What it sounds like
Future house was a marketing term Oliver Heldens half-coined in 2014 that became a real subgenre by accident. It splits the difference between deep-house’s smooth groove, G-house’s wonky bass design, and EDM-radio’s pop sensibility — Tchami’s After Life, Heldens’ Gecko, and Don Diablo’s whole catalog defined it. By 2017 it was the default sound on Spotify dance playlists.
Two bars and you know: a bouncy mid-bass that follows the chord roots in eighth-note pulses, bright pluck chords (FM-style or saw-pluck) that play the melody, and a drop where the bass takes over the lead role — pitched, melodic, almost vocal. The whole song is forward motion, never sitting still, never resolving for long.
The chord moves
Future house loves the same i–VI–III–VII descent as synthwave and future bass — minor home, then major lift, then dominant, then resolve. The 9ths and maj9s give it warmth without weight. Where it differs from neighbors: the chord changes happen every bar, fast enough that the pluck arpeggios spell each chord clearly before the next one lands.
Use --chord minor9 --voicing wide so the plucks have register space to breathe.
The groove
4-on-the-floor at 124–128 BPM, standard house kit. Snare/clap on 2 and 4. Open hat on the offbeats with extra emphasis — future house often uses a shaker layer on the 16ths for groove density.
The bass is the secret. It’s not a sub — it’s a mid-bass with character, often FM or wavetable, playing eighth notes that double as the melody. In the drop, the chord pluck drops out and the bass plays a whole melodic phrase. That’s the move.
The sounds
- Pluck: FM bell or filtered saw. Short attack, medium decay, plenty of space. Stereo widener for chorus.
- Bass: wavetable patch with formant or vowel modulation. Played mono, side-chained to the kick. THIS is the genre’s signature — not a sub.
- Pad: optional, low in the mix. Lush poly with long release.
- Drums: cleanly produced 909 derivatives. Snare layered with reverb, clap layered with white noise for snap.
- FX: gated white noise riser. Reverse cymbal. Vocal chops if you have a hook.
Production tells
Want it modern? Cleaner low end, parallel-compressed drum bus, sidechain that pumps but doesn’t crush. Less reverb than 2015 — modern future house is dry and tight.
Want it 2014-Heldens-vintage? Bigger reverb on everything. Wonkier bass design with more pitch glide. Brighter top end. Some saturation on the master. The genre was muddier and more melodic in its first two years.
Am9 → Fmaj9 → Cmaj9 → G
Click to hear it.
Listen to
Three records that show the style at full strength. Read them as listening pointers, not templates to copy.
After Life
Tchami
listen ↗
Gecko
Oliver Heldens
listen ↗
Knight Time
Don Diablo
listen ↗
Six recipes
Six ways to cook Future house.
One starter recipe, three variations that each take the style in a different direction, one sectioned recipe, and one curated Live handoff recipe. Each one cooks from a Markdown recipe — edit it before the MIDI lands in your DAW.
Starter
Rubber Pluck Bounce
A future-house first cook with syncopated pads, offbeat bass, shimmer support, and chopped pluck answers.
Study: Tchami, “Promesses” (2013). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_rubber_pluck_bounce.mdVariation
Bright Drop Blocks
A brighter drop block with pulsed eighth chords, octave bass, and pentatonic pluck lift.
Study: Don Diablo, “On My Mind” (2015). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_bright_drop_blocks.mdVariation
Night Pluck Break
A breakdown lane with broken chords, pedal bass, slow pads, and sparse motif writing.
Study: Curbi, “Discharge” (2015). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_night_pluck_break.mdVariation
Sidechain Bass Snap
A sidechain-gap lane with root-fifth bass, root drones, and call-response pluck detail.
Study: Oliver Heldens, “Gecko” (2013). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_sidechain_bass_snap.mdSectioned
Bounce Return Sketch
A section-aware future-house sketch that moves from pluck break into a bouncy drop return.
Study: Mesto, “Tetris” (2017). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_bounce_return_sketch.mdLive handoff
Live Bounce Session
A Live future-house session with section clips, sound cards, and licensed top-loop/vocal prompts.
Study: Brooks, “Make Your Move” (2015). Use the reference for rubbery pluck motion, bright club bounce, and concise drop writing, not for melody, hook, groove, or sound design copying.
python jamburgr.py --config configs/recipes/future_house/future_house_bridge_ready_bounce_session.mdOpen in Live or Download uses the local bridge on this Mac. Download MIDI works in any DAW.
Ready when you are
Cook a Future house pack.
Drop this in your terminal and you'll have a Standard MIDI pack in a folder, ready to drag into Live. Edit anything, swap any sound, throw out what doesn't work.
python jamburgr.py --key "A minor" --style future_house --progression i,VI,III,VII --pattern pulse --output-mode pack --out ./jams/future-house