808 State – Newbuild

Recorded in Manchester in early 1988, 808 State’s Newbuild is the Big Bang of British acid house, a mesmerizingly squiggly and revelrous advertisement for the power of the Roland 808 and dance floor bliss. A defining Madchester document, it was created by the trio of Graham Massey, Gerald Simpson and Martin Price and arrived as the so-called Second Summer of Love era was blossoming. The group’s first work was created to be used as backing tracks at the buzzing Hacienda club. In addition to the 808, the three employed Rolands TR909, TB303, four SH101s and a Juno 106 to build tracks that were obviously inspired by the thriving Chicago acid house scene but added their own melodic accents and arrangements. A year after Newbuild’s release, Simpson left 808 State to begin producing as A Guy Called Gerald. “Flow Coma” is a masterpiece of menacing 808 bolts and stabs, with a marching fake-snare beat and cosmic midrange tracers. The scattered, shattered “Headhunters” foreshadows the freakish Autechre sound of a decade later. Sadly, this is currently out of print and unavailable on streaming services. Vinyl copies aren’t impossible to find, though; keep an eye out for the Rephlex reissue from 1999. Pressed as a 3 x 12,” it sounds amazing.– Randall