Acid techno, sometimes known generally as "acid", is a genre of
techno that was derived from
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 synthesiz ...
and developed in Europe in the late 1980s to early 1990s. It saw younger artists apply the "squelching" synthesizer sound of
Chicago acid house to harder-edged techno material.
Acid Techno
Acid techno, sometimes known generally as "acid", is a genre of techno that was derived from acid house and developed in Europe in the late 1980s to early 1990s. It saw younger artists apply the "squelching" synthesizer sound of Chicago acid hou ...
, '' Allmusic'', Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 22 November 2009
Characteristics
The acid style was obtained largely through
Roland
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
instruments, most prominently the
TB-303 bass synthesizer.
The term ''Acid'' specifically refers to the harsh "acidic" squelching sound of the Roland 303.
[Nash, Rob (2009)]
Techno: Encyclopedia of Modern Music
, ''The Sunday Times Culture's Encyclopedia of Modern Music'', 1 February 2009, retrieved 22 November 2009 The acid sound is achieved by turning up the filter
resonance and turning down the
cutoff frequency parameters of the synthesizer, along with programming the 303's accent, slide, and octave parameters; manipulating the filter in real-time as the track is being recorded is a technique known as ''tweaking''.
In addition to acid records imported from the US, the style was influenced by sources such as
hardcore, German
trance, and Belgian
rave music.
History
Early exponents of the style included
Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman),
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...
,
Dave Clarke,
Hardfloor, solarquest, and Damon Wilde.
Other mainstays included London acts such as Liberators, Henry Cullen (aka D.A.V.E. The Drummer), Guy McAffer (aka The Geezer), and DDR.
In London, the acid techno scene developed via illegal network of parties; the 1997 compilation ''It's Not Intelligent…And It's Not From Detroit…But It's F**king 'Avin It'' was subtitled "The Sound of London's Acid Techno Underground" and helped to solidify the genre in the underground consciousness.
See also
*
Acid breaks
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
References
External links
Old School Acid Techno Some Old School Acid Techno tracks
AcidTechno.co.uk Acid Techno.co.uk
Acid Tekno Acid Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acid Techno
20th-century music genres
Techno genres