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Songs We Love: Chicago Flotation Device, 'Higher'

Mysterious London duo Chicago Flotation Device released an acid-house banger, "Higher."
Courtesy of the artist
Mysterious London duo Chicago Flotation Device released an acid-house banger, "Higher."

More than two years after its first release, the hardware dance producers Chicago Flotation Device remain anonymous. A May 2013 interview on pulseradio.com revealed the what (a trio of U.K. DJs) and the where (London), but the who is still a mystery. Nothing truly verifiable exists anywhere on the web just yet. Then again, we can't really trust any internet profile these days, can we?

That shroud of mystery might be feeling a tad restrictive after the release of "Higher," a 10-minute acid-house anthem with a direct link to the early 1990s. I mean, when you make something this great, you can't help but crave a bit of the credit.

"Higher," like most acid tracks, is powered by a Roland TB-303 synthesizer; in this instance, it emits beacons of squelch on the two and four while the titular vocal sample gradually ratchets the drama. When things go bananas during the fourth minute, it's tempting to wonder where the track will go during its remaining two-thirds, but CFD stretch out the euphoria with subtle tweaks, injecting new hooks and turning up the distortion. "Higher" is the type of track you want to tell your friends about — whether or not its creators care to do the same.

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