The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, often referred to as the TR-808 or simply the 808, is a drum machine introduced by Roland Corporation in 1980 and discontinued in 1983. It was one of the earliest programmable drum machines, with which users could create their own rhythms rather than having to use presets. The 808 was the first drum machine with the ability to program an entire percussion track from beginning to end, complete with breaks and rolls.
The Roland TR-808 drum machine.
Unlike its nearest competitor, the more expensive and sample-based Linn LM-1 Drum Computer, the 808 is completely analog, meaning its sounds are generated via hardware. Launched at a time when electronic music had yet to become mainstream, the 808 received mixed reviews for its unrealistic drum sounds. While it was initially only successful in Asia, it eventually went on to sell 12,000 units worldwide, becoming the best-selling drum machine of all time. However, Roland abruptly discontinued the 808 in 1983, after improvements to semiconductor technology made it impossible to restock the faulty transistors that were an essential part of its design. It was succeeded in 1984 by the TR-909.
The 808 was popularized in Japanese pop music by Ryuichi Sakamoto's B-2 Unit (1980) and in Indian disco music by Babla's Disco Sensation (1980), but the 808 was largely underground in the West during its production run. Over the course of the decade, the 808 attracted a cult following among underground musicians for its affordability, ease of use, and idiosyncratic sounds, particularly its deep, "booming" bass drum. It eventually became a cornerstone of the emerging electronic, dance and hip hop genres, popularized by hits such as Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" (1982) and Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" (1982). The 808 was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine, and its sounds continue to be used; its popularity with hip hop in particular has made it one of the most influential inventions in popular music, comparable to the Fender Stratocaster's influence on rock.
Background[]
In 1960, Japanese engineer Ikutaro Kakehashi founded Ace Electronic Industries, later known as Ace Tone.[1][2] In 1967, Kakehashi patented the "Automatic Rhythm Performance Device" drum machine, a preset rhythm-pattern generator.[3] Ace Tone commercialized his preset rhythm machine, the FR-1 Rhythm Ace, in 1967. In 1968, a joint venture was established with Hammond USA. The FR-1 was adopted by the Hammond Organ Company for incorporation with their latest organ models. The unique artificial sound characteristics of the FR-1 were similar to later Roland rhythm machines.[4] Ace Tone popularized the use of drum machines, with the FR-1 Rhythm Ace finding its way into popular music starting in the late 1960s.[5]
In the late 1960s, the Hammond Organ Company hired American musician and engineer Don Lewis to demo its products, including an electronic organ with a built-in drum machine designed by the Japanese company Ace Tone. At the time, drum machines were most often used to accompany home organs; users could not program their own rhythms[6] and had to use preset patterns such as bossa nova.[7][8][9] Lewis was known for performances using electronic instruments he had modified himself, decades before the popularization of instrument "hacking" via circuit bending. He made extensive modifications to the Ace Tone drum machine, creating his own rhythms and wiring the device through his organ's expression pedal to accent the percussion, unique at the time.[6]
Lewis was approached by Ace Tone president and founder Ikutaro Kakehashi, who wanted to know how he had achieved the sounds from the machine Kakehashi had designed.[6] In 1972, Kakehashi formed the Roland Corporation, and hired Lewis to help design drum machines.[6] By the late 1970s, microprocessors were appearing in instruments[10] such as the Roland MC-8 Microcomposer sequencer,[11] and Kakehashi realized they could be used to program drum machine rhythms.[10] In 1978, Roland released the CompuRhythm CR-78,[11] the first drum machine with which users could write, save, and replay their own patterns.[10]
Development[]
With its next machine, the TR-808, Roland aimed to develop a drum machine for the professional market, expecting that it would mainly be used to create demos.[12] Ikutaro Kakehashi tasked chief engineer Tadao Kikumoto with leading the TR-808's development team.[13][14][15] Makoto Muroi was also a chief engineer on the project,[16] Hiro Nakamura was the engineer responsible for designing the analog voice circuits that generate the sounds,[13][16][17] and Hisanori Matsuoka was responsible for developing the software and engineering hardware.[16][17]
