It’s the iconic drum machine’s 40th birthday this year.
Roland’s TR-808 Rhythm Composer, known as the 808, was originally manufactured between 1980 and 1983, and ever since, the drum machine has been a cornerstone in music, from hip hop to techno, from the Beastie Boys and Marvin Gaye to Jeff Mills.
To celebrate this milestone, the Japanese company has released a mini-documentary called ‘Building the Beat: Inside Legendary Roland TR-808 Tracks‘. The short film features different artists including Carl Craig, Arthur Baker, and A Guy Called Gerald, among others, discussing their experiences with the machine and how it shaped music since its inception.
A Spotify ‘808 40-year playlist’ has also been released to accompany the mentioned documentary. The playlist features tracks made with an 808, highlighting music from Kanye West, Felix Da Housecat, Jamie XX, to name a few. Roland has also made the TR-808 DAW plug-in available to download on the company‘s website for free during the month of August.
Take a look at the documentary and listen to the playlist below.
