Phuture is an American

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering ...

group from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, founded in 1985 by Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka

DJ Pierre Nathaniel Pierre Jones, better known by his stage name DJ Pierre, is an American DJ and performer of house music based in Chicago. He helped to develop the house music subgenre of acid house, as member of Phuture, whose 1987 EP ''Acid Tracks'', ...

, and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson. The group is famous 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 synthes ...

, a subgenre of

, with their 1987 release "

Acid Tracks "Acid Tracks" is a 1987 acid house song by Phuture produced by Marshall Jefferson and released by Trax Records. Phuture consisted of Nathan Pierre Jones, better known as DJ Pierre, Earl Smith Jr (known as "Spanky"), and Herbert Jackson. Jones had ...

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 Trax Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It played a major part in the development of house music. History Larry Sherman was originally a collector of vintage jukeboxes, and, frustrated with ...

in 1987. Originally, it was recorded to tape and played by DJ

Ron Hardy Ron Hardy (May 8, 1958 – March 2, 1992) was an American, Chicago, Illinois-based DJ and record producer of early house music. He is well known for playing records at the Muzic Box, a Chicago house music club. Decades after his death, he is r ...

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. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

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 were ...

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 The Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer is a drum machine released by the Roland Corporation in 1985. Features The TR-707 has fifteen digitally sampled sounds. The instrument is capable of 10-voice polyphony. The alternate bass drum, snare, and hi-hat ...

and Roland TR-727 drum machines. After "Acid Tracks", Phuture released a number of acid house and

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the first ever house music productions, which were by Chicago-based artists in the 1980s. History and origins Disco ...

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 viny ...

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (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. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, " In the Summertime" was t ...

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 (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

, 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 or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

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

Members

Current membersSource
Discogs discography and biography
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* Lothario "Rio" Lee * Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka

(1985–1990; 2013–present) * Fernando "Fher" Rivera aka Lessnoise

Former members

* Herb J (Herbert Jackson) (1985–1988) * Jay Juniel (1990) * Phill Little (1990) *

Roy Davis Jr. Roy Davis Jr. is an American electronic musician from Chicago, Illinois, specialising in house music. Biography Davis was born in California and grew up in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and became interested in house music at an early age by ...

(1990–1997) * DJ Skull (Ron Maney) (1996–1997) *

Earl Smith Jr. Earl Smith Jr. (c.1965 – September 21, 2016), known as DJ Spank Spank or Spanky, was an American musician credited with inspiring the acid house music genre. He founded the group Phuture. Biography He became involved in music production afte ...

aka Spanky, DJ Spank Spank, or DeeJay Phuture (1985–2016)

Discography

Singles and maxi-singles

* "

" (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 House musicians American house musicians American house music groups Electronic music groups from Illinois