Acid techno, sometimes known generally as "
acid
An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...
", is a genre of
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
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 synt ...
and developed in Europe in the late 1980s to early 1990s. It saw younger artists apply the "squelching" synthesizer sound of
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
acid house to harder-edged techno material.
[ Acid Techno, '']Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
'', Macrovision Corporation, retrieved 22 November 2009
Characteristics
The acid style was obtained largely through
Roland
Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; 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 Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...
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
Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...
and turning down the
cutoff frequency
In physics and electrical engineering, a cutoff frequency, corner frequency, or break frequency is a boundary in a system's frequency response at which energy flowing through the system begins to be reduced ( attenuated or reflected) rather than ...
parameters of the synthesizer, along with programming the 303's accent, slide, and octave parameters.
In addition to acid records imported from the US, the style was influenced by sources such as
hardcore, German
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
, and
Belgian rave music.
History
Early exponents of the style included
Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman),
Aphex Twin
Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...
,
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.
In recent years, Acid Techno had a comeback with artists of the younger generation such as
Regal or Boston 168 releasing critically acclaimed Acid music and bringing the sound to big stages.
See also
*
Acid breaks
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