Description of Acid House
Chicago witnessed the birth of Acid House in 1987 with the release of Phuture's Acid Tracks E.P. Created accidentally by Phuture DJs and musicians during a test session with a Roland TB 303 bass machine, Acid House's squiggly bass sound is a mind-warping, compelling hook. Acid effects emitted from the machine swirl, stab, and spiral uncontrollably across House's four/four beat. The mix has a sour sensation that is difficult to follow and virtually impossible to recreate. The term "acid" was utilized to describe the new sound for the peculiar, hallucinogenic effect it had in the clubs and for its kinship to Acid Rock. With its lack of sampling, Acid House tapped into a different kind of emotion than its famously sample-heavy predecessor known as House. Rather than developing a mature, soulful sound, Chicago-based Acid House satisfied a craving for all-night dancing euphoria worldwide. After spending a summer spinning to Acid House tracks in the open-air clubs of Ibiza, Spain, DJs Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker, and Nicky Holloway returned to the U.K., bringing the pleasure-principled "Balearic" sound to London's clubs. England quickly transformed Acid House into rave culture, while many of Acid House's architects brought the sounds even further, creating new and emerging forms.
808 State
With the seminal cuts
"Cubik" and "Pacific State"
(1989), 808 State fathered
both Hardcore Techno and
Ambient House. Renowne...
Acid Junkies
Dutchmen Stefan Robbers
and Harold de Kinderen are
best known for their Acid
House/Techno singles on
the Djax-Up Beats label.
Baby Ford
Peter Ford, co-manager of
the experimental labels
Trelik and Ifach, was a
founder of the UK Acid
House scene circa 1990.
Bomb the Bass
Bomb the Bass is Tim
Simenon, an early
proponent of cut 'n' paste
techniques in acid house.
His first single, "Beat Dis,"...
DJ Pierre
Chicago DJ and producer
Nathaniel Pierre Jones is
one of the key pioneers of
the acid house sound. The
squelchy acid house sou...
Phuture
Phuture (DJ Pierre, Spanky
and Herb J) are credited
with starting the acid house
genre with "Acid Trax,"
their 1986 release. Phutur...
Praga Khan
Praga Khan is Belgian native
Maurice Engelen, who
dominated the U.K. charts in
the early 90's with early
acid house hits. His best-k...
S'Express
S'Express presaged the U.K.
explosion of Acid House,
first hitting the charts in
1988. Produced by British
DJ Mark Moore, S'Express...