After nearly five years in the works, a star-packed documentary about the pioneering Roland TR-808 drum machine, 808, is finally available for download on iTunes. (The movie was released to Apple Music subscribers last week.)
The film, which features interviews with Pharrell, the Beastie Boys, David Guetta, Diplo and New Order, among others, chronicles the journey of the drum machine that was a huge part of songs by Afrika Bambaataa, the Beasties, Public Enemy, the Talking Heads and Lil Wayne.
Narrated by Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, it includes interviews with the likes of Questlove, Rick Rubin, David Guetta, Phil Collins and several more, each of which pay tribute to the over-arching influence of a machine that changed the sound of music. Other voices in the film include Fatboy Slim and producers Jellybean Benitez, Hank Shocklee and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The official soundtrack dropped last month, featuring songs by Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, Shannon, T La Rock, Felix Da Housecat, Lil Jon and Jamie xx.
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808 was written by Alexander Dunn and Luke Bainbridge and produced by Alex Noyer, who also serves as executive producer; Alexander Dunn, who directed the film; Atlantic Records chairman/co-CEO Craig Kallman; and Arthur Baker, also a co-executive producer.