808 State

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Manchester, England (1988 – present)

808 State are an music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, England taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Widely regarded as one of the pioneers of , they were formed by Graham Massey (from ex- band Biting Tongues), Martin Price and Gerald Simpson (later to record as A Guy Called Gerald).

They released their debut Newbuild in 1988. Autechre and Aphex Twin have often cited the album as being enormously influential, and the group achieved some degree of chart success in the UK in the early 1990s with releases Pacific State, Cubik and In Yer Face.

Olympic the flip side of Cübik was remixed for Channel 4’s ‘After the Pub Television’ show “The Word” (1990-95).

They were considered pioneers of the acid house sound, a staple and foundation of music. Martin Price, who owned a popular and legendary record store called Eastern Bloc and who founded the independent label Creed, joined up with producer and local musician Graham Massey. They teamed up with Gerald Simpson, who collaborated the effort. At this time, 808 State recorded the debut EP Newbuild, in 1988.

MC Tunes (real name Nicky Lockett) was a Manchester rapper, who worked with the band on the 1990 album, The North At Its Heights. The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK charts, and also saw European and Japanese release. It spawned three UK singles, The Only Rhyme That Bites (UK #10), Tunes Split The Atom (UK #18) and Primary Rhyming (UK #67). Tunes later returned in 1996 to work with on a new track, Pump, taken from their album Thermo Kings. It was due to be released as a single, but this never happened.
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Top Albums

  • Ex:el
    808 State Play
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  • Utd. State 90
    808 State Play
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  • Ninety
    808 State Play
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  • Quadrastate
    808 State Play
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Top Tracks

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  • Pob808

    New album 'State To State 3' available to download from their web site. Excellent.

    December 2011
  • organic-X

    fukinmint tunes... love em all

    November 2011
  • danubao

    clasico

    November 2011
  • Hover_Donkey

    Ducie house - Seconds Out - These guys sealed my relationship with a prospective girlfriend. Oh, and the 808 State show on Sunset Radio was the pinnacle of British broadcasting!

    November 2011
  • rockrollmilk

    cool muzic!

    November 2011
  • Alien_Lanes

    thank you for making such utopian jams to brighten up a better future

    October 2011
  • FakePlasticDick

    hm

    September 2011
  • ssesmatveyz

    Pacific is pure eargasm [3]

    July 2011
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