Phuture

Last updated
Phuture
Also known asPhortune
Origin Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Years active1985–present
Labels
Members
  • Lothario "Rio" Lee
  • Fernando "Fher" Rivera
  • DJ Pierre

Phuture is an American house music group from Chicago, founded in 1985 by Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr., Nathaniel Pierre Jones aka DJ Pierre, and Herbert "Herb J" Jackson. [1] The group is renowned for inventing and defining the sound of acid house, a subgenre of house music, with their 1987 release "Acid Tracks". [1]

Contents

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. [1] [2] The 12-minute instrumental composition was released on Trax Records in 1987. Originally, it was recorded to tape and played by DJ Ron Hardy at the Chicago nightclub Music Box, [3] supposedly already in 1985. [4] Its characteristic "acid" sound was derived from utilizing the Roland TB-303 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 and Roland TR-727 drum machines.

After "Acid Tracks", Phuture released a number of acid house and Chicago house tracks now considered classics of the genre, usually as 12-inch vinyl maxi singles. 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 addiction, or a simple chant, such as on "Spirit" (1994). The group has recorded under several pseudonyms, generally using the substitution of ph or pf for f, as, for example, in Phortune or Pfortune.

Members

Current members [5]

Former members [5]

Discography

Singles and maxi-singles

Remixes

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roland TB-303</span> Bass synthesizer

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Acid house 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 synthesizer-sequencer, an innovation attributed to Chicago artists Phuture and Sleezy D circa 1986.

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Earl Smith Jr., known as DJ Spank Spank or Spanky, was an American musician credited with inspiring the acid house music genre. He founded the group Phuture.

Derrick Harris was a Chicago music producer and one of the pioneers of house music and acid house. He is known for the song "I've Lost Control", which was released as a 12" single on the Trax Records label, issue number TX 113. The song used a Roland TR-808 and a Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer to create the signature modulated waveform sound which would directly inspire acid house. The track is arguably the first to use this particular sound, and rose to cult underground popularity thanks to DJ Ron Hardy's Music Box club in Chicago.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Poe, Jim. "Phuture: pioneers of acid house". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  2. Shapiro, Peter (2000). Modulations: A History of Electronic Music. Caipirinha Productions Inc. p.  32. ISBN   978-0-8195-6498-6.
  3. Interview with Phuture's DJ Pierre in DJ mag, 2014.
  4. Review by Alain_Patrick on Discogs; Interview with DJ Pierre in Fader Magazine, August 04, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Source: Discogs discography and biography