"Acidwave 2088" is the sound of the Chicago underground, crafted collaboratively by Teklife crew members DJ Earl (seen above) and Sirr Tmo. While Teklife founders DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn tour the US, Europe and Japan, younger members of the crew like DJ Earl and Sirr Tmo have been holding it down at home."Acidwave 2088" may sound like the future, but it also sounds like the past. The history of acid goes back to the birth of house music in mid-80s Chicago. The first acid track, Phuture's appropriately-titled "Acid Tracks," made its debut at an after-hours scene in Chicago's infamous Muzik Box—where it was played no less than four times in a single night.The squirming coil sound of acid— originally generated by forcing a Roland TB 303 bass synthesizer into overdrive—sounds like an experiment gone haywire. It's a Frankenstein-like approach to EDM -- the music transcends the machine.
Sirr TmoIt's no surprise that footwork artists like DJ Earl and Sirr Tmo would gravitate to the sub-genre, continuing acid's Chicago legacy and connecting Earl's Southside basement studio to the basement clubs where house first spawned. "Acidwave 2088" blends well with other new acid tracks from fellow footwork artists like DJ Rashad's "Acid Bit" and Traxman's "2200 Acid." It also recalls "On Sight" from New Slaves by Kanye West—a fellow Chicagoan.DJ Earl's latest EP New Dimensions is out now, and he opens for Machinedrumthis Saturday in Chicago's Primary Night Club. Get your tickets here. Sirr Tmo self-releases his new EP The Rush this December.Wills Glasspiegel's feet were made for footworkin.' Check out some cool documentaries he's made about Chicago underground scene here.
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