Recommendations of the editorial team
Everyone remembers this one moment when the bass buzzes in the stomach pit, flickers flicker and you have the feeling of going up in the sound. Acid House was (and is still today) simply more than just music.
In order for your next party to capture exactly this visceral feeling, we have put together ten essential tracks that cannot be missing on any ACID House playlist. They are all classics that changed a lot at the time – and still work the same today.
1. A Guy Called Gerald – “Voodoo Ray” (1988)
This piece is considered one of the first British acid house hits and quickly became a classic in clubs like the Haçienda in Manchester. Gerald Simpson, alias a Guy Called Gerald, combined hypnotic beats with unique synthesizer sounds and created a timeless track.
2. Phuture – “Acid Tracks” (1987)
As a pioneering song of the ACID-House movement, “Acid Tracks” is often considered the first track of the genre. The Chicago Group Phuture experimented with the Roland TB-303 and thus shaped the characteristic “squeaking” sound, the acid house.
3. 808 State – “Pacific State” (1989)
This track combines gentle saxophone melodies with electronic beats and represents the transition from Acid House to other electronic music styles. “Pacific State” became an international hit and consolidated the reputation of 808 state as pioneers in electronic music.
4. Mr. Fingers – “Can you feel it” (1987)
Larry Heard, known as Mr. Fingers, brought a deeper, more emotional dimension into house music with this track. “Can you feel it” is characterized by its warm bassline and atmospheric sound landscape and influenced numerous subsequent productions.
5. Inner City – “Good Life” (1988)
This energetic piece by Kevin Saunderson and Paris Gray combines catchy vocals with danceable beats and became one of the best-known house tracks from the late 1980s. “Good Life” brought Detroit’s sound to the international charts.
6. Stakker – “Humanoid” (1988)
As one of the first tracks, the acid house elements with Techno combined, “Humanoid” is characterized by its aggressive bassline and futuristic sounds. The track was a harbinger of the tougher varieties of electronic music that became popular in the 1990s.
7. Black Riot – “A Day in the Life” (1988)
Behind Black Riot is the producer Todd Terry, who merged with this track house music with hip-hop elements. “A Day in the Life” impresses with its driving beats and sample-based structure and influenced the development of the hip house genre.
8. Rhythim is rhythim – “Strings of Life” (1987)
Derrick May’s masterpiece is often referred to as one of the greatest techno tracks of all time. With its complex piano sequences and pulsating rhythms, “Strings of Life” brought a new musical depth into electronic dance music.
9. Marshall Jefferson – “Move Your Body” (1986)
Known as “The House Music Anthem”, this track was one of the first house songs to put piano riffs for the foreground. Marshall Jefferson’s influence on the house scene is undeniable, and “Move Your Body” remains a timeless classic.
10. Rififi – “Dr. Acid and Mr. House” (1989)
This less well-known but still influential track combines dark acid lines with classic house beats and reflects the joy of experimentation of the late 1980s.