It’s wild, actually, that the 808 beatmaker, invented in over 40 years and solely manfactured for a small window from 1980-1983, nonetheless manages to encourage of musicians and producers. Even with all the trendy strategies, programming, ease of entry, et al., the Roland 808 remains to be considered one of music’s most coveted items of drugs. It’s not only for its rarity, both. The distinctive sounds of the 808 have merely not been replicated lo these 4 a long time, and the variety of methods it may be utilized in programming and manufacturing remains to be capturing the imaginations of many an artist.
The legend of the 808 is the place we discover Canadian indie artist, rx1f. As a composer, music tech fanatic and someday punk rocker, rx1f fell in love with the 808 and its capabilities by way of a documentary on the enduring programming equipment. He determined to re-vamp not solely his model and moniker, but additionally a whole album utilizing the 808, amongst different issues, to place a futuristic and decidedly digital spin on his earlier punk rock work.
This album is an end-to-end re-imagination of a maximalist indie punk album that I made with a good friend a number of years in the past, which I can now not bear to hearken to…There are a whole lot of samples from NASA and different space-related sources on r8c180, you’ll be able to hear planet sounds on just about each observe.
The full album, r8c180, is due out in mid-November. The first teaser observe, “Accidents,” delivers what the semi-reclusive artist guarantees, because it opens with a clip from an area launch and the 808-style starburst sound design everyone knows and love. Once the synths and supporting manufacturing are available, it turns into clear to anybody who is aware of that equipment that just about all of this observe was programmed on an 808. It’s astonishing that artists are nonetheless in a position to get a lot out of this one machine.
Style-wise, “Accidents” is, certainly, very spacey, with an apparent classic flare and, if we had been to place a style tag on it, it’s a mix of vitage electro-pop and publish punk. The publish punk, or “maximalist punk” bit comes primarily from the vocals, sung by rx1f himself. With a kind of smoky, Daniel Ash-from-Love-and-Rockets-and-Bauhaus high quality, we will see the publish punk/synth pop tie-in right here. With all that 80s classic model, “Accidents” nonetheless performs fairly fashionable, nevertheless, and the juxtaposition of very human vocals and “music for robots,” because the artist himself places it, is probably going the explanation. There’s a soul and a contact of relatable ennui, because the vocals name out to the void of area, that’s fairly relatable for contemporary listeners.
The video for “Accidents,” dropped on rx1f’s YouTube web page just some days in the past, reinforces that human/machine interplay and lends much more substance to that want for connection epxressed within the vocals. It appears it’s not simply the 808 that fascinates rx1f, however the paradox between considering and feeling, know-how and emotion. Is there a stability to strike? Will know-how facilitate humanity or is it certain to destroy us? It’s a query rx1f will seemingly discover extra within the upcoming r8c180, although the reply continues to elude most of us. At least we all know the 808 will at all times be on our facet.
“Accidents” is out now and could be streamed on Spotify or bought on Bandcamp. Keep an eye fixed on these platforms and rx1f’s YouTube channel for the forthcoming r8c180.