Roland has largely shifted product announcements to other dates, but 808 Day is still a party. And every year brings some left-field surprise. This year, it’s animated films. But that’s perfect for your 808 Day celebration, even if it’s just a party of you, a drum machine, and a night off.
Bingo cards at the ready! Let’s get this all at once. So, no, if you were hoping for a TR-9S or TR-10 (wouldn’t that be great?), not today. That’s okay; my TR-8S and I are extremely content. But you do get:
- Animated films. Detroit artist Vaughn Taormina is doing an animated film series of 808 and 909 movies. First up: Egyptian Lover (see stills, below and feature image, top). Edit: this seems to be the Instagram video I’ve embedded.
- Updated shoes. The Tiago Lemos NM808 x Roland sneaker collab is … actually a pretty gorgeous pair of sneakers. And this year it gets an update from New Balance, with new details like those translucent soles.
- XLARGE hoodies and tees and accessories. Because you took my advice, saved your money, and realized a TR-8S can do everything, you have money to buy these cool clothes. You’re welcome. The ‘S’ is for savings. Or, uh, shopping. Never mind.
- A party in Atlanta. SESSIONS Atlanta, Tricky Stewart’s studio, hosts a big Roland industry mixer. Hotlanta, you deserve this. Sonny Digital and Mix Master David are on-hand. And they have the shoes, plus, like, product demos because apparently Roland also makes gear or something and not just shoes, I hear.
- London and Tokyo retail celebrations. Actually if I had to teleport to one event, it’d be this one (sorry, Georgia USA, I choose Harajuku) — live techno sets from REMO-CON, Yebisu303, and Ken Plus Ichiro, three faves for me. And while Atlanta gets the Tiago Lemos collection, Japan and the UK get XLARGE. (Roland and XLARGE each have stores in Tokyo, and Roland has retail in London.)
On the product side, there’s nothing new per se, but it’s now easier than before to get Roland Cloud software as a lifetime license rather than a subscription.
That includes Roland’s own TR-808 plug-in for $49 through September 9, when presumably we’ll get a deal on the TR-909 for 909 Day.
There are a lot of plug-ins out there to compete with Roland’s when it comes to a 303, 808, or 909. But properly modeled 707, the Latin-tinged TR-727, and rarer back-catalog synths (especially digital), you have the advantage of going straight to the source. Paradoxically, it’s often the digital models that are harder to get right, especially as you get into the deeper architectures. If you had one that was on your eye, you can now find it in a license you can keep, rather than adding to your subscription costs.
Plugin Boutique is also taking on Roland sales for the first time. That includes the month-long sale on TR-808, but discounts on a lot of the other plug-ins, too. It’s still more affordable for many folks to get the subscription, but this makes a strong alternative if you prefer lifetime keys and choosing what you want and don’t want.
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Roland TR-808 on sale at Plugin Boutique
Roland also has an ace up its sleeve, which is unique artist collaborations on sets, patterns, and sequences. This time, they paired with LA rap/hip-hop legend Arabian Prince. If you’ve got a Roland Cloud subscription, you can go download these now. But they also work with Lifetime Key purchasers, so if you prefer that license to keep, you get them, too:
TR-808 Arabian Prince sound pack
Lastly, have some articles here from our friends at Roland. Today is a great day to play YMO really, really loud.
- Arabian Prince on 808’s Technology and West-Coast Hip-Hop
- How Yellow Magic Orchestra Launched the 808 Revolution
- Sound Behind the Song: “Drunk in Love” by Beyoncé
- Nothing Sounds Quite Like an 808: Analyzing the Sound That Changed Music
And of course, don’t forget our exclusive 808 Deal with CDM and Bjooks, featuring an offer to get the 400-page, full-color Inspire the Music book on Roland history for free with an annual subscription to patchandtweak.com with unlimited ebooks and tons of bonus features from the Bjooks library.
Just, like, cozy up in that hoodie, get your 808 plug-in or hardware, chill out all winter long with patch ideas and artistic inspiration… yeah, that sounds good to me.
