A hugely influential group in the development of house music, Phuture are commonly credited for inventing the 'acid house' style with their first recording, 'Acid Tracks' in 1987. Founded by Earl 'Spanky' Smith, Damon 'Proffessor Traxx' Neloms, and Nathaniel '
DJ Pierre' Jones, the Chicago-based group handed their first demo to legendary Musicbox DJ Ron Hardy, who ended up playing the track four times the same night. The track consisted of little more than high-pitched, squelched Roland TB-303 notes over a simple house beat - acid house was born. While the group's line-up shifted frequently over the following years - including
Roy Davis Jr. and
DJ Skull as members worthy of note - Phuture went on to record many more classics of Chicago house, including 1990's ground-breaking anthem '
Rise From Your Grave', the groups first release for New York's
Strictly Rhythm imprint. Phuture, now known as Phuture 303, remains active to this day, once again consisting of its core line-up of Spanky and Proffessor Traxx, with the occasional addition of DJ Pierre.