Bisexual because he doesn’t mind who he plays with!

Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm. The classic analogue beatbox

Roland are well known by hip-hop and dance musicians for their 808 kick drum and 909 snare sounds. However these machines and sounds have been around since 1980.

Quick History Lesson

Interestingly, before these machines there was a Roland box of tricks with some very different sonic sounds.

The Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm is an analog Rhythm Machine, not a drum machine, and was the first to use a microprocessor. It has 34 built in preset rhythm patterns and 14 very electronic yet analog drum tones. More information on the CR-78 here.

Although it came before the classic 808 and 909 sounds, the CR-78 has been used in all forms of HipHop, R&B and electronica, including: Underworld, Fatboy Slim, BT, 808 State.

However, more obvious acts would include: Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, Ultravox, Jimmy Edgar, Genesis and Überzone, Blondie, Brian Ferry, Men Without Hats, John Foxx, OMD, Gary Numan and many others.

Genesis

Genesis were one of the very first people to buy the CR-78. Mike Rutherford visited the Roland factory when the band was on tour in Japan in ’78 and bought 3 units there. At one time Genesis owned seven!  Each member had one for home and a few more for the tour bus(es). Phil Collins didn’t want his unit at first (as it was kind of an insult to him as a drummer) but he fiddled around with it when working on Face Value (which he started in ’79).

rolandcr78

Notable recordings

Ultravox – “Vienna”

Landscape – “From the Tea-rooms of Mars ….”
John Foxx – “Burning Car”
Blondie — “Heart of Glass”, “Atomic”

Gary Numan — “Remind Me to Smile”, “On Broadway (live 1979)”
Genesis — “Duchess”, “Man on the Corner” and “Me and Sarah Jane”

Hall & Oates — “Kiss on My List” and “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)”
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — “Enola Gay”

Phil Collins — “In the Air Tonight”, “Hand In Hand”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “We Fly So Close”

Mike Oldfield – “Taurus I”, “Indian Lake”
Roxy Music — “Same Old Scene”
Modest Mouse — “Missed the Boat”
Frankie Beverley & Maze — “Joy and Pain”
Elton John — “Song for Guy”, “Little Jeannie”