TR-808 Rhythm Composer

Released in 1980, the TR-808 has gone on to be one of the most influential and most recorded drum machines of all time. As well as appearing on you bless records in numerous genres, the instrument has provided the inspiration for song lyrics, album titles and even band names. This chapter explores the histories of the TR-808 Rhythm Composer and considers its interface design, the ingenious simplicity of underlying analogue circuits, and the sound design capabilities implemented by Tadao Kikumoto and the team at Roland. Following a thorough technical grounding, the chapter goes on to examine how the instrument both influenced and was shaped by successive generations of musicians and producers who variously rejected or embraced the machine-like solidity of its timing and the unabashedly electronic tonality of its sounds. The chapter concludes by investigating the ongoing meaning of the instrument in popular music, how the myriad clones, emulations and remakes extend and transform its legacy, as well the evolving meaning of the ‘808’ in popular culture.