Acid house
Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesizer-sequencer,[1] an innovation attributed to Chicago artists Phuture and Sleezy D circa 1986.
For the 1994 short story collection by Irvine Welsh, see The Acid House.
Acid house soon became popular in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, where it was played by DJs in the acid house and later rave scenes. By the late 1980s, acid house had moved into the British mainstream, where it had some influence on pop and dance 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 including trance, hardcore, jungle, big beat, techno and trip hop.[4][5]
Etymology[edit]
There are conflicting accounts about the origin of the term acid. 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 DJ Ron Hardy at a nightclub[7] where psychedelic drugs were reportedly used.[8] The club's patrons called the song "Ron Hardy's Acid Track" (or "Ron Hardy's Acid Trax").[7] The song was released with the title "Acid Tracks" on Larry Sherman's label Trax Records in 1987. Sources differ on whether it was Phuture or Sherman who chose the title; Phuture's DJ Pierre says the group did because the song was already known by that title,[7] but DJ Pierre says he chose the title because the song reminded him of acid rock.[9] Regardless, after the release of Phuture's song, the term acid house came into common parlance.[7]
Some accounts say the reference to "acid" may be a celebratory reference to psychedelic drugs in general, such as LSD, as well as the popular club drug Ecstasy (MDMA).[10] According to Rietveld, it was the house sensibility of Chicago, in a club like Hardy's The 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.[11] In the context of the creation of "Acid Tracks" it indicated a concept rather than the use of psychedelic drugs in itself.[12]
Some accounts disavow psychedelic connotations. One theory, holding that acid was a derogatory reference towards the use of samples in acid house music, was repeated in the press and in the British House of Commons.[13] In this theory, the term acid came from the slang term "acid burning," which the Oxford Dictionary of New Words calls "a term for stealing."[10][14] In 1991, UK Libertarian advocate Paul Staines claimed that he had coined this theory to discourage the government from adopting anti-rave party legislation.[15][16]
The name of acid jazz is derived from that of acid house, which served as one of the inspirations for the genre's development.[17]
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
Before the term "acid house" was introduced, rawer early acid house was "hi-NRG",[18] a type of bassline-driven electronic music that began with disco music that discarded its funk element, starting with Giorgio Moroder productions for Donna 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.[19]
In the 21st century, attention was drawn to Charanjit Singh's album Synthesizing: Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat, featuring Indian ragas fused with disco.[20][21] The album released as early as 1982, featured a TB-303 prominently, Singh being one of the earliest musicians to use it on a commercial release.[21] The record predates the famously known "Acid Trax" by 5 years. It was initially a commercial failure in India 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.[20][21][22]