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Acid techno is the term used to describe a style of techno that originated in the London squat party scene in the mid 1990s. It is characterised by heavy use of the Roland TB-303 for bass and lead sounds, a less repetitive sound than many other forms of techno (early influences included the German acid trance scene) and an irreverent, often-political attitude seen in the titles and samples used in many of its tracks; many of the scene's originators had originally been part of the punk scene. Early labels included Stay Up Forever, Smitten, Routemaster, Boscaland, Choci's Chewns and VCF.

While acid techno originated mainly in the London scene, it soon spread across the UK and then internationally and is today popular in many countries. Propellerhead Software developed the RB-338 ReBirth softsynth (with twin TB-303 panels and two drum machines) to emulate the unique sound of hardware which is no longer in production. However despite this it still continues to be mainly a fairly underground form of music with little commercial impact, and is often seen to be synonymous with the Squat party scene.

Over the last few years acid techno has evolved away from a predominantly 303-based sound into a much broader sub-genre of techno that still retains its dancefloor-friendly ethos, 'London' sound and lack of pretention. Labels such as No Entry, Infected, Hydraulix, Cluster, 4x4 Records, RAW and Powertools reflect this newer sound.

The majority of acid techno producers are DJs as well. Some of the more notable London-based producers are part of the Stay Up Forever Collective:

• The Liberator DJs (Chris, Aaron and Julian)
• D.A.V.E. The Drummer (Henry Cullen)
• Lawrie Immersion
• Geezer (Guy McAffer)
• Ant
• DDR
• Gizelle

Other DJs and producers include:

• Rowland The Bastard
• Mark Tyler
• Pete Skank
• Choci

• Stay Up Forever Collective