09/10/2024
I Love Acid TURNS 18 IN 2025!
"Next year, I Love Acid is 18 years old.
This means we can (legally) have punters who weren't even alive when we started. This absolutely fries my brain thinking about it. Never ever even imagined this would happen.
In 2007, I spoke to Luke Vibert and proposed the idea we do a party themed around his track. It was meant to be a one-off, I hired Corsica Studios and we put together a lineup of some acidy mates - Mike Paradinas, Richard Wigglesworth aka Tudor Acid, Ardisson, Chris Moss Acid...plus we also booked UK acid legend EgeBamYasi and a few others. It was really along the lines of that kind of ravey braindance/rephlex acid vibe, and some oldskool acid techno.
The party was a success, great fun - but someone dropped a drink into the mixer and I had to pay for it to be repaired, so I ended up losing a load of money. I didn't actually even play at it, I was just the promoter. And that was that, the end. No plans to go any further.
Except Corsica Studios then asked if I wanted to do a Halloween party. Always an amazing date to hold a rave, so we went for it again, fancy dress themed - me, Luke & more mates - B12, Cylob etc and also this time I played as well (as AGT Rave Cru)
This time I didn't lose money. And a few weeks afterwards, Ginglik (a converted 250 capacity space in an underground public toilet in Shepherds Bush) offered me a monthly residency. So I Love Acid began as a regular thing. Absolutely glory times, this is when we took on Placid as resident, and really built our family. Every month from early 2008 until May 2013 - when the venue sadly closed down. I didn;t realise it at the time, but these were probably some of the best days (and nights) of my life. Truly special. During this time we did our first parties outside of London - in Malta, Barcelona, Edinburgh, and hosting a stage at Bloc Weekend.
After that I moved around a couple of venues in late 2013, doing parties in Dalston but it felt like it was fizzling out a bit - so in early 2014 I then said -enough- and declared a one-off bash at Corsica Studios to be the farewell, last ever party. Huge lineup - Luke, Radioactive Man, Mark Archer, Ceephax, Chevron, and the debut show from Syntheme. It was brilliant and a great way to say farewell.
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From there I started the vinyl-only label instead, first releases from DMX Krew & Bass Ju**ie, Affie Yusuf, and Luke all selling out really fast. And I took a break. But people kept asking "when is the next party?" and then I got offered in early 2015 to put acid house originator himself DJ Pierre and Luke Vibert on the same night - they had never played the same stage. So I teamed up with Bloc at their new Autumn Street venue and I Love Acid began again.
And this is when it really started to take off. The nights got bigger, we started doing shows in Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, and abroad in Antwerp, Lille, Brussels, Rennes...we even had one in Berlin but I missed the flight and didn't make it! More festival stages, and the label continued to grow and sell out each release. Our tenth anniversary was held as a triple party at Hidden in Manchester, Moog in Barcleona, and Corsica Studios in London. Bloc closed down and we moved to Basing House, and then found a regular home at Pickle Factory.
Come 2019, we won the DJ Mag award for Best British Club Event. This put us on the radar for a lot more established venues, and requests for us to host events across the UK and EU started filling the calendar for 2020. Things were looking crazy!
And then the bloody pandemic hit. Everything closed. We all know the story.
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Coming back in 2021, acid house had once again cycled out of fashion, and many the clubs who wanted us to come and do shows had changed bookers, they instead wanted really hard fast techno & trance with poppy accapellas, with crowds filming themselves and DJs putting more effort into how they looked than how they played. Not our vibe. Our sound was of no interest, so we started to build up from the underground again. We returned to Corsica Studios in London, started our residencies at Berkeley Suite in Glasgow and Hare & Hounds in Birmingham. Back to the underground approach. We did some guest shows in Newcastle, Liverpool, and Manchester. Slowly we grew again, and then we got the invite to visit the true home of acid - the USA.
Holding the first I Love Acid party at smartbar in Chicago remains probably one of the most incredible moments of my musical life. To be in the home of acid house itself. Since that first party in 2022 we've returned there several times, and also now hold regular events at Good Room in Brooklyn, Marble Bar in Detroit, we've hooked up with the legendary Drop Bass crew in the midwest and even taken I Love Acid to LA and San Francisco. This year, we debuted in Italy, China, and Thailand.
None of this would have been possible without a team of people - Luke Vibert obviously who's been there all the way. There have been people who went above & beyond to make things happen: Jon Dasilva, Paul Placid, Jerome Hill, Colin Welsh, Erin Tsuin, William Warren, Maya Nightwave, Acid Connor, Lauren Flax, Brian DJ Warp, Will Rhythmwerx, Alex Strangius, Joni Green, Mach V, Gus Van Sound, Mario Clinch, Neil Hales. Some of the team has come and gone through the years (it happens) but I still have very fond memories of their time involved - Andy, Mark, Nikki. And we've lost some crew along the way - RIP Raj, Mark, Andreas.
We've also had a crew of regulars who have stuck with us for years, always amazing seeing them come through the door on the night. You know who your are! Love yous.
And now I've put together a lineup for our 18th birthday in London, in 2025. I'm very excited!
- Josh Posthuman"
Tickets for the 18th b'day party here: https://ra.co/events/2018478
