DJ Pierre - Essential Mix 1.14.07

DJ Pierre, Essential Mix for BBC's Radio One January 14, 2007 (additional link) (YSI link) tracklisting in comments

I've been wanting to get to this one for a few months now actually, hell it was one of the reasons I started doing these weekly posts. After having the good fortune of catching Green Velvet in Brooklyn Saturday with my girl AS, it seemed like the perfect time to move from Manchester and New York City of the 80s back to Chicago, the birthplace of acid house.

Let's just say it up front, DJ Pierre, a.k.a. Nathaniel Pierre Jones, is a legend, one of the heros of Pound for Pound's world. He's one of the main men responsible for the Manchester (and Ibiza) of the late 80s and the subsequent rave days, having developed the acid house sound that would catch on across the ocean and change dance music forever. It was mostly in the guise of Phuture, where Pierre joined with most importantly, as Phuture (with Earl "Spanky" Smith Jr. and Herbert Jackson) that he made his greatest impact. In fact, you can trace it all to one song in a way, "Acid Trax," a.k.a. "Ron Hardy's Acid Track," a.k.a. "In Your Mind." Those guys came up with a new sound through experimenting with the new Roland 303 which would mark a distinct break in the Chicago house sound. We'll get into all of this more this week, but suffice it to say this is an OG legend.

The mix is 2 hours of house music, some classics, lots of DJ Pierre's production (nothing wrong with confidence), all house, no filler. I know that we post a lot of different types of music and for many of you the notion of listening to house music sits right up there with the dentist and colonscopy. But, I hope that you will give this stuff a chance, get beyond any preconceived notions and listen to some of the most amazing, creative music ever made. A mix like this is the perfect intro, as it gives you a chance to hear a full set like you would hear at the club, where this music comes alive. You can hear all sorts of different songs and microgenres and the skill of the DJ and you may just realize that you love this music after all.