The Roland TB-303 Bass Line is a bass synthesizer released by Roland Corporation in 1981. Designed to simulate bass guitars, it was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were adopted by electronic musicians, and its "squelching" or "chirping" sound became a foundation of electronic dance music genres such as acid house, Chicago house and techno. It has inspired numerous clones.
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A drum machine often has pre-programmed beats and patterns for popular genres and styles, such as pop music, rock music, and dance music. Most modern drum machines made in the 2010s and 2020s also allow users to program their own rhythms and beats. Drum machines may create sounds using analog synthesis or play prerecorded samples.
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. Unlike its nearest competitor at the time, the more expensive Linn LM-1, the 808 generates sounds using analog synthesis rather than by playing samples.
The Akai MPC is a series of music workstations produced by Akai from 1988 onwards. MPCs combine sampling and sequencing functions, allowing users to record portions of sound, modify them and play them back as sequences.
Roger Curtis Linn is an American designer of electronic musical instruments and equipment. He is the designer of the LM-1, the first drum machine to use samples, and the MPC sampler, which had a major influence on the development of hip hop. Roger Linn is also a member of the Dead Presidents Society, a group of innovators in the field of electronic music.
"Mama" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released as the first single in 1983 from their self-titled album. It is recognisable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in a minor tonality and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's most successful single in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to reach the Top 40 in Germany.
The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American engineer Roger Linn, wanted a machine that would produce more realistic drum sounds and offer more than preset patterns.
"Staying Power" is the first track on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and is notable as being the only Queen song to have a horn section, which was arranged by Arif Mardin. The song is driven by a funk-styled bass riff beginning in D minor and modulating to E minor throughout the song. John Deacon does not play bass guitar on this song—instead playing rhythm guitar on a Fender Telecaster. Roger Taylor programmed a Linn LM-1 drum machine for the track. Brian May is on his Red Special. In a Stylus review of the album, critic Anthony Miccio described the song's style as "an electro-disco track with frenetic horns."
"Dirty Laundry" is a song written by Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar from Henley's debut solo studio album I Can't Stand Still, (1982). The song reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart in October 1982 prior to being issued as a 45 rpm single. Lyrically, the song describes mass media sensationalism.
Mecano is the eponymous debut studio album recorded by Spanish synth-pop band Mecano, released on April 5, 1982, under the label Discos CBS.
The DMX is a programmable digital drum machine manufactured by Oberheim. It was introduced in 1980 at a list price of US$2,895 and remained in the company's product line until the mid-1980s.
In sound and music, sampling is the reuse of a portion of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm, melody, speech, or sound effects. A sample can be brief and only incorporate a single musical note, or it can consist of longer portions of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down, repitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated. They are usually integrated using electronic music instruments (samplers) or software such as digital audio workstations.
The Linn 9000 is an electronic musical instrument manufactured by Linn Electronics as the successor to the LinnDrum. It was introduced in 1984 at a list price of $5,000, and about 1,100 units were produced.
inMusic is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer electronics industries. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Cumberland, Rhode Island, with additional offices in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, and Bulgaria.
The LinnSequencer is a rack-mount 32-track hardware MIDI sequencer manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1985 at a list price of US $1,250. An optional Remote Control was available. Like the LinnDrum Midistudio, the LinnSequencer used the same flawed operating system used in the ill-fated Linn 9000, released in 1984. As a result, both machines earned a reputation for being notoriously unreliable. In addition, the optional LinnSequencer SMPTE feature could not be deployed due to flawed circuit design. The last LinnSequencer operating system released by Linn Electronics was version 5.17.
Bruce Forat is an electronics engineer, computer programmer, music producer, songwriter and co-founder and president of Forat Music and Electronics Corporation, founded in 1986.
The Forat F16 is the first 16 bit digital sampler optimized for use as an electronic drum module. It dynamically responds to trigger inputs from MIDI and/or audio signals. With a response time of 0.1 milliseconds, the F16 is the fastest audio triggering digital sampler ever sold. It was manufactured by Forat Music and Electronics, introduced in 1987 at a list price of $5200 and was discontinued in 1994. An optional Remote Control and SCSI capability was available for $1385.
The Forat F9000 is a software- and hardware-upgraded version of the ill-fated Linn 9000, an integrated digital sampling drum machine and hardware MIDI sequencer manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1984 at a list price of $5,000.
The LinnDrum Midistudio was going to be an electronic musical instrument produced by Linn Electronics as the successor to the ill-fated Linn 9000, which was an integrated digital sampling drum machine and MIDI sequencer. The Midistudio is essentially a rack-mount version of the Linn 9000 with some improvements. It was revealed at the 1986 Winter NAMM Show in January for a list price of $5,990. However, it never went into production because Linn Electronics went out of business in February 1986.
Life and Love is an album by singer and songwriter Leon Russell. The album was recorded in Russell's new studios, Paradise Studios in Burbank, California, and produced and written by Russell. The album was first released as a vinyl LP, 8-track tape and cassette tape by Paradise Records and Warner Records in 1979, and re-released on CD in 2007 and 2012.
