| Acid house | |
|---|---|
 Thesmiley face was widely adopted as a symbol of the genre in the 1980s and 1990s | |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1985,Chicago, U.S. |
| Derivative forms | |
| Other topics | |
| Rave | |
| Part ofa series on |
| Psychedelia |
|---|
 |
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre ofhouse music developed around the mid-1980s byDJs fromChicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds andbasslines of theRoland TB-303 electronic bass synthesizer-sequencer,[1] an innovation attributed to Chicago artistsPhuture andSleezy D circa 1986.
Acid house soon became popular in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, where it was played by DJs in the acid house and laterrave scenes. By the late 1980s, acid house had moved into the British mainstream, where it had some influence onpop anddance styles.
Acid house brought house music to a worldwide audience.[3] The influence of acid house can be heard in later styles of dance music includingtrance,hardcore,jungle,big beat,techno andtrip hop.[4][5]
Acid house'sminimalist sound combined house music's ubiquitous programmedfour-on-the-floor4/4 beat with the electronic squelch sound produced by theRoland TB-303 electronic synthesizer-sequencer. The sound is commonly produced by raising the filterresonance and lowering thecutoff frequency of the synthesizer, along with programming the 303's accent, slide, and octave parameters, to create variation in otherwise simple bass patterns.[6] "Exploration of texture" is preferred over melody; "a refusal of the metaphysical priorities of western music discourse".[7] Other elements, such as synthetic strings andstabs, were usually minimal. Sometimes tracks were instrumentals, such asPhuture's "Acid Tracks", or contained full vocal performances, such asDJ Pierre'sPfantasy Club's "Fantasy Girl", while others were essentially instrumentals complemented by the odd spoken word "drop-in", such as Phuture's "Slam".[3]
There are conflicting accounts about the origin of the termacid. One self-claimed account by members of Phuture points to their own "Acid Tracks". Before the song was given a title for commercial release, it was played by DJRon Hardy at a nightclub[8] wherepsychedelic drugs were reportedly used.[9] The club's patrons called the song "Ron Hardy's Acid Track" (or "Ron Hardy's Acid Trax").[8] The song was released with the title "Acid Tracks" on Larry Sherman's labelTrax Records in 1987. Sources differ on whether it was Phuture or Sherman who chose the title; Phuture'sDJ Pierre says the group did because the song was already known by that title,[8] but DJ Pierre says he chose the title because the song reminded him ofacid rock.[10] Regardless, after the release of Phuture's song, the term acid house came into common parlance.[8] Another claim is thatPsychic TV's frontpersonGenesis Breyer P-Orridge actually named the genre.[11]
Some accounts say the reference to "acid" may be a celebratory reference to psychedelic drugs in general, such asLSD, as well as the popularclub drug Ecstasy (MDMA).[12] According to ProfessorHillegonda Rietveld, a researcher specializing inelectronic dance music, it was the house sensibility of Chicago, in a club like Hardy'sThe Music Box, that afforded it its initial meaning. In her view "acid connotes the fragmentation of experience and dislocation of meaning due to the unstructuring effects on thought patterns which the psychedelic drug LSD or 'Acid' can bring about".[13] In the context of the creation of "Acid Tracks" it indicated a concept rather than the use of psychedelic drugs in itself.[14]
Some accounts disavow psychedelic connotations. One theory, holding thatacid was a derogatory reference towards the use of samples in acid house music, was repeated in the press and in theBritish House of Commons.[15] In this theory, the termacid came from the slang term "acid burning", which theOxford Dictionary of New Words calls "a term for stealing".[12][16] In 1991, UK Libertarian advocatePaul Staines claimed that he had coined this theory to discourage the government from adopting anti-rave party legislation.[17][18]
The name ofacid jazz is derived from that of acid house, which served as one of the inspirations for the genre's development.[19]
Before the term "acid house" was introduced, rawer early acid house was "hi-NRG",[20] a type of bassline-driven electronic music that began with disco music that discarded its funk element, starting withGiorgio Moroder productions forDonna Summer. However, the earliest recorded examples of acid house are a matter of debate.