Kakehashi and Don Lewis originally requested the development team to produce an inexpensive, realistic‑sounding drum machine. The suggestion of a pulse-code modulation (PCM) sample‑based drum machine came up early during development, but Kikumoto instead proposed a "drum synthesizer" with which users could program drum sequences and edit parameters such as tuning, decay and level.[14][18] Though they aimed to emulate real percussion, the prohibitive cost of memory chips drove them to design sound‑generating hardware instead of using samples (pre-recorded sounds).[19][13] The Roland System 700 modular analog synthesis system was used in an attempt to recreate drum sounds, the parameters of which were then recreated on the TR-808’s analog circuitry.[13]
Kakehashi deliberately purchased faulty transistors to create the 808's distinctive sizzling sound.[19] Masahide Sakuma, member of Japanese Synth-Pop band Plastics, also provided some input on the 808's development, outlining his requirements for a drum machine that supported parallel output and could program the rhythm while tuning each instrument.[20]
The cymbal sound was created when Kikumoto accidentally spilled tea onto the breadboard of an 808 prototype; according to Lewis, Kikumoto "turned it on and got this pssh sound — it took them months to figure out how to reproduce it, but that ended up being the crash cymbal in the 808."[6] Roland engineer Makoto Muri credited the design of the analog voice circuits to "Mr. Nakamura" and the software to "Mr. Matsuoka".[10] Japanese synthpop band Plastics were also involved with the machine's development.[21] Prior to the machine's official release, Roland rented out an early TR-808 unit to Japanese electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra. Kikumoto was surprised when he heard the TR-808 during their Budokan 1980 live performance broadcast on FM radio.[22]
Sounds and features[]
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The 808 generates 16 different sounds in imitation of acoustic percussion: bass drum, snare, toms, conga, rimshot, claves, handclap, maraca, cowbell, cymbal, and hi-hat (open and closed).[23] It is completely analog; TR stands for "Transistor Rhythm".[24] Rather than playing samples, it generates sounds using analog synthesis.[25] Users can program up to 32 patterns using the step sequencer,[10] each with a maximum of 768 measures,[26] and place accents on individual beats, a feature introduced with the CR-78.[10] Users can also set the tempo[10] and time signature, including unusual signatures such as 5/4 and 7/8.[27]
The 808 was the first drum machine with the ability to program an entire percussion track from beginning to end, complete with breaks and rolls.[28] It includes volume knobs for each voice, multiple audio outputs, and a DIN sync port (a precursor to MIDI) to synchronize with other devices via the Digital Control Bus (DCB) interface, considered groundbreaking at the time.[10] The machine has three trigger outputs, which could be used to synchronize/control synthesizers and other equipment.[29][10]
The 808's sounds do not resemble real percussion,[7][30] and have been described as "clicky and hypnotic",[30] "robotic",[31] "toy-like",[7] "spacey"[8] and "futuristic".[7] Fact described them as a combination of "synth tones and white noise ... more akin to bursts coming from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop [than] a proper rhythm section."[23] The machine is particularly noted for its powerful bass drum sound, built from a combination of a bridged T-network sine oscillator, a low-pass filter, and a voltage-controlled amplifier.[32] The bass drum decay control allows the user to lengthen the sound, creating uniquely low frequencies which flatten slightly over long periods,[32] which can be used for basslines[33] or bass drops.[34] At high volumes, the bass drum sound is powerful enough to blow speakers.[30] The New Yorker wrote: "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'."[31]
Commercial reception[]
The 808 launched in 1980 with a list price of $1,195 USD.[23] Roland marketed it as an affordable alternative to the Linn LM-1 Drum Computer, manufactured by Linn Electronics, which uses samples of real drum kits.[23] However, the 808 sounded simplistic and synthetic by comparison; electronic music had yet to become mainstream and many musicians and producers wanted realistic-sounding drum machines.[30][23] Many reports state that one review dismissed the machine as sounding like "marching anteaters", though this was likely referring to machines that predated it.[27] Contemporary Keyboard wrote a positive review, predicting that it would become "the standard for rhythm machines of the future".[28]
The first completed TR-808 unit was owned by Plastics band member Masahide Sakuma, who was involved with the machine's development.[20] Before its official release, an early prototype unit was also rented out to Japanese electronic music group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). Roland's chief engineer Tadao Kikumoto was initially unaware of this, so he was surprised when he heard the TR-808 during YMO's Budokan 1980 live performance broadcast on FM radio.[14]
