JD73

Respect: Producers Pay Homage to Roland’s TR-909

Darren Ressler 1 Comment

Roland TR-909

Roland’s iconic TR-909 has often imitated but never duplicated. Partially analog, partially sample-based, the 909, which made history as the first MIDI-equipped drum machine, was introduced in 1984. While only 10,000 units were manufactured, this lil’ beige box gave forward-thinking producers in Chicago, New York, Detroit and London the ability to collectively forge the blueprint of hip-hop, house and techno.

All these years later the 909’s influence continues to be heard. We asked producers intimate with the Roland TR-909 to wax poetic about this magical machine that’s been the heartbeat of several generations.

Animated GIF created for Big Shot by Christian Petersen Continue Reading →

Talking Vintage Keyboards With JD73

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JD73

Known by his musical alias JD73 (it’s short for Jazz Doctor 73), jazz/soul/funk auteur Dan Goldman lives and breathes. Boasting a resumé which includes tickling the ivories with Morcheeba, Leon Ware, TY, The Haggis Horns and members of Jamiroquai, Goldman has also remixed songs for Nightmares On Wax, Incognito, Richard Earnshaw, Cool Million and others.

This month Goldman releases Make Your Move, his follow-up to the last JD73 album, Pure Gold, and trust us when we say that it’s a feel-good funkfest of the highest order. We checked in with Goldman and asked him to talk about his favorite keyboards in his arsenal and the role they played on his new full-length.

JD73’s Make Your Move is out July 31, 2015 on Splash Music Productions. Continue Reading →