Sleezy D's "I've Lost Control" (1986) was the first to be released on vinyl, but it is impossible to know which track was created first.[21]
In the 21st century, attention was drawn toCharanjit Singh's albumSynthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat, featuringIndianragas fused withdisco.[22][23] The album released as early as 1982, featured aTB-303 prominently, Singh being one of the earliest musicians to use it on a commercial release.[23] The record predates the famously known "Acid Trax" by 5 years. It was initially a commercial failure inIndia and eventually forgotten. Following its rediscovery and eventual re-release in early 2010 some music journalists compared the music to that of acid house music, even suggesting it might be the first example of the style.[22][23][24]Suns of Arqa'sArk of the Arqans (1985) proved an influence on early acid house.[25]
The first acid house records were produced inChicago, Illinois.Phuture, a group founded by Nathan "DJ Pierre" Jones, Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson, is credited with having been the first to use the TB-303 in house music (the instrument had been used earlier in disco records by the earlier mentionedCharanjit Singh in 1982,[26][27] in hi-NRG,[28]Alexander Robotnick in 1983).[29] The group's 12-minute "Acid Tracks" was recorded to tape and was played by DJRon Hardy at the Music Box, where Hardy was resident DJ. Hardy once played it four times over the course of an evening until the crowd responded favorably.[30]
Chicago's house music scene suffered a crackdown on parties and events by the police. Sales of house records dwindled and, by 1988, the genre was selling less than a tenth as many records as at the height of the style's popularity.[31] However, house and especially acid house was beginning to experience a surge in popularity in Britain.[32]
London's club Shoom opened in November 1987[33] and was one of the first clubs to introduce acid house to the clubbing public of theUK. It was opened byDanny Rampling and his wife, Jenny. The club was extremely exclusive and featured thick fog, a dreamy atmosphere and acid house.[34] This period began what some call theSecond Summer of Love, a movement credited with a reduction infootball hooliganism: instead of fights, football fans were listening to music, takingecstasy, and joining the other club attendees in a peaceful movement that has been compared to theSummer of Love in San Francisco in 1967.[35]
Another club called Trip was opened in June 1988 byNicky Holloway at theAstoria in London's West End.[36] Trip was geared directly towards the acid house music scene. It was known for its intensity and stayed open until 3 AM. The patrons would spill into the streets chanting and drew the police on regular occasions. The reputation that occurrences like this created along with the UK's strong anti-club laws started to make it increasingly difficult to offer events in the conventional club atmosphere. Considered illegal in London during the late '80s, after-hour clubbing was against the law. However, this did not stop the club-goers from continuing after-hours dancing. Police raided the after-hour parties, so the groups began to assemble inside warehouses and other inconspicuous venues in secret, hence also marking the first developments of therave.[37] Raves were well attended at this time and consisted of single events or moving series of parties thrown by production companies or unlicensed clubs. Two well-known groups at this point wereSunrise, who held particularly massive outdoor events, and Revolution in Progress (RIP), known for the dark atmosphere and hard music at events which were usually thrown in warehouses[37] or at Clink Street, a South East London nightclub housed in a former jail. Promoters like (The Big Lad) Shane McKenzie and the gang back in 1987 were doing small parties in NW London, moving raves from the streets and the fields to the clubs of London 1990–2005 which saw the future of raves in clubs all over the UK and Spain.[38]
The Sunrise group threw several large acid house raves in Britain which gathered serious press attention. In 1988 they threw "Burn It Up", 1989 brought "Early Summer Madness", "Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Back to the Future". They advertised huge sound systems, fairground rides, foreign DJs, and other attractions. Many articles were written sensationalizing these parties and the results of them, focusing especially on the drug use and out-of-control nature that the media perceived.[39]
