Last week saw the release of Enei’s “Rituals” LP, and one of its highlights is a track called “Dead Space”. This tune is really special because it has very distinctive and mesmerizing sounds of acid – a genre known to fans of oldschool electronic music. We asked Alexey to give us a comment on “Dead Space” and selected 30 dnb tracks containing the elements of this specific musical direction. They were implemented by such varied artists as Dillinja, The Panacea, Command Strange, Icicle and Squarepusher – expect to hear anything, from early neurofunk to modern-day experiments.
As Enei told us, “Dead Space” was influenced by the oldschool technoid vibes from the likes of Kemal, and the idea of adding the acid sounds belongs to him.
“[Mefjus and I] worked in his studio, I did the whole arrangement and most of the sounds, then handed the tracks to him, and finally we mixed it together in his sequencer”.
Acid became widespread in Britain in the late 80’s. Acid is considered a self-sustained genre, though it is also widely known in such forms as acid house and acid techno, and originally the Roland TB-303 synth, which generates such caustic sounds, was used for producing disco. It could be suggested that drum & bass is too fast to go together with these sounds, however several dnb artists successfully implemented them in their own works. Acid really helped such artists recreate the atmosphere that could be either fun, energetic or, on the contrary, laidback or even sinister. Whatever, it gives a special charm to dnb music, though there are relatively few tracks like that.
Let’s move straight to our selection – starting with old good techstep, neurofunk and technoid from the late 90’s – early noughties. Of course, you will hear the material from the Kemal himself! But first and foremost, get to know this tune from Dillinja: “Acid Trak” can blow up the place straight away, and, thanks to that, it is one of this artists’ classic works.
Dillinja – Acid Trak (Valve, 1997)
Future Prophecies – Acid City (Subtitles, 2002)
Facs & B-Key – Antics (Biotic, 2000)
Facs & B-Key – Plimsoul VIP
Technical Itch – Reborn (Weapon Remix) (Moving Shadow, 2003)
The Sect – Acid Storm (Distance, 2003)
Kemal & Rob Data – The Encrypter (DSCI4, 2003)
Kemal & Black Sun Empire – Stranded (Obsessions, 2005)
And now for something with a harder edge… Some dark and ruthless tracks from the second half of the 2000’s. Notice how classy acid is used in The Panacea’s explosive darkstep remix, and in a multigenre tune called “Midnight Express”!
The Panacea – Anti-Funk (Raiden Remix) (Position Chrome, 2006)
SPL – Denied (Lost Soul, 2006)
DJ G-I-S – Zurück Zu Den Schatten (The Panacea Remix) (Position Chrome, 2006)
The Panacea – Rave Music Resurrected (Freak, 2007)
Fizyk – Acid Papa (Zardonic Recordings, 2007)
Evol Intent – Mutiny (Evol Intent Recordings, 2008)
Dieselboy & Evol Intent & Ewun – Midnight Express (Human Imprint, 2008)
SPL – Fortysix (Habit, 2008)
In the last few years there has been a bit more of acid dnb. However now it can be noticed in smooth tracks and, more recently, in halftime tunes. It feels like acid is tending to appear more frequently in drum & bass.
S.P.Y – Acid Trip (Spearhead, 2009)
Optical – CatDog (Unique, 2010)
Soul Intent – Nod To The Past (Commercial Suicide, 2012)
Current Value – Stay Up (Subsistenz, 2012)
C.A.2K – Nerve (Future Sickness, 2012)
Raiden – Rust (Tech:nology, 2014)
Command Strange – 1000% Acid (Innerground, 2014)
Icicle – Acidic (Shogun Audio, 2014)
Alix Perez – Acid Jam (Bandcamp, 2015)
Looh – Creatures (L/B Recordings, 2015)
And finally there is some insane jungle and drill and bass from the likes of Warp Records and Rephlex artists! These experimental and fast-paced tracks showcase how tricky you could use the sounds of Roland TB-303, and many other tools. Definitely not for the faint-hearted!
Steinvord – Iyff Acid e1 (Rephlex, 2012)
Aphex Twin – Cock/Ver10 (Warp, 2001)
Aphex Twin – 54 Cymru Beats (Warp, 2001)
Squarepusher – Do You Know Squarepusher (Warp, 2002)
Squarepusher – Venus No. 17 (Acid Mix) (Warp, 2004)
Squarepusher – 303 Scopem Hard (Warp, 2012)
Are you aware of any other acid sounding tracks? Post them in the comments below!
Special thanks to Eldar Kontselidze aka DJ Darrel for helping us with the selection.