Phuture is an American

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

group from

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 ...

, founded in 1985 by Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka DJ Pierre, and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson. The group is renowned for inventing and defining the sound of

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 ...

, a subgenre of

, with their 1987 release " Acid Tracks".

History and background

Phuture's seminal "Acid Tracks" is considered to be the first acid house record and credited for inventing and defining the genre. The 12-minute instrumental composition was released on Trax Records in 1987. Originally, it was recorded to tape and played by DJ Ron Hardy at the Chicago nightclub Music Box, supposedly already in 1985.Review by Alain_Patrick
on

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Interview with DJ Pierre
in Fader Magazine, August 04, 2014. Its characteristic "acid" sound was derived from utilizing the

Roland TB-303 The Roland TB-303 Bass Line (also known as the 303) is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units we ...

bass synthesizer in a very particular way, using tone sequences modulated in real-time to produce a certain resonant and squelchy sound which is since then associated with the genre. The track also utilized Roland TR-707 and Roland TR-727 drum machines. After "Acid Tracks", Phuture released a number of acid house and Chicago house tracks now considered classics of the genre, usually as 12-inch

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

s. Their sound is gloomy and monotonous in nature; many tracks are very long, at times passing the 10-minute mark. The sparse lyrics occasionally reference drug use, such as the lyrics of "Your Only Friend" (1987), which describe

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, or a simple chant, such as on "Spirit" (1994). The group has recorded under several

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s, generally using the substitution of ph or pf for f, as, for example, in Phortune or Pfortune.

Members

Current members

Source:Source
Discogs discography and biography
/ref> * Lothario "Rio" Lee * Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka DJ Pierre (1985–1990; 2013–present) * Fernando "Fher" Rivera aka Lessnoise

Former members

Source: * Herb J (Herbert Jackson) (1985–1988) * Jay Juniel (1990) * Phill Little (1990) * Roy Davis Jr. (1990–1997) * DJ Skull (Ron Maney) (1996–1997) * Earl Smith Jr. aka Spanky, DJ Spank Spank, or DeeJay Phuture (1985–2016)

Discography

Singles and maxi-singles

* " Acid Tracks" (1987) * "The Creator" (1988) * "We are Phuture" (1988) * "Do You Wanna Get Funky" (1989) * "Rise from Your Grave" (1992) * "Inside Out" (1993) * "Mental Breakdown" (1994) * "Spirit" (1994) * "Acid Trax / String Free" (Phuture/Phortune) (1994) * "Times Fade" (Phuture, the Next Generation) (1996) * "Jack 2 Jack" (Robert Owens/Phuture) (1998) * "Washing Machine / Got The Bug" (Mr. Fingers/Phuture) (2002)

Remixes

* Roy Davis Jr.: ''Heart Attack (Phuture’s Mix)'' (1994)

References

External links

Complete discography
at

Acid Tracks review at Head Heritage
{{Authority control Acid house groups American musical trios American house music groups Electronic music groups from Illinois