Episode 55
Drum Machines: A Recorded History, Part 2: Digital Drum Machines
 
Playlist
Linn Drum
Gary Numan, “My Brothers Time” from Dance (1981 Beggar’s Banquet). Early use of the Linn LM-1 by John Webb on this track. Note the sound of the claves, played by Numan but not digital. Bass, Saxophone, Mick Karn; Linn LM-1 drum machine, John Webb; Piano, Claves, Gary Numan. 4:37
Rajie, “ストーミー・ナイト (Stormy Night)” from Acoustic Moon (Sony 1981). Early recognition in Japan of the original Linn LM-1 drum machine. Rajie, vocals; Guitar, Mikihiko Matsumiya; Bass, Tsugutoshi Goto ; Chorus,  Hiroshi Koide,  Raji ; Composed By,  Akira Inoue ; Drums,  Tatsuo Hayashi ; Electric Guitar-Tsuyoshi Kon; Flute,  Motoya Hamaguchi ; Lyrics By,  Etsuko Kisugi ; Percussion,  Motoya Hamaguchi ; Prophet-10, Linn LM-1, Electric Piano,  Akira Inoue. Early Linn Drum Computer. 5:08
Herbie Hancock, “The Twilight Clone” from Magic Windows (1981 Columbia). If you want to study the latest in emerging electronic music instruments, just listen to the many albums by Herbie Hancock throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He was an early adopter of the Linn LM-1, heard here and played by Hancock. Bass, Louis Johnson; Linn LM-1 Drum Machine, Herbie Hancock; Ghanian Drums, Moody Perry III; Ghanian Drums, Bells, Kwasi Dzidzornu, Kwawu Ladzekpo; Lead Guitar, Adrian Belew; Percussion, Paulinho Da Costa; Rhythm Guitar, George Johnson; Written by, A. Belew, H. Hancock. 8:16
Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer” Linn Drum demo version (excerpt) (1984 private). Guitar and Linndrum, Mike Campbell; Synthesizer, Steve Porcaro; Synthesizer, Guitar, Danny Kortchmar. Bass, Larry Klein; vocals, lyrics, Don Henley. The instrumental part of the song came first and was put together by Tom Petty bandmate Mike Campbell who had just purchased a LinnDrum machine which was a more affordable model than the original LM-1 released in 1980. Campbell put together a rhythm track and played some guitar. Tom Petty wasn’t interested in the song at that time, so it went to Henley, who wrote the lyrics. This demo was close to the final version. The final mix of the song also included some human drumming, as did live performances where a human drummer tried to replicate the sound of the original Linndrum. 0:42
Jean Michel Jarre, “Zoolookologie” from Zoolook (1984 Disques Dreyfus). A fascinating exploration of samples both of voice and drums. This is the later version of the Linn Linndrum machine, just before the introduction of the Linn 9000. There is pure joy in this track as Jarre uses the Linndrum to create many unexpected sounds and atypical rhythms. Bass, Marcus Miller; Composer, Producer, Ethnic Vocals Processing, Keyboards, Electronics, Jean-Michel Jarre; Drums, Yogi Horton; Daniel Lazerus; Guitar Ira Siegel; Guitar, Effects, Adrian Belew; Keyboards, Frederic Rousseau. 4:13
David Van Tieghem, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” from In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1986 Wide Angle). Drummer and percussionist Van Tieghem created this version of the Iron Butterfly song using electronic drums (Octapads) and digital drums. Engineer, Programmed By Fairlight Programming Assistance, Eric Liljestrand; Guitar, Larry Saltzman; Vocals, Synthesizer Digital, Analog, Percussion Acoustic, Electronic, Mixed By, Producer, David Van Tieghem; Written-By, Doug Ingle. Basically a one-person performance aside from guitarist Saltzman. Van Tieghem was using both hand played electronic drums (the Octapads) plus some digital drum machines. 5:36
Suzanne Ciani, “Mosaic” from Neverland (1988 Private Music). Composed, Arranged, Performed, Produced by Suzanne Ciani. Among the many electronic instruments used by Ciani were keyboards made by Yamaha, Roland, and Bode (vocoder). For drum programming, she turned to the Linn 9000. This track has some decidedly simple, yet complex rhythms using the Linn 9000 that are truly nuanced and more jazz like. The care with which she programmed this track is in contrast to the typical drum machine beats you hear on records. Ciani al