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Marc Romboy

Can't Live Without his Roland TR-808

"Do you remember the banging rap beats of L.L. Cool J's 'I Need Love', the artificial sounding cowbell of Whitney Houston's 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' or even the rolling bass drum of Plastikman's 'Spastik'? These tracks do have something in common!

"Without the Roland TR-808 drum computer these musical masterpieces wouldn't sound the same. That's why I can't ignore this heavyweight black box when I'm producing a track.

"Special sounds like the bass drum, the distinctive clap or the electro style snare are elements you can always use without having any doubts; it almost always fits and you can edit these sounds in millions of different ways.

"But even without this editing, the loose groove of the box is so sexy and unique that you can't generate better feeling on your computer software than this. Forget it, it's hopeless."