The first commercial use of the 808 is credited to Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1980.[35][36][14] The first live performance with the 808 was when YMO performed the song "1000 Knives" at Tokyo's Budokan arena that year,[36][14] while YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto showcased the 808 with his solo album B-2 Unit and its lead electro single "Riot in Lagos" the same year.[37][36] Later that year, the 808 was also used in an Indian disco album, Babla's Disco Sensation by Babla.[38] Several more records featured the 808 the following year, including the Japanese albums BGM by Yellow Magic Orchestra[39] and Welcome Back by Plastics,[20] as well as the Australian single "Nobody Told Me" by The Monitors.[25] In 1982, the American R&B artist Marvin Gaye released the first US hit single that featured the 808, "Sexual Healing".[9] Gaye was drawn to the 808 because he could use it to create music in isolation, without other musicians or producers.[19]
The 808 had early adopters in Asia,[23] where it was a commercial success, especially in Japan (used in Synth-Pop and techno-kayo music) and India (used in Bollywood and disco music). However, the 808 was initially a commercial failure in Western markets.[26] From 1982, demand increased among American underground dance and hip hop artists, leading to increased sales in the US. The TR-808 eventually sold 12,000 units worldwide,[40] becoming the best-selling drum machine of all time. However, Roland abruptly ended production in 1983,[7] after semiconductor improvements made the faulty transistors that were an essential part of its design impossible to restock.[31]
Impact and legacy[]
Though the TR-808 was commercially unsuccessful, it has had a lasting impact on popular music and was eventually used on more hit records than any other drum machine.[41] Roland credits the first use in a live performance to the Japanese electronic group Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with "1000 Knives" in 1980.[42][43] The first records to feature the 808 were from several Japanese artists in 1980, including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Sandii, Akiko Yano, Mioko Yamaguchi and Susan. The group credited with owning the first 808 unit were Japanese Synth-Pop band Plastics, who were involved with its development, but they didn't release their first record with the 808 until early 1981, Welcome Back.[21] Sakamoto's B-2 Unit (1980) and YMO's BGM (1981) were chart hit albums in Japan, where they popularized the 808 in Japanese pop music.[44] YMO member Haruomi Hosono was drawn to the 808 because it sounded similar to a traditional Japanese wadaiko drum.[45]
The first non-Japanese record to feature the 808 was Babla's Disco Sensation (1980) by Babla in India, where it was a hit album that popularized the 808 in Indian disco music.[46] The first non-Asian record to feature the 808 was "Nobody Told Me" (1981) by The Monitors, an Australian band,[24] becoming a novelty hit in Australia.[47] American R&B artist Marvin Gaye released the first mainstream US hit featuring the 808, "Sexual Healing" (1982).[8] Gaye was drawn to the instrument as he could use it to create music without other musicians or producers.[31]
By the time Roland discontinued the 808 in 1983, it had become common on the used market, often selling for under $100.[23] Its ease of use,[30] affordability, and idiosyncratic sound earned it a cult following among underground musicians and producers,[23] and it became a cornerstone of the developing electronic and hip hop genres.[8] In 1982, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released their track "Planet Rock", which made extensive use of the 808 to create "strange, futuristic percussion that became hugely popular on dancefloors."[48] The track informed the development of electronic and hip hop music[49] and genres including electro,[50] Miami bass, and Detroit techno, and popularized the 808 as a "fundamental element of futuristic sound".[8] According to Slate, "Planet Rock" "didn't so much put the 808 on the map so much as it reoriented an entire world of post-disco dance music around it."[30] The 808 was instrumental to the origins of house and techno, and remains a staple of electronic dance music.[51]
The machine was subsequently used by hip hop acts including the Beastie Boys, Run–D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Public Enemy.[31] The 808 bass drum, in particular, became so essential to hip hop that Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad production group declared that "it's not hip hop without that sound."[31] The New Yorker wrote that the "trembling feeling of [the 808 bass drum], booming down boulevards in Oakland, the Bronx, and Detroit, are part of America's cultural DNA, the ghost of Reagan-era blight."[31] Even after the machine fell out of use by East Coast hip hop producers in the 1990s, it remained a staple of southern hip hop,[23] including styles such as bounce, crunk, trap and snap music.[31][52]
