For hip-hop producers, the Roland TR-808 might be the staple drum machine; so many early hits were created on that piece of equipment, and its legacy has lived through today. For the electronic music scene, house and techno producers looked towards its successor, the Roland TR-909, as the go-to analog drum machine of choice. It packed a punch, with analog sounds that are now synonymous with the thump that resides in the house and techno scenes. The 16-step sequencer allowed savvy producers to chain numerous drum patterns together, and while Roland tried to make the drumming on this machine a bit more "human," it was the synthetic sound that it contained that helped usher in the "electronic soul" of the Detroit techno scene and beyond.
We here at Do Androids Dance would probably be doing something else entirely if it wasn't for the work that these masters created utilizing the TR-909, and want to christen September 9 as #909Day... even if its just on this site. That said, let's take a look at nine tracks that properly highlight the beauty of Roland's magnificent piece of hardware, the Roland TR-909.