Roland 909 honoured in new book and album release

Roland’s influential TR-909 series of drum machines is set to be honoured with a new book and record release by hip-hop reissuists Get On Down.

Record Store Day (20 April) will see the release of a flexi-disc set paying tribute to the instrument, with one disc seeing Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D run through and narrate the 909s famous sounds and the other containing reworkings of D’s tracks by Get on Down co-founder Joe Mansfield.

This’ll be followed by the book Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession, which comes out in the summer.

It follows news of Radio 1′s recent documentary about the classic 909 and 808 drum machines. Check out what these releases will look like above and below.