The 808's limited pattern storage encouraged artists to push the limits of the machine; according to Slate, "those eight-bar units became veritable playgrounds for invention and creativity."[30] The bass drum was often manipulated to produce new sounds,[30] such as on the single "Set it Off" (1984), in which producer Strafe used it to recreate the sound of an underground nuclear test.[31] Producer Rick Rubin and rap group Original Concept popularized the technique of lengthening the bass drum decay and tuning it to different pitches to create basslines.[33] The Bomb Squad popularized the use of samplers to manipulate the 808 bass, which became common in hip hop music.[53] Dynamix II popularized this technique in dance music, which has since used the 808 sub-bass extensively, in genres such as trap, deep house and drum and bass.[54]
The 808 was popularized in the United Kingdom by the electronic group 808 State, formed in 1984, who took their name from the machine[23] and used it extensively. With the rise of UK rave culture, a precursor to acid house, it became a staple sound on British radio.[8] Graham Massey of 808 State said: "The Roland gear began to be a kind of Esperanto in music. The whole world began to be less separated through this technology, and there was a classiness to it – you could transcend your provincial music with this equipment."[7] 808 samples were the basis for jungle and drum and bass, which developed from British producers using samplers to manipulate 808 sounds.[53]
The 808 also saw extensive use beyond hip hop and electronic dance music, such as on Whitney Houston's 1987 pop hit "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[55] Phil Collins found the machine useful for looping rhythms for long periods, whereas human drummers would always be tempted to add variations and fills.[33] Chris Norris of the New Yorker wrote that "the introduction of Roland's magic box was indisputably the big bang of pop's great age of disruption, from 1983 to 1986. The 808's defiantly inorganic timbres ... sketched out the domain of a new world of music."[31] New jack swing, a genre popular from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, used the 808 to create distinctive syncopated swung rhythms, with a prominent snare sound.[56] Southern hip hop had a significant impact on pop music in the 2000s, leading to the widespread adoption of 808 sounds in pop music.[53]
The 808 has also found its way into rock music, used by bands such as Talking Heads,[55] widely used in industrial rock music,[42] and used in 1980s techno-punk music.[57] In 1994, Nine Inch Nails used the 808 to create "doomy menace" on the single "Closer", making the sound ubiquitous on North American alternative rock radio stations.[8] Rapper Kanye West used it on every track on his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak,[58] which Slate described as an "an explicit love letter to the device".[30] Other artists who have used the 808 include Damon Albarn, Diplo, Fatboy Slim, David Guetta,[59] and New Order.[8] The machine has been referenced in lyrics by artists including the Beastie Boys, Outkast, Kelis, TI, Lil Wayne, Britney Spears, Beyoncé, R Kelly,[8] Kelis, and Robbie Williams.[23] Its bass drum has been used numerous times as a metaphor for a heartbeat, in songs by artists including Madonna, Rihanna, and Kesha.[23]
The 808 is one of the most influential inventions in popular music.[30][33] According to Sound on Sound, the machine "spawned an industry of clones and sample libraries";[26] samples of its sounds are common in modern music software[7] and contemporary popular music.[53] Flavorwire wrote that "the 808 has become so ubiquitous over the years that its beats are almost a language of their own — you know the sounds even if you have no idea what a drum machine is, and as such, you also notice when somebody messes with them or uses them in unusual contexts."[49] The New Yorker wrote in 2015 that the 808 is the bedrock of the modern "urban-youth-culture soundtrack", particularly in trap music, and had influenced a new blend of dance and retro hip hop that "embraces and fetishizes ... street music from the past."[31] According to Slate, it was instrumental in pop music's shift from conventional structure and harmonic progression to "thinking in terms of sequences, discrete passages of sound and time to be repeated and revised ad infinitum."[30]
The 808 was followed in 1983 by the TR-909, the first Roland drum machine to use samples (for its cymbal and hi-hat sounds) alongside analog sounds.[26] In the 1990s, Roland included samples of the 808 in its commercially successful Groovebox devices.[26] In February 2014, Roland announced the TR-8 drum machine, which recreates the 808 and 909 through a combination of modeling and sampling.[48]
List of early songs featuring TR-808[]
The Roland TR-808 is the most widely used drum machine in music history, having been used in many thousands of songs. This list only includes songs that used the TR-808 during its production run between 1980 and 1983, listed in chronological order.
