| Newbuild | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1988 | |||
| Recorded | January 1988 | |||
| Genre | Acid house [1] | |||
| Length | 39:39 | |||
| Label | Creed | |||
| Producer |
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| 808 State chronology | ||||
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Newbuild is the debut studio album by English electronic music group 808 State, released in September 1988 by Creed Records. [2] It was the only album recorded with founding member Gerald Simpson, who departed shortly afterward for a solo career. [1]
The album was recorded at Spirit Studios in Manchester. The group recorded the album on tape found discarded outside the BBC's Manchester studios. It had been recorded on and edited many times; meaning it would no longer meet the organization's quality requirements. [3] [4] The group used a lot of Roland equipment including a TR808, TR909, TB303, a Juno 106 and four SH101s. [4] One technique used was 'silhouetting' where the group would build a track around an atmospheric sample, then remove the sample from the final cut. [4] The album was named after a local council housing project. [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Press | 4/5 [5] |
| OffBeat |  [6] |
| Pitchfork | 9.8/10 [3] |
In a 1988 review, OffBeat described the album as "compulsive stuff, you don't exactly listen to it, more like feeel the frequencies... and respond." [6] In 1999, Alternative Press called it an "artificial dystopia" in which the tracks "strip away the soul of Detroit techno and replace it with a cold and rhythmic paranoia." [5]
Later techno artists Aphex Twin and Autechre have saluted the album as a major influence. [1] The former reissued the album on his Rephlex label in 1999. [1] He stated: "It was the next step after Chicago acid, and as much as I loved that, I could relate much better to 808 State. It seemed colder and more human at the same time." [7] He also produced a remix of "Flow Coma", which appeared on his 2001 EP 2 Remixes by AFX. [8]
A collection of unreleased material from the era was released in 2004 as Prebuild .
Intelligent dance music (IDM) is a style of electronic music originating in the early 1990s, defined by idiosyncratic experimentation rather than specific genre constraints. It emerged from the culture and sound palette of electronic styles such as ambient techno, acid house, Detroit techno and breakbeat; it has been regarded as better suited to home listening than dancing. Prominent artists associated with it include Aphex Twin, Autechre, μ-Ziq, the Black Dog, the Future Sound of London and Orbital.
Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by electronic musician Richard D. James and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term braindance to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists.
Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.
...I Care Because You Do is a studio album by the electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released on 24 April 1995 through Warp Records. It contains material recorded between 1990 and 1994 and marked James's return to a beat-driven sound following the ambient work Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994), and pairs abrasive rhythms with symphonic and ambient elements. The cover artwork is a self-portrait by James.
Debut is the international debut studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk, released in July 1993 by One Little Indian and Elektra Entertainment. It was produced by Björk and Nellee Hooper. It was Björk's first recording following the dissolution of her previous band, the Sugarcubes. The album departed from the rock style of her previous work and drew from an eclectic variety of styles, including electronic pop, house music, jazz and trip hop.
808 State are an English electronic music group formed in 1987 in Manchester by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson. Taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" the members shared, they released their debut album Newbuild in September 1988 and secured commercial success in 1989, when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gary Davies and charted for 11 weeks in the UK.
Altern 8 is a British electronic music act, comprising Mark Archer and Chris Peat, until Peat left the group in 1994. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was electronic rave music with a heavy bass line. Notable Altern 8 tracks included "Activ 8", "E-Vapor-8", "Frequency", "Brutal-8-E", "Armageddon", "Move My Body", "Hypnotic St8" and "Infiltrate 202".
Gerald Rydel Simpson, better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British record producer and musician. He was an early member of the electronic group 808 State, contributing to their debut LP Newbuild (1988) and hit single "Pacific State" (1989). He also achieved solo success with his 1988 hit single "Voodoo Ray", which became a touchstone of Manchester's acid house scene and reached No. 12 in the UK charts. He embraced breakbeat production in the 1990s, with his 1995 album Black Secret Technology becoming a "much-touted candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'" He also ran the London-based independent record label Juice Box Records from 1991 to 1998.
Drukqs is a studio album by the British electronic music artist and producer Aphex Twin. It was released in October 2001 through Warp Records. It is a double album that includes a variety of sharply contrasting styles, from meticulously programmed beats inspired by jungle and drum and bass, classical-type piano and prepared piano, ambient, and electroacoustic pieces. It features the piano composition "Avril 14th", one of James's best known recordings.
"Voodoo Ray" is the debut single by British electronic musician Gerald Simpson, recording under the name A Guy Called Gerald. The single was released in the UK in 1988 on the 7" and 12" vinyl formats, on the Rham! label. A version of the track appeared on A Guy Called Gerald's 1988 album Hot Lemonade, and the original single was later released in the United States in 1989 by Warlock Records.
Analogue Bubblebath, also released as Aphex Twin ep, is the first record by musician and producer Richard D. James. The EP was released under his alias The Aphex Twin through Mighty Force Records in September 1991. It was the inaugural release for the label, which at the time was a record shop in Exeter. The record was hugely influential on the development of electronic music, particularly techno and ambient techno. Its release has been described as a key event in the history of dance music. It is the first release in what became the Analogue Bubblebath series.
90 is the second studio album by British electronic music group 808 State, released on 4 December 1989 as their first album on ZTT Records. The album features the single "Pacific State", which reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1989. 90 was released in the United States as Utd. State 90, without "The Fat Shadow ", but with other bonus tracks.
ex:el is the third studio album by 808 State, released on 4 March 1991 by ZTT Records. In contrast to the band's previous work, the album features more catchy melodies and heavier acid techno beats and percussion, "embracing earlier flirtations with hip-hop and industrial music".
Quadrastate is a mini-album by the British electronic music group 808 State. It was released in July 1989 through Creed Records. It contains the original version of "Pacific State", one of the most popular tracks by 808 State, which later made the band famous after extended airplay on BBC Radio 1 led to the band being signed to major label ZTT Records.
Graham Vernon Massey is a British record producer, musician, and remixer.
Richard David James, known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, record producer, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact,Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential and important artists in contemporary electronic music.
"Pacific" is a single by the English electronic music group 808 State, released in 1989. It exists in various mix versions known by different titles, such as "Pacific State" and "Pacific 202".
Selected Ambient Works 85–92 is the debut studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of the British electronic music producer Richard D. James. It was released on 9 November 1992 through Apollo Records, a subsidiary of the Belgian label R&S Records. The album consists of ambient techno tracks recorded onto cassette reputedly dating as far back as 1985, when James was 13-14 years old. On release it received widespread acclaim and entered the Dance Albums Chart at No. 6 on 26 December 1992.
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (BPM). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.
Blueprint is a compilation of lesser know tracks and remixes made by the British electronic music group, 808 State. The album for initially released on 5 September 2011 digitally, but was released on CD 14 days later.
