Renowned as one of dance music’s most inspiring producers and DJs Justin Robertson has influenced countless acts over the years with his lauded Lion Rock & Revtone production guises and his eclectic DJ sets. Now, with a brand new compilation, ‘The Art Of Acid’, released through Harmless Records, Justin pays homage to all those that influenced and inspired him in his formative years on the dance-floor of the Hacienda during the nascent days of the Acid House scene.
Kicking off with the Miami Bass inspired ‘Security’ from Beat Club, Justin wastes no time dropping legendary House pioneer, Farley’s ‘Give Yourself To Me’ which is swiftly blended into Willie Wonka’s ‘’It’s Now Or Never’. The tribal chanting of Cultural Vibe’s deep and raw ‘Ma Foom Bey’ shows the first signs of how the genre would progress, as Justin drops a stone cold killer and a genuine milestone in music, Phuture’s timeless ‘Acid Trax’, which set the 303 precedent that still prevails today. Fast Eddie’s Chicago classic ‘Acid Thunder’ takes things a little deeper still before Phuture return with their appositely titled ‘We Are The Phuture’, how right they were.
The stabbing bass & piano grooves and firing snare rolls of Derrick May’s Mayday mix of Neil Howard’s ‘It’s Now Or Never’, is followed by an appearance from House music’s original wunderkind, Marshall Jefferson, with On The House’s ‘Ride The Rhythm’ which slips effortlessly into Rhythim Is Rhythim’s ‘The Dance’ which originally appeared as a B side to ‘Nude Photo’. Hot Mix 5’s Mickey Oliver weighs in with ‘In-Ten-Si-T’ and Canadian purveyors of Hi-NRG, Lime’s ‘The Grid’ pave the way for early British pioneers Unique 3, with their ubiquitous bleep masterpiece ‘The Theme’ which was recently voted the number 1 track ever played at the Hacienda and Renegade Soundwave, with the oft-imitated bassline classic ‘The Phantom’. Derrick May makes more welcome appearances retooling Dee Lite’s ‘Wild Times’ and his own collaboration with Darryl Winn, R Tyme’s ‘R Theme’ with deft touches of early Detroit Techno. Justin then unleashes another 303 tour de force with one third of Phuture, DJ Pierre’s ‘Got The Bug’ under his Pierre's Pfantasy Club guise and the flip to Frankie Knuckles’ ‘Your Love’, the deep and sexual ‘Baby Wants To Ride’. Laurent X’s pulsing ‘Machines’ and Virgo’s fresh and futuristic ‘In A Vision’ lead into the final track Larry Heard in his Mr. Fingers hat with the epic ‘Can You Feel It’.
Accompanying ‘The Art Of Acid’ is an exclusive set of bonus edits of classic House tracks rubbed down by a veritable who’s who of dance music new and old, including Boys Noize, Plump DJs, Greg Wilson, 808 State, Laurent Garnier and Justin Robertson himself. Collecting together the cream of early Acid House tracks that were central to the formation of Dance Culture as we know it today, ‘The Art Of Acid’, is a blistering tribute to the last great cultural revolution of the 20th century.