References[]
- ↑ Reid, Gordon (2004), "The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930–1978", Sound on Sound (November), http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov04/articles/roland.htm, retrieved 19 June 2011
- ↑ http://www.factmag.com/2016/09/22/the-14-drum-machines-that-shaped-modern-music/
- ↑ US patent 3651241, Ikutaro Kakehashi (Ace Electronics Industries, Inc.), "Automatic Rhythm Performance Device", issued 1972-03-21
- ↑ Reid, Gordon (2004), "The History Of Roland Part 1: 1930–1978", Sound on Sound (November), http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov04/articles/roland.htm, retrieved 19 June 2011
- ↑ Russell Hartenberger (2016), The Cambridge Companion to Percussion, page 84, Cambridge University Press
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Wolbe, Trent (30 January 2013). "How the 808 drum machine got its cymbal, and other tales from music's geeky underbelly". The Verge. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (6 March 2014). "The Roland TR-808: the drum machine that revolutionised music". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 Kirn, Peter (2011) (in en). Keyboard Presents the Evolution of Electronic Dance Music. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-446-3. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IbtJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT72&lpg=PT72&dq=%22mark+vail%22+808&source=bl&ots=dOOpEyQGfI&sig=nPF6yAIeQlupw3Pw0Drg6LE34r4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir3b7qhsfRAhUFJcAKHfSNCyMQ6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q=%22mark%20vail%22%20808&f=false.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Reid, Gordon (November 2014). "The History Of Roland: Part 1 | Sound On Sound". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Hamilton, Jack (16 December 2016). "808s and heart eyes". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 "Roland: The TR-808 Story". Roland. Roland Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 McCabe, Paul (31 July 2020). "Tadao Kikumoto: An Exclusive Conversation". Roland Articles. Roland Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ Wolbe, Trent (30 January 2013). "How the 808 drum machine got its cymbal, and other tales from music's geeky underbelly". The Verge. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Kirn, Peter (2011). Keyboard Presents the Evolution of Electronic Dance Music. Backbeat Books. ISBN 978-1-61713-446-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=IbtJAgAAQBAJ&q=%22mark+vail%22+808&pg=PT72.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "About Us". RC-808. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ Jenkins, Dave (1 February 2019). "Roland TR-909: The history of the influential drum machine". DJMag. Thrust Publishing. ISSN 0951-5143. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Norris, Chris (13 August 2015). "The 808 heard round the world". The New Yorker (Condé Nast). http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-808-heard-round-the-world.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Masahide Sakuma, ROLAND TR-808の記憶 Archived 2014-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, April 5, 2012
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Masahide Sakuma, ROLAND TR-808の記憶, April 5, 2012
- ↑ https://articles.roland.com/tadao-kikumoto-exclusive-conversation/
- ↑ 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 23.11 "Everything you ever wanted to know about the Roland TR-808 but were afraid to ask". Fact. 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Valle, OV (13 February 2014). "TR-808 Drum Machine Flashback – Roland U.S. Blog". rolandus.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Valle, OV (13 February 2014). "TR-808 drum machine flashback – Roland U.S. blog". Roland US. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Reid, Gordon (December 2014). "The History Of Roland: Part 2 | Sound On Sound". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Werner, Kurt (29 November 2015). "The Roland TR-808 and the Tale of the Marching Anteaters". Ethnomusicology Review. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Contemporary Keyboard, Volume 7, Issues 1-6, 1981.
