The 808 drum kit1/21/2023 It debuted in 1980 and made drums sound bigger and louder, with more visceral impact than acoustic drums. The Roland TR-808 (known simply as “808” to its fans) wasn’t supposed to sound like real drums or even sampled drums. Sakamoto-a classically-trained pianist, fashion model, and icon of the burgeoning J-Pop scene-was making new and interesting music with the latest electronic technology. I interviewed Ryuichi Sakamoto around 1984 and recall him telling me that he had the first MIDI studio in Japan. With MIDI, a keyboard player could become a digitally-controlled orchestra, albeit a synthetic one. Kakehashi also won a Technical Grammy for co-inventing the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), which allowed electronic instruments to talk to each other regardless of the brand. Ikutaro Kakehashi (1930-2017) died earlier this month at the age of 87. He founded the Roland Corporation, maker of synthesizers, electronic instruments, and the now-legendary TR-808 drum machine. Though he wasn’t a household name, Kakehashi’s little drum machine-and later iterations of it like the TR-909-has been heard by millions of music fans in countless hit songs. I want to mark the passing of a genius who changed the soundscape of popular music in the 1980’s. Photo by Brandon Daniel (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons
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