. "[It's] often used to describe the lighter, more mainstream side of clubbing."

So House is more mainstream, but isn't that Techno? I mean, if you ask 10 people what dance music is most famous for, they'd probably describe Techno, right? What is the big difference between the two? R3 (Reggie) of S.T.D. fame explains that, "House is for pussies and Minimal is for Techno junkies that get sick of Techno." Brilliant, thanks Reg.

"It's like this," says Scott Hess, a local DJ-cum-music producer. "House is usually more 'black' sounding, more organic … there's usually a lot more going on production-wise [with House]. Minimal is, well, more minimal in the instrumentation ... purely electronic."

OK, so what we have from four well-known and respected guys in the biz is this: Minimal is a lighter form of Techno, while House has more instruments. I think we're safe in saying that. But is it enough for clubs to promote one as an alternative to the other? I would say no. This is dance music, and, while not as annoying as Techno, it's still dance … right?

A column later and I'm still confused, but dancing's silly anyway. Stop doing it. Please. Especially you white people.

-Aric Queen