808080808
Song by 808 State
Have you ever asked yourself who helped inspire the genius of Aphex Twin?
The complexity and variety of production from the Irish-born artist would lead you to many different places. 808 State (Graham Massey, Martin Price, and Gerald Simpson) are undoubtedly one of his biggest influences, as you will notice when listening to this seminal, extraordinarily advanced track for the time of its release.
Throughout the 2000s, Rephlex (Aphex Twin label) re-issued the band's entire catalog.
Their music also inspired other artists of the 80s and 90s, such as Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Underworld, and Bjork, who was even featured in their 3rd album ex:el (1991).
The entire electronic music scene in the UK was blown away by their mix of Acid House, Techno, and a typically Mancunian Psychedelic vibe.
808080808, taken from their second album, is a revolutionary mashup of looping and sampling, following one other on the trademark beat of the mythological Roland TR-808 drum machine.
The band likely adopted their band name as a tribute to one of the most iconic drum machines of all time. Almost every electronic music producer has used it at least once.
Listening to 808080808 in 2021, it's still astonishing.
It feels like the origin of what was then called IDM, but it also hits you with all the vibrant energy of the early rave years, leading us into the club culture we're still obsessed with.
We could almost call it Intense Dance Music more than Intelligent Dance Music.
The song's beat recalls something else, some Minimalist elements we can find today in artists like Nathan Fake and some tracks by Modeselektor.
It's quite surprising to think how many years have passed since this 1989 release. A modern approach to something that was only in the air then and 808 State anticipated.
Despite my choosing this song, it's not their most popular track and not an electronic music classic.
The Independent described their hit "Pacific State" as "the song that made a nation chill out.
Mellow but insistent beats, a light garnishing of wildlife noises, and soprano sax threading through it like a viper in the Eden undergrowth.
It was the aural equivalent of throwing a party inside a giant flotation tank."
808 State opened the door to a new attitude. But, as with everything in music and art, it was the result of a lesson learned and renewed. From the electro streamlines of Kraftwerk, Afrika Bambaata, and the Chicago House scene mixed with a British attitude and a rave culture that was seen by the music industry as a dark, obscure matter just needed to be discovered.
It was frightening at first, but what happened in the following two decades in modern history made independent producers like Aphex Twin, Flying Lotus, and Jon Hopkins mainstream acts.
