The Second Track

The Drum Machine That Ate Chicago: How the Roland TR-808 Accidentally Killed and Resurrected House Music

Episode Summary

When the Roland TR-808 was discontinued as a commercial failure in 1984, Chicago producers bought them up for cheap and created an entirely new genre. We dive into how this 'flawed' drum machine's fake-sounding beats became the heartbeat of house music, hip-hop, and everything that followed.