Upfront 049 / January 11, 2016

I Love Acid

Squelching bassline, oscillating 303 loops, fractal factory line rhythms – delve into an hourlong journey of Acid in its truest form.

About this mix

I Love Acid started life as a one-off party back in 2007 is titled after Luke Vibert's anthem of the same name. We and Luke, plus a bunch of friends, took over Corsica Studios for the night to play out all things acid and TB-303. Then we did another, and another… and suddenly, it was nine years later, with over a hundred events in London and abroad. In 2014, the party gave birth to a record label.

Each release is strictly vinyl only – no digital, limited to just 303 copies, hand stamped and numbered. We’re up to number seven in the series now. This mix features tracks from 008 to 014, plus some upcoming material from our main label Balkan Vinyl, including tracks from Mutant City Acid Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 (both 12” releases) and an album from Chevron which will be released on a gold bar in a jewellery presentation box.

There’s something about acid that transcends simply being a ‘genre’. It sums up the sound of the TB-303 – but also a certain era of house music and a social movement, all in one. One of the most liberating things about running an acid party is the pure scope of sound and style that's available. And that is reflected by the audience too.

I Love Acid is back this year with parties in London and Bristol in February, plus our annual stage at Bloc in March.

Josh Doherty, Posthuman

Boiler Room says...

Acid: perhaps single handedly the most characteristic and nostalgic sound in dance music's history. The squelching basslines and melodic helixes of the Roland TB-303 have travelled a long way since its outset in Chicago house and techno of the mid-1980s. Three decades later, acid still lives on, but in numerous guises. The distinctive sound of Acid forms a key component in many transatlantic electronic music genres – from hard techno, to ambient, to lo-fi, to jacking house, and beyond. Acid remains relevant and respected in a musical climate that is evolving constantly, thanks to the sheer timelessness of its sound.

I Love Acid are one of the few outlets that are paying the appropriate reverence to Acid. Their forthcoming catalogue (including Cardopusher, Hardfloor and Luke Vibert – all of whom also feature in this mix) is enough to prove this. But what the Posthuman / Balkan Vinyl / I Love Acid boys are really doing is highlighting the importance and agelessness of the Acid movement. Their sub-label hosts modern-day releases by the notable names in music that feel the same impact and share the same love for Acid.

This week's Upfront mix comprises of all the goodies that I Love Acid are currently cooking up, including some cuts from the Posthuman boys themselves. Oscillatory 303 loops, fractal factory line rhythms and computerised voices whirring at sub-bass volumes – prepare to delve into an hourlong retrospective journey of Acid in its truest form.

Julia Kisray

Julia Kisray

Julia is Digital Editor & Music Programmer at Boiler Room.

Tracklisting

    Upfront mixes

    Our weekly audio mix series where we call upon the most interesting artists/DJs/record labels and ask them to peer into the near future. How they take it from there is entirely open to interpretation.

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