“808” is a music documentary that tells the untold story of how the Roland TR-808 Drum Machine changed the course of music history. Featuring appearances and commentary from Pharrell, Beastie Boys, David Guetta, Phil Collins, Rick Rubin, Lil Jon, Afrika Bambaataa, Questlove, Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), Diplo, Goldie and more.
Check out a Q& A with the movie’s director, Alexander Dunn, below:
What was the inspiration behind filming “808?”
Dunn: “808” originally came from a discussion between Arthur Baker and Alex Noyer while discussing another potential project. The subject turned to “Planet Rock” being thirty years old and of course, the 808’s role in that story. Once it was mentioned to me as a possible project and we started developing the idea, it was very obvious the legacy the 808 had left within music. We knew it would be a fantastic journey to embark on.
“Planet Rock” was a perfect entry point for the documentary. It was really the song that brought the 808 to prominence and was, of course, an extremely influential track in the development of hip-hop and electronic music in general. The film then grew from there and allowed me to build a journey of the 808’s sound and influence through music.
Can you discuss the process of interviewing some of the most influential subjects in musical history for the film?
Dunn: We were extremely lucky to get so many great artists involved in the film. Arthur Baker did a great job getting some amazing artists to take part. Credit also goes out to my colleague and co-producer on this project, Matt Jarman, who managed to get Phil Collins involved. Phil provides a really interesting angle on the 808 we otherwise wouldn’t have had.
Managing to get such a cross section of artists with such a wealth of experience has meant this project has really been able to develop into what it is today. The artists themselves had so many amazing stories and experiences to share, all defined by the 808. I think the most amazing thing is that most of these conversations could have carried on all day. Everyone had so much to say about the 808, and the music it was part of. I think it’s pretty amazing that this machine can create such wide-ranging discussions with so many great artists.
In your own words, describe what your film is about?
Dunn: “808” is a film about what is arguably the most iconic drum machine that has ever existed and how it became synonymous with electronic music almost by accident. It’s about the artists and producers who stumbled upon it, used it, experimented with it and created iconic music with its unique sounds. The 808 have headed many musical movements, and the film explores the stories and experiences of the artists at the forefront of those movements. And, of course, the music plays a huge part in the film offering a fantastic soundtrack to their experiences.
As a first-time director, what were the challenges you faced?
Dunn: It’s such a huge subject matter to explore, and you have to know when to say enough is enough. That was probably the most difficult thing, working within limitations of time, budget and then forcing ourselves to stop shooting! We conducting around 55 interviews in total, spread over the course of three years, and we could have easily done this again…. and again, almost indefinitely.
The 808 is part of so many musical genres and so many artists used it. I had to take a cross section, peer in and grab hold of the essence of the story and the journey that it took through the eyes of the contributors we met. I had to refine all that information down into a feature length film. That was hard as we had so much great interview footage, and I had to manage that down to a consumable length for a feature film.
I know we’ll probably get a lot of questions, like why didn’t you feature this artist or that artist. Certainly, there are people who I’d have loved to feature in the film that we couldn’t get around to interviewing for various reasons. However, I think this is really interesting. I’d love the film to be the starting point for more conversations about the 808. I hope it is something that gets people to investigate further and experience more of the music it played a huge part of.
Why do you feel it is important to share the history of the 808?
Dunn: The 808 has been a prime example of how an instrument can be created with a particular purpose in mind, only for that purpose to be completely overlooked by its end users. Those end users instead took it on a completely different, revolutionary journey. It has permeated so many musical genres, left an indelible mark on culture, inspired countless musicians and continues to be as relevant today as it was thirty years ago. Plus, it’s retro-futuristic sounds are just plain awesome.
Check out the trailer below:
*This article was originally published at Examiner.com in October of 2014.*
