August 8th is celebrated in the music community thanks to the Roland TR-808 drum machine, a programmer that gave Hip-Hop, House, Electro and more a solid base to craft memorable jams on.
The TR-808 was introduced by the Roland Corporation of Japan in 1980, on the heels of the CR-78, the first programmable drum machine in modern music. The TR-808 faced stiff competition from Roger Linn’s LinnDrum L1, a favored instrument by a young musical whiz by the name of Prince.
Initial sales were a flop thanks to hard to replace parts, but the quick drop off and inexpensive resale made the TR-808 an in-demand piece of equipment for producers of Rap, R&B and more.
As Chris Norris of the New Yorker wrote in his review of the 808 documentary 10 years ago, “While most of the 808’s sounds dated instantly, its bass kick had a life of its own. Less a product of engineering than a force of nature, this bass-rolling subsonic boom has come to be what people mean when they refer to “an 808.” Similar to the oceanic crescendo that runs through Wagner’s Vorspiel to “Das Rheingold,” this bass is felt before it’s heard, the downbeat swooning to fill a space, tuned to its own harmonic center.”
The 808 bass gave birth to subgenres like Atlanta rap and Miami bass and House music borrowed heavily from the bass kick and clap, while Techno benefitted from that same booming bottom.
While drum machines and other computerized software took huge chunks of live instrumentation in music, their place in 80s lore is undisputed.
The TR-808 is a rare collectors’ item today, even as Roland has a modern version of it available now, the TR-08.
So if you’ve ever listened to an 80s R&B/Hip-Hop/Rap/Electronic song, you should celebrate 808 day. We’re about to get started on that now.
