By the time the residual sweet swirl of disco and the harder edge of Chicago house had dribbled its way into England via New York and Europe’s booming rave scene, acid house was born. At a record shop somewhere in Manchester, a group of future acid house pioneers (Martin Price, Graham Massey, and Gerald Simpson) formed 808 State. The group’s first domestic release, Utd. State 90, was a drastically-revised version of their 1989 album 90. The hit “Pacific” (here in three incarnations) is the album’s standout track, its slinky, synthesized sax and tropical chirps laid on a bed of percussive electronic beats. The album shifts moods quickly yet seamlessly, from the poppy, lyric-driven “Magical Dream” to the industrial edge of “Kinky National” and the epic grind of “Cübik.” Utd. State 90 even enters Ambient territory with “Sunrise,” a track in which 808’s impact on artists like Moby is beyond palpable.
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