- ↑ db: The Sound Engineering Magazine, July 1972, page 32
- ↑ 30.00 30.01 30.02 30.03 30.04 30.05 30.06 30.07 30.08 30.09 30.10 Hamilton, Jack (16 December 2016). "808s and Heart Eyes". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 31.00 31.01 31.02 31.03 31.04 31.05 31.06 31.07 31.08 31.09 31.10 Norris, Chris (13 August 2015). "The 808 Heard Round the World". The New Yorker. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Reid, Gordon (February 2002). "Synth Secrets: Practical Bass Drum Synthesis". Sound On Sound (UK: SOS Publications Group). https://web.archive.org/web/20040215232500/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Feb02/articles/synthsecrets0202.asp.
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 Leight, Elias (6 December 2016). "8 Ways the 808 Drum Machine Changed Pop Music". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ↑ Spin, February 1990, page 24
- ↑ Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Shamoon, Evan (31 July 2020). "How Yellow Magic Orchestra Launched the 808 Revolution". Roland Articles. Roland Corporation. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ McNamee, David (November 2016). "Dance moves: Riots in Lagos and the birth of electro". The Long and Short. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ Ghose, Rana. "Plugging In the Indian Roots of Electronic Music". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 11 February 2025.
- ↑ Jones, Mikey IQ (22 January 2015). "The Essential... Yellow Magic Orchestra". Fact. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ↑ Marsden, Rhodi (15 December 2008). "Rhythm king: The return of the Roland 808 drum machine". The Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Wells, Peter (2004), A Beginner's Guide to Digital Video, AVA Books, p. 18, ISBN 2-88479-037-3, https://books.google.com/books?id=stvOCfhc_igC&pg=PA18, retrieved 2011-05-20
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Anderson, Jason (27 November 2008). "Slaves to the rhythm". CBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ "TR-808 Drum Machine". Roland US. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
- ↑ The Essential… Yellow Magic Orchestra, Fact
- ↑ Clenney, Chuck (4 October 2022). "Did Japan Invent Hip-Hop?". UnderMain Magazine. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
- ↑ https://artsandculture.google.com/story/plugging-in-the-indian-roots-of-electronic-music/fgXxZIcwghUvNw
- ↑ https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/the-monitors/nobody-told-me-wishful-thinking/
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (14 February 2016). "Roland launch new versions of the iconic 808, 909 and 303 instruments". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Hawking, Tom (16 January 2014). "10 Great Songs Built Around the 808". Flavorwire. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Russell Hartenberger (2016), The Cambridge Companion to Percussion, page 87, Cambridge University Press
- ↑ Six Machines That Changed The Music World, Wired, May 2002
- ↑ "John Caramanica, "Gucci Mane, No Holds Barred ", ''New York Times'', December 11, 2009". Nytimes.com. December 13, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 808 (documentary film)
- ↑ The top 10 dance music production clichés, MusicRadar, September 2, 2013
- ↑ 55.0 55.1 "Roland TR-808: The drum machine that refused to die". BBC News. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
- ↑ Mellonee V. Burnim, Portia K. Maultsby, African American Music: An Introduction, page 368, Routledge
- ↑ Graham St. John (2009),Technomad: global raving countercultures, page 84, Equinox Publishing
- ↑ Greene, Jason (22 September 2015). "The Coldest Story Ever Told: The Influence of Kanye West's 808s & Heartbreak | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
- ↑ Kreps, Daniel (15 October 2014). "Phil Collins, Pharrell Praise '808' Drum Machine in New Doc". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 January 2014.