Publié
Tue, Feb 22, 2022, 11:00
- We spoke with Chris, Aaron and Julian ahead of Friday's event at FOLD in East London.
Acid techno's 30-year, anarcho-punk legacy is being celebrated at London club FOLD this Friday, February 25th.
Running for 12 hours from 10 PM, the event will feature sets from Sterling Moss, DSTM, Samantha Togni, Gareth Wild, TECHSIA and Stay Up Forever founders Liberator DJs—Chris, Aaron and Julian—who helped pioneer acid techno in the UK 30 years ago.
In 1992, Liberator DJs were tweaking a new sound that would help keep London's free-party scene alive. This sound was defined by the squelch of the Roland TB-303 synth and influenced by Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance and Belgian New Beat.
"Acid techno definitely comes from squats," Aaron told Resident Advisor. "It's supposed to be anti-ego, doesn't matter how you look, dress or act. But if you wave your arms around like a DJ in a commercial club, someone would probably throw a fucking drink at you, and say 'fuck off DJ.'"
In 1994, Liberator DJs launched the Stay Up Forever label, as well as several other outlets alongside various collaborators. Altogether, they've released more than 4,000 tracks.
But it wasn't just about the music, Chris told RA. It was also about the DIY culture and attitude. "This was an integral part of the free-party scene," he said. "It led us to create music in a way that we felt it should sound."
Julian agreed. "It was the DIY attitude that informed the energy of acid techno [...] It's got that punk influence, which emerged from various underground ideas that rolled into electronic music, as shown by ex-punks like Mike Humphries and John Nuccle who are behind tracks like 'Acid War'."
Legendary former Brixton venue Club 414 became home to acid techno for almost three decades until its closure in 2019.
During this time, "acid techno always existed on the fringes of techno," said Chris. But things are starting to shift, as a new wave of techno DJs are remixing old acid tracks.
"When techno went minimal, it all went very snobby," said Chris. "But now, people like Amelie Lens will play an old trance, acid or techno record."
He added: "This new generation has really changed the goal posts in techno. There's less snobbery in the techno world. And the music is definitely getting harder. Everyone can talk about the music they like and that's really positive."
Here's the flyer for Friday.
Photo: James Lealand
