808 State is an English electronic music outfit formed in 1988 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and the "state of mind" shared by the members. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other House music is a style of Electronic dance music initially popularized in mid-1980s Discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino Techno is a form of Electronic dance music (EDM that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s Ambient music is a Musical genre in which sound is more important than notes Acid house is a sub-genre of House music that emphasizes a repetitive hypnotic and trance -like style with samples or spoken lines usually used rather than sung lyrics In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music ZTT Records is a Record label founded in 1983 by NME journalist Paul Morley, record producer Trevor Horn, producer/engineer Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. Percussionist composer and improviser Andrew Barker (born 19 September 1971) has been performing and recording in a variety of contexts since age 10 A Guy Called Gerald is the Stage name for musician Record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson (born February 16, 1967) England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable Drum machines ("TR" serving as an Initialism for Transistor Rhythm For the early "drum machine" computers that used a rotating cylinder as their main memory see Drum memory A drum machine is an They were formed by Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson, and they released their debut Newbuild in 1988. Graham Massey (born 4 August 1960, Manchester) was a founding member of the British band, 808 State, formed in 1988 in A Guy Called Gerald is the Stage name for musician Record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson (born February 16, 1967) Newbuild is the debut album of the band 808 State, released in 1988 on the independent label Creed Records.

History

808 State was formed in 1988 in Manchester, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Martin Price was the owner of a record store called Eastern Bloc, and was also the founder of independent label Creed. Customers Graham Massey of the band Biting Tongues, and Gerald Simpson, joined with Price to form a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. Soon after the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording the debut Newbuild in 1988, while using the name 808 State for the first time. The album was released on Price's own record label. Graham had been a member of the hippy - fusion band Aqua in the 1970s along with violinist Graham Clark, a former pupil of Manchester Grammar School. Graham Leslie Lionel Clark (born December 16 1959) is an English Jazz Violinist based in Buxton, Derbyshire. The Manchester Grammar School ( MGS) is an independent boys' school (ages 9-18 in Fallowfield, Manchester, England.

The band really began to find commercial success when their song "Pacific State" was picked up by Gary Davies in 1989 on his Radio 1 daytime show. The song was on a compilation album of many artists at the time, but the resulting attention Davies bestowed upon it, and its re-playing on his show over a number of weeks, led to the song being released as a single to chart success, with a peak of #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry Coupled with the emerging Acid House scene at the time, 808 State had arrived.

Simpson left the group in 1989 to form his own solo project, A Guy Called Gerald. A Guy Called Gerald is the Stage name for musician Record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson (born February 16, 1967) Voodoo Ray was his biggest song. " Voodoo Ray " is an early Acid House single by Gerald Simpson, recording under the name A Guy Called Gerald. At this point, the remaining personnel enlisted DJs. Andrew Barker and Darren Partington (known as the Spinmasters), recorded an EP called Quadrastate in 1989. Percussionist composer and improviser Andrew Barker (born 19 September 1971) has been performing and recording in a variety of contexts since age 10 Their next album, Ninety, was well-received by the rave culture.

MC Tunes (real name Nicky Lockett) was a Manchester rapper, who worked with the band on his 1990 album, The North At Its Heights. MC Tunes (born Nicky Lockett, 1970 is a British Rapper from Moss Side, Manchester. Rapping (also known as emceeing, MCing, spitting, or just rhyming) is the Rhythmic spoken delivery of Rhymes wordplay and The album was a moderate success, reaching #26 in the UK charts, and also saw European and Japanese release. The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company (OCC on behalf of the British record industry It spawned three UK singles, The Only Rhyme That Bites - featuring a sample of "The Big Country" performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic - (UK #10), Tunes Splits The Atom (UK #18) and Primary Rhyming (UK #67). Tunes later returned in 1996 to work with on a new track, Pump, taken from 808 State's album Thermo Kings. It was due to be released as a single, but this never occurred.

