Dorothy- Acid House Love Blueprint – A History of Dance Music and Rave Culture

A history of dance music and rave culture mapped out on the circuit diagram of a 303 bass synthesizer.

Our Acid House Love Blueprint celebrates over 900 DJ’s, clubs, musicians, free parties, sound systems, record labels, radio stations and fanzines who have been pivotal to the evolution of acid house and its subsequent impact on dance music and rave culture. From its early roots in British Northern Soul and 1970’s New York Disco, through the cultural revolution of the Second Summer of Love, to its explosion into the mainstream and its influence on musicians like Massive Attack, Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers.

The print pays homage to the cities, clubs and individuals that were forerunners of acid house, rave and dance culture including Manchester’s Twisted Wheel (famous for its all-nighters), New York’s legendary Loft parties (organised by David Mancuso) and Paradise Garage (home to DJ Larry Levan’s residency), Chicago’s Warehouse (where Frankie Knuckles pioneered Chicago House), Detroit’s Belleville Three (creators of Detroit techno), Phuture (Chicago band credited with creating acid house’s distinctive sound) and London’s Rare Groove scene (championed by Norman Jay and later Gilles Peterson).

The print is organised around key scenes, clubs, and DJs including Ibiza and the Balearic beat (Amnesia and DJ Alfredo, Café del Mar and José Padilla, Es Paradis, Pacha), London’s nascent acid house scene (Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfield, Johnny Walker, Nicky Holloway and formative clubs Shoom, Future, Spectrum, Trip), the North of England’s scene (Manchester’s legendary Haçienda and Greg Wilson, Graeme Park, Mike Pickering, Dave Haslam and Liverpool’s Quadrant Park), Berlin’s techno scene (Tresor, E-Werk, Berghain), the rave scene of the late 80’s early 90’s (London’s Orbital raves and New York’s Storm Raves) and the free party sound systems (Spiral Tribe, DiY).

The print also focuses on key moments (Second Summer of Love, Castlemorton, Criminal Justice Act) and features underground clubs (Chicago’s Music Box and London’s Clink Street), pioneering and occasionally overlooked DJ’s (Nancy Noise, Lisa Loud), super clubs (Cream, Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher), superstar DJ’s (Tiësto, Pete Tong, Sasha, Carl Cox) bands (New Order, 808 State, S’Express, The KLF), producers (Larry Heard, Derrick May, Andrew Weatherall), fanzines (Boy’s Own), record labels (Trax Records, R&S, Warp) and stores (Manchester’s Eastern Bloc) who all played a part in bringing acid house and dance culture to the masses.