Once the termacid house became more widely used, participants at acid house-themed events in the UK andIbiza made the psychedelic drug connotations a reality by usingclub drugs such asecstasy andLSD.[38][40][41] The association of acid house,MDMA, and smiley faces was observed in New York City by late 1988.[42] This coincided with an increasing level of scrutiny andsensationalism in the mainstream press,[43] although conflicting accounts about the degree of connection between acid house music and drugs continued to surface.[44]
Acid house was also popular inManchester. The Thunderdome (which was generally advertised as a techno night) in Miles Platting was at the epicenter of the scene and gave rise to acts likeA Guy Called Gerald,808 State, Jam MC's, Steve Williams and Jay Wearden. A Greater Manchester-based producer calledPeter Ford teamed up with Richard Salt and recorded a record called "Oochy Koochy", regarded as the first British acid house track. Released by dance indie Rhythm King Records as "Oochy Koochy (FU Baby Yeah Yeah)" under the nameBaby Ford, the record peaked at number 58 on theUK Singles Chart on September 24, 1988, and was followed by Baby Ford's "Chikki Chikki Ahh Ahh" hit.[45][46][47][48][49][50][51]
The genre was extremely popular with the city'sfootball hooligans. According toManchester United football hooligan Colin Blaney inHotshot: The Story of a Little Red Devil, the acid house venues were the only place where rival hooligan gangs would mix, without coming to blows with one another.[52]
TheMadchester andbaggy movements saw acid house influences bleed into the Mancunian rock scene. Prominent Madchester bands includethe Stone Roses,Happy Mondays,the Charlatans andInspiral Carpets.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, British news media and tabloids devoted an increasing amount of coverage to the hedonistic acid house/rave scene, focusing increasingly on its association with psychedelic drugs andclub drugs. At first, promoters likeTony Colston-Hayter[53][54] tried to monetize the scene by promoting his Apocalypse Now parties (organised with Roger Goodman)[55][56] on the ITV News (ITN) in the same way that a latter-day popstar such asGary Barlow would promote his album on the news (generally in the "...And Finally" part of the programme).[57]
However, these reports soon changed from positive promotion to a negative viewpoint, with the sensationalist nature of the coverage contributing to the banning of acid house during its heyday from radio, television, and retail outlets in the United Kingdom. The moral panic of the press began in late 1988, when a UK'red-top' tabloid calledThe Sun, which only days earlier on October 12 had promoted acid house as "cool and groovy" while running an offer on acid smiley face t-shirts, abruptly turned on the scene.[54] On October 19,The Sun ran with the headline "Evils ofEcstasy", linking the acid house scene with the newly popular and relatively unknown drug. The resultant panic incited by the tabloids eventually led to a crackdown on clubs and venues that played acid house and had a profound negative impact on the scene. Any records that mentioned the word acid, such asDancin' Danny D's record with scene promoterGary Haisman (D Mob's "We Call It Acieed"), were taken off radio and television playlists just as they were climbing towards the top of the UK chart.[58][59][60][61][62][63] By the time Colston-Hayter had invited another ITV news team down to promote his latest party (this time from Granada's current affairs showWorld in Action),[64][65] acid house was being described as a "sinister and evil cult" that was just encouraging people to take drugs.[66][67][68]
Despite this, one tune broke through into the mainstream in November 1988. "Stakker Humanoid", produced byBrian Dougans (later ofFuture Sound of London), was a hit not just at influential clubs likeThe Haçienda in Manchester or Shoom in London, but was championed by mainstream stalwarts such asBBC Radio DJBruno Brookes and record producer,Pete Waterman. It went on to reach number 17 in the UK in November 1988, leading to Dougans' appearance onTop of the Pops on December 1, 1988.[69]
Youngsters were so high on Ecstacy and cannabis they ripped the birds' heads off;
