Ceephax Acid Crew

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

Let’s start with a premise: Ceephax Acid Crew, despite sounding like a collective, is the solo project of Andy Jenkinson, who has been reinterpreting acid techno for years as the sonic extension of 1980s video games. His vibrations are those of someone raised on bread and Commodore 64 cartridges, between retro synths and an optimism encoded in electronic bleeps and synthwave atmospheres. The territory explored over his nearly three-decade career (he is, incidentally, also the brother of Tom Jenkinson, aka Squarepusher) splashes about between acid house and accelerated breakbeats. His debut dates back to 1998 with the "Radiotin" EP and, with few exceptions, the formula has remained unchanged: if anything, refined, strengthened through his analog arsenal, yet always faithful to his lysergic-computational delirium.

The undisputed protagonists remain the glorious Roland TB-303s, flanked by shifting melodies and sparkling drum programming (Waltzacid II). Here and there, his brother’s influence surfaces ("Phactory Reset"): it feels like facing a lineage of visionary music geeks. Ceephax’s exploration, in particular, is more binary, almost black-and-white: either you worship it, or you run for cover. His arcade-like melodies can give you a headache, but they can also capture you. Such is the case with his most debated works: "United Acid Emirates" (2010) perplexes, "Cro Magnox" (2013) feels more focused; and with "Acid Zone" he reaches an unexpected synthesis between hardcore breakbeats and that dancing-nerd posture that has long been his trademark.

And true to its title, this “acid zone” has everything it takes to become his most accomplished, most self-aware work. The climax arrives early: by the second track, "Acid Cruise" bursts in as a boulder of acid breaks in constant mutation, as if we were listening to a sequence of boss themes one after another. Forget hypnotic repetition: here you dance in exaltation, not in numbness. And "Acid Cruise" is, plain and simple, one of the most galvanizing club tracks of recent years.
As per Jenkinson tradition, there are ups and downs; long-winded as always (over seventy minutes!), yet more than fitting as a soundtrack for an afternoon of beat ’em ups, retro racers, or, more generally, floppy-disk abandonware.

Had it been an EP, it might have brushed excellence. But let’s be clear: from Ceephax you don’t expect gravitas or academic rigor. You have to embrace his sonic folklore, those little sounds halfway between naïve electro and secret-menu 8-bit ("Camelot Interlude"). But once you accept the compromise, what remains is an interesting legacy of rave anthems for nerds.

06/07/2025