Today, on 8/08, please enjoy some reading about everyone’s favorite drum machine, the Roland TR-808. You probably recognize it from Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing, or the beginning of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Or from the album Kanye named after it. Regardless, there’s a lot to love and a lot to learn and a lot to listen to. I bet after all this you’ll start hearing it in places, even songs produced today. Like the other day I heard it in this Tennyson song.
Further reading/watching:
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-808-heard-round-the-world
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/06/roland-tr-808-drum-machine-revolutionised-music
http://blog.zzounds.com/2015/07/28/roots-music-ikutaro-kakehashi-rise-rhythm-composer/