Apple Music nabs exclusive streaming rights to star-studded '808' documentary
Apple has secured exclusive first access rights to "808," a documentary film chronicling the impact the Roland TR-808 programmable drum machine had, and continues to have despite its discontinuation 33 years ago, on the music making world.
The documentary, which premiered in 2014 and has since been screened at film festivals nationwide, will be available to stream for the first time through Apple Music on Dec. 9, Apple said. In announcing the upcoming release, Apple on Monday posted a trailer for "808" on its official Beats 1 YouTube channel.
As noted in the brief video promo, the TR-808 electronic rhythm composer jumpstarted a music revolution that continues to reverberate through a variety of genres to this day. From Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock," to rap, R&B and electronica, the 808's drum and bass sounds influenced and inspired music producers for more than three decades.
Narrated by Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe, "808" offers a wide-roving look back at the drum machine's origins and how it shaped modern musical tastes. Interviews include Afrika Bombaataa, Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin, Phil Collins, Beastie Boys, Questlove, Lil' Jon, Diplo, Goldie, David Guetta, Richie Hawtin, Felix Da Housecat and more.
While not announced, "808" is expected to go up for sale through iTunes when it hits Apple Music next month.
The documentary, which premiered in 2014 and has since been screened at film festivals nationwide, will be available to stream for the first time through Apple Music on Dec. 9, Apple said. In announcing the upcoming release, Apple on Monday posted a trailer for "808" on its official Beats 1 YouTube channel.
As noted in the brief video promo, the TR-808 electronic rhythm composer jumpstarted a music revolution that continues to reverberate through a variety of genres to this day. From Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock," to rap, R&B and electronica, the 808's drum and bass sounds influenced and inspired music producers for more than three decades.
Narrated by Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe, "808" offers a wide-roving look back at the drum machine's origins and how it shaped modern musical tastes. Interviews include Afrika Bombaataa, Pharrell Williams, Rick Rubin, Phil Collins, Beastie Boys, Questlove, Lil' Jon, Diplo, Goldie, David Guetta, Richie Hawtin, Felix Da Housecat and more.
While not announced, "808" is expected to go up for sale through iTunes when it hits Apple Music next month.
Comments
They've certainly got the cash to do it.
I think the first time I really became aware of them was a very strange appearance on Top Of The Pops (a now defunct UK music show on the BBC) for Blue Room where they sat on stage and just played some weird form of 3D chess for a couple of minutes...
Update - just found the video of that Top Of The Pops appearance... https://vimeo.com/86875272
It stops around the time the 808 came out, but the foundations were already well established by that point. I'm big into the history of electronic music and am always saddened by the very limited (and typically awful) exposure it gets in the pop music industry. Aphex Twin was one of the few interesting artists in the genre to actually achieve some level of pop success.
Check out the fairly recent documentary on Raymond Scott for a small sample of the interesting history behind it: http://scottdoc.com/
Oh yeah all the classic machines have been discontinued for decades. People use samples of them and plug-ins now.
http://www.whosampled.com/Kraftwerk/Trans-Europe-Express/
Kraftwerk isn't expressly mentioned because a) the sample was cleared ages ago, and b) the Bambaata song is really well-known, c) this is a trailer, and credits aren't generally rolled until the end of an actual film, and d) the Bambaata song that's actually played IS mentioned.
Not all of us.