808 State's next album was released in 1991 Ex:el, which featured vocals from Bernard Sumner (New Order) and ex-Sugarcubes vocalist Björk, other hits include In Yer Face, Cubik, Olympic & Lift. exel is an album by Electronic music group 808 State that was released in 1991 New Order are an English rock group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner ( vocals, Guitars Synthesizers, Peter Hook The Sugarcubes ( Sykurmolarnir in Icelandic) were an Icelandic Alternative rock band formed in 1986 and disbanded in 1992 Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born 21 November 1965 is an Icelandic Singer-songwriter, Composer, actress and music producer.

In 1992, Price left the group to perform solo producing, eventually forming his own label, Sun Text. The remaining members released a fourth album called Gorgeous, and after that, did some remix work for David Bowie, Soundgarden, and other performers, before returning with the album entitled Don Solaris in 1996. David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. This album marked a change for the band who wanted to shake off their rave moniker and, with 'Don Solaris', they aimed to create a more beautiful, cinemascopic sound. The album featured contributions from James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers, who sung vocals on 'Lopez' which reached number 20 in the UK singles charts. Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as the " Manics " or " MSP " are a Welsh rock band consisting of James This song was remixed by Brian Eno. Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (born 15 May 1948 commonly known as Brian Eno (ˈiːnoʊ is an English Musician, producer The song 'Bond' featured vocals by Mike Doughty from the band Soul Coughing and 'Azura' featured Louise Rhodes from Lamb. Mike Doughty (born June 10 1970) is an American singer and songwriter Soul Coughing was a New York -based Alternative rock band active in the 1990s Lamb were an Electronic music duo from Manchester, England, known for their Trip hop and Drum and bass influenced sound They released a greatest-hits compilation named 808:88:98 in 1998-their last on record label ZTT and a 1998 remix of Pacific soared high in the charts. 8088898 is a Greatest hits compilation by 808 State. Track listing "Pacific 707" "Cübik" In 2000, their pioneering 1988 acid house album 'Newbuild' was re-released.

In 2003, they released Outpost Transmission which, again, featured guest collaborations this time with the likes of the Alabama 3 and Guy Garvey from Elbow.

As of April 2007, a CD re-issue of the album Quadrastate is in the works with no specified release date. Quadrastate is an 12" Extended play by 808 State, released in 1989 on the Creed Records label The band is still active, touring and performing DJ sets, and occasionally performing in the full line up. The official 808 State website, globalState, is also still active, with new unreleased tracks and information added frequently, along with a semi-active message board.

Pseudonyms and side projects

808 State and its various members have recorded under a variety of pseudonyms. An early EP, containing the tracks Massage-a-Rama and Sex Mechanic, was released under the name Lounge Jays. These tracks have since been re-released by Rephlex Records on the Prebuild LP. Rephlex Records is a Record label started in 1991 by electronic musician Richard D Another early EP, Wax on the Melt, was released under the name Hit Squad Mcr. This is the only EP to which all five members of the group (Graham Massey, Martin Price, Gerald Simpson, Andrew Barker and Darren Partington) contributed simultaneously.

Graham Massey recently released the solo album 'Subtracks' under the name Massonix on Skam Records. Skam Records is an independent Electronic and IDM Record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks He is also a member of Biting Tongues, an experimental jazz rock group once signed to Factory Records. Fusion or more specifically jazz fusion or jazz rock, is a Musical genre that merges Jazz with elements of other styles of music particularly Factory Records was a Manchester based British Independent record label, started in 1978, which featured several prominent musical acts on its He has a side project with "Toolshed" which grew from the Manchester night.

Martin Price left 808 State in 1991 and released a couple of EPs under the name Switzerland.

Andrew Barker has produced a small number of tracks as Atlas, Benaco and remixed various tracks.

