The prolific UK producer discusses Roland gear, mysterious vinyl releases, and collaborating with Thom Yorke and Jonathan Zawada.
EXPLORE PEOPLE
Daktyl is turning heads with his distinctive beats. The self-proclaimed gearhead discusses his influences, sample arsenal, and collabs.
Hailey Niswanger is a woodwinds force of nature. Follow her path from Berklee to playing with Demi Lovato and on Beyoncé’s “Black Parade.”
Miss Tahloulah May respects hip-hop heritage while pursuing her vision. She discusses beatmaking, crate digging, and the SP-404.
Where some people see a sampler, Lionclad sees a world of possibilities. She shares about mixtapes, puppet shows, analog synths, and more.
How Yellow Magic Orchestra Launched the 808 Revolution
Evan Shamoon
It’s not a stretch to say that few bands were as formative in the early evolution of electronic music as Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Sound Behind the Song: “Jam On It” by Newcleus
Ari Rosenschein
“Jam On It” by Newcleus is a true hip-hop classic. The track is dense with groove, creative production, and lyrical panache.
Drum Machine Classics: 10 808 Tracks You May Not Know
Jake Uitti
The Roland TR-808 can create everything from a love song to a raging anthem. No wonder genres from industrial to rock to rap welcome the drum machine.
Sound Behind the Song: “Doin’ it Right” by Daft Punk
Jason Heffler
Using the TR-808, vocoder, and modular synthesis, the enigmatic duo created a modern dance classic.
Sound Behind the Song: “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé
Jake Uitti
The Roland TR-808, used on Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s alluring 2013 hit, “Drunk In Love,” is an essential bed upon which to create a masterpiece.
EXPLORE TECH AND TREND
Collab is a new iOS app from New Product Experimentation (NPE) at Facebook that helps people make music together. Learn how to utilize it.
Instagram introduced a new feature called Reels to create and discover short, entertaining videos. Learn how artists can utilize it.
Social media can reinvigorate vintage hits and help them reach broad new audiences. Here are some classic songs that got a second spin.
Verzuz and Rolling Live Studios point to a streaming future. Roland worked with both camps, helping up the sonics to match their visuals.
Drummer XR blends drumming, green screen, and mixed-reality professional Matt Workman's immersive 3D world-building chops.