Closing out October is the legendary Haçienda crew with the first ever Halloween party at The Beams. With an incredible line-up that brings together acid house’s strongest contributors from both sides of the Atlantic, the ‘Spirit of ‘88’ is going to be in full flow at this one. We've run through five of our favourite tracks from the era to get us in the mood.

Phuture - Acid Tracks

An unadulterated acid beatdown from start to finish, running at 12 minutes in total, this track is the epitome of the raw, uninhibited sound that kicked rave music into another gear. Considered a foundational element of the UK’s acid house movement, the 1987 effort’s influence and legacy cannot be understated, not least for giving the name to the TB-303 sound. There have been many copies and interpretations over the years, but this is the track that started it all. 

808 State - Flow Coma

Take some revolving acid squelches and pair it with hypnotic looping bleeps and a propulsive 808 drum track. Now tweak those elements into chaos before bringing it all back home with a single held 303 note, and you’re left with ‘Flow Coma’. Coming a year after ‘Acid Tracks’, you can see the immediate influence the track had on the UK’s sound. Passed to John Peel in Eastern Block, the legendary DJ spread the acid gospel around the country, helping to cement its club dominance for years to come. 

Charles B - Lack of Love 

‘Lack of Love’ just does not give up. Steadily building layers of percussion, vocals, ambience and, of course, that acid line, the track was legendary at institutions like The Haçienda. While retaining the raw quality of the period, it represents a much more disco-influenced persuasion, with big vocals, funky drum loops and a more general focus on melody. Guaranteed to light up any club, its still heard on dancefloors to this day. 

A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray

With a high pitched acid line bubbling away over a sultry lead vocal, this track is an essential piece of the acid house puzzle. A verified Haçienda anthem, the story of how Gerald Simpson – himself an original 808 State member – made the track is now legendary folklore for the genre’s enthusiasts. Simpson wanted to make a track using a sample that said ‘Voodoo Rage’. Instead, ‘rage’ was cut down by the sampler’s lack of memory, and thus an iconic track was born. Just 500 copies were pressed by Simpson’s label at first, which sold out in a day, and it’s classic status hasn’t worn off since. 

Da Posse feat. Christa Jordan - In The Heat Of The Night

Another example of the 303 being used, to great effect, as a lead sound, ‘In The Heat of the Night’ is an acid manifesto. Christa Jordan’s vocals tell the listener that ‘It’s called acid… and it goes like this’, showing how defined the sound was in just 1988. This illustrates just how groundbreaking the movement was; people realised the value in these strange silver boxes, not as stand-ins for bands’ bass players, but as a whole new instrument themselves, breeding creativity in spades.