Electronic » House » Acid House

The style of dance that exploded American house music around the world, Acid House first appeared in the mid-'80s in the work of Chicago producers like DJ Pierre, Adonis, Farley Jackmaster Funk, and Phuture (the latter of whom coined the term in their classic single, "Acid Trax"). Mixing elements of the house music that was already up and running in Chicago (as well as New York) with the squelchy sounds and deep bassline of the Roland TB-303 synthesizer, acid house was strictly a Chicago phenomenon until stacks of singles began to cross the Atlantic, arriving in the hands of eager young Brits. The sound jelled in small warehouse parties held in London in 1986-87, and then went overground during 1988's infamous Summer of Love, when thousands of clubgoers traveled to the hinterlands for the massive events later known as raves. Acid house hit the British pop charts quite quickly, with M/A/R/R/S, S'Express, and Technotronic landing huge hits before the dawn of the '90s. By that time, the acid house phenomenon had largely passed in England and was replaced by rave music. New-school U.S. producers from Cajmere to Armand Van Helden to Felix Da Housecat kept the sound alive and well during the '90s.