You helped to develop the house music sound of Acid House as a member of Phuture, your 1987 EP ‘Acid Tracks’ has been called the “first Acid House recording”. Quite an acclaim?
“Yes it is. Actually, one prominent magazine had it in their top 27 songs that changed the world! I couldn’t believe that we created a song and a sound that was ranked next to the likes of The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Jimmi Hendrix and Elvis among many others!”
Philippe Renaud, a journalist for La Presse in Montreal, famously said that Acid House was coined in Chicago in 1987 to describe the sound of the Roland 303 Bass Machine, which made it’s first significant recording appearance on Phuture’s Acid Trax in that year – via you. Did you know you were creating a monster?
“No we did not. We were just trying to make a track that people would like. We were having a hard time creating something that even we liked! So we sought out the 303 just to help us make better basslines, but when we heard the squelchy hard sounds from the 303, we just looked at each other and said – this is it!”
Your’ first own single ‘Generate Power’ became the standard fare for scores of producers during the next few years in Chicago and beyond. What was the story behind the tune?
“Actually, this was not my first stand along single, but it was my first one on Strictly Rhythm. I made this tune while doing a remix for a hip hop group called the K-9 Posse. While the engineers where taking a sleep break, I came up with the ‘Generate Power’ idea. I actually completed the whole track while they slept. The special thing about this track is that it’s built around a popular sample but the sample was way too popular to get away with as it was… so I flipped it around backwards to hide it and noticed that it sounded way better that way…”
Living in Chicago, you partied with the likes of Farley Jackmaster Funk, Ralphi ‘The Razz’ Rosario, Kenny ‘Jammin’ Jason, Mickey ‘Mixin’ Oliver and Scott ‘Smokin’ Seals – some real cool dudes. What were the best clubs you frequented, who were the funniest out of the bunch, who pulled the most girls and who always got trashed?
“Farley by far had the most charisma. I never really hung out with them as they were the Godfathers of house music and at the time I was a young up and coming producer/DJ. The best club by far for me was The Music Box (Ron Hardy’s Club) but I also went to the Power House, Medusas (Lil Louis’s Club) and Gallery 24 (Frankie Knuckles spot).
What was it like when Ron Hardy dropped your tune ‘Acid Tracks’ for the first time at his Music Box club, a real slow burning, bassy, heavy, deep sounding acid corker…?
“It was crazy!! People were dancing in ways I never saw before or have ever seen since! They danced on their backs and even upside down against the walls! THEY LOST CONTROL!”
You released a tune with Barbara Tucker, a rather large one called ‘The Horn Song’ with this diva on vocals, a cool chick huh?
“Yes it was a very exciting project. All you do is give Barbara the mic and hit the record button.”
Tell us about that moment at Tt Diamond Corps (Lil Louis’s company) event at the Bismarck Pavillion in Chicago in 1986…
“To this day, that is still one of the most incredible parties I’ve ever played. I played for 6 hours and had them screaming the whole time.”
Why did you move to New York?
“For a new start to my career. The Chicago scene was full of crooks and haters. I just wanted to get out of that environment. The radio stations had also stopped supporting the music and when I went to NY a couple of times, I had seen how big the scene was. The clubs, record labels, and radio did much better business there. NY was more professional all around.”
What did you think of Britain when you hit our shores for the first time in 1990?
“That this is were it’s at! Magazines,TV, and radio covered it and played it!”
I believe you were the guy, whilst you were A&Ring at Strictly Rhythm, discovered their biggest vinyl selling hit ‘Follow Me’ by Alyus in 1992 – what ‘s the story?
“The truth of the matter is they didn’t want to sign it, but I fought for that record to be signed! I knew it was a hit the first time I heard it playing out of peoples cars every time I walked down the street in East Orange, New Jersey. All the DJ’s put it on their mix tapes and everybody played it in their cars with the windows down and bass pumpin!!”
You discovered a new trick with the Equalizer on a mixing board using it to work the sounds of sampled drum loops. People referred to it as ‘filtering’. No one had heard of this before then. How did you do it?
“I came across filtering when I was mixing Master Blaster! (early 90’s). I was actually just trying to find the right EQ on the loop but then I happened to notice how warped it made the loop sound! I said I’m going to do that in the mix as an effect, it made me feel like I was back on the 303!!”
You have a new release ‘I’ve Lost Control’ on Gigolo Music coming out – getting big up’s from the likes of Dave Clarke, DJ Hell, Garnier, Arne, Radio Slave, D’Julz, Phonique and Shinedoe. Talk us through it…
“From the moment I heard Carl Craig’s track “Demented” which came out in 2003, I wanted to do something similar with someone screaming on it. So since it’s the 20th anniversary of Acid House, the thought came to mind to do a track describing that night when acid was born. I wanted to make a track where the music explore the feeling that was at the Music box when people were actually losing control to Acid Trax and Ron Hardy’s sets. So when I got down to work on it, another classic came to mind… the Marshall Jefferson/Sleazy D track “I’ve Lost Control”. Marshall is my dawg and he is given me writer’s credit on this track because I used the words – but the vocals are mine and the music is all new production. Happy to have Glenn Underground add his flavor to it and I’m honored to have the support of the artists you mentioned. A great honor. Looking forward to the Radio Slave remix as well. I think that’s in the works.”
DJ Pierre ‘I’ve Lost Control’ out in December on Gigolo…