Darren Partington has recorded under the name Jeep. Darren and Andy appeared on Kiss 102 from 1994 to 1997. Faze FM Radio Ltd was the owner of two United Kingdom Radio stations in the North of England

Band members

• Graham V Massey (born 4 August 1960, in Manchester) — guitarist, keyboardist, saxophonist (1988-present)
• Martin Price (born 26 March 1955, in Manchester) — keyboardist (1988-1990)
• Gerald Simpson — keyboardist (1988-1989)
• Andrew Barker (born 9 March 1968 — keyboardist (1989-present)
• Darren Partington (born 1 November 1969, in Manchester) — keyboardist, percussionist (1989-present)

Discography

Albums

• Newbuild (1988) (UK Indie #12)^[1]
• Quadrastate (1989) (UK Indie #2)^[1]
• Ninety (1989)
• Utd. State 90 (1990)
• Ex:el (1991)
• Gorgeous (1993)
• State to State (1994)
• Don Solaris (1996)
• Thermo Kings (1996)
• 808:88:98 (1998)
• State to State 2 (2002)
• Outpost Transmission (2003)
• Prebuild (2004)

Singles

• "Pacific State" (1989) (UK #10)
• "The Extended Pleasure of Dance (EP)" (1990) (UK #56)
• "The Only Rhyme That Bites" (1990) (UK #10)
• "Tunes Splits the Atom" (1990) (UK #18)
• "Cubik/Olympic" (1990) (UK #10)
• "In Yer Face" (1991) (UK #9)
• "Ooops" (1991) (UK #42)
• "Lift/Open Your Mind" (1991) (UK #38)
• "Time Bomb/Nimbus" (1992) (UK #59)
• "One In Ten (re-mix)" (1992) (UK #17)
• "Plan 9" (1993) (UK #50)
• "10 X 10" (1993) (UK #67)
• "Bombadin" (1994) (UK #67)
• "Bond" (1996) (UK #57)
• "Lopez" (1997) (UK #20)
• "Pacific/Cubik (re-mixes)" (1998) (UK #21)
• "The Only Rhyme That Bites 99" (1999) (UK #53)

Trivia

• Despite still being listed in the catalogues of many online music stores, the Japanese CD version of Quadrastate (entitled Quadrastate Vol 1) was never actually released. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 1960 ( MCMLX) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A guitarist is a Musician who plays the Guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres A keyboardist is a Musician who plays Keyboard instruments Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) A Guy Called Gerald is the Stage name for musician Record producer and DJ Gerald Simpson (born February 16, 1967) Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Newbuild is the debut album of the band 808 State, released in 1988 on the independent label Creed Records. The UK Independent Chart or Indie Chart is a chart of the best-selling independent record releases in the UK Quadrastate is an 12" Extended play by 808 State, released in 1989 on the Creed Records label Ninety is the second full-length album and first on ZTT Records by British House music pioneers 808 State, released in 1989 Utd State 90 is an album by Techno artists 808 State which was released in 1990 exel is an album by Electronic music group 808 State that was released in 1991 8088898 is a Greatest hits compilation by 808 State. Track listing "Pacific 707" "Cübik"
• Utd. State 90 features an alternate version of the track Ancodia from the UK 90 release, although this did previously appear on the Extended Pleasure of Dance EP. Utd. State 90 also features remixes of tracks that previously appeared on Quadrastate.
• The US (Tommy Boy) release of Ex:El features an extended Eric Kupper and Tom Richardson remix of "Cubik", whereas the UK (ZTT) release features the original 808 State mix of that track which appeared on Utd. State 90.
• The version of "Leo Leo" that appears on the Ex:El LP has vocals credited to Raagman, although the track is actually instrumental. The vocal version of the track appears on the "In Yer Face" single.
• Graham Massey recently admitted in an interview for AnalogSuicide that up until the late 80's he and the other members of 808 State thought the Roland drum machines TR-808 & 909 were "severely uncool. "
• A limited edition LP version of Gorgeous was packaged with an additional piece of vinyl that included three new tracks not found on any other version of Gorgeous. They were also released on Forecast, a compilation for the Japanese market which consisted of remixes and b-sides from the Gorgeous album.
• An official 808 State fan club was started up in the mid-1990s. Those who signed up received a special edition album entitled State to State, which featured additional tracks from the Gorgeous sessions, a previously unreleased track from the Quadrastate sessions, as well as a number of brand new tracks and live performances. The packaging was designed by The Designers Republic. WikipediaNFCC#10c
• The DVD release Optibuk, which features promo videos for every 808 State single, also came with an audio CD entitled State to State Volume 2. This featured a mixture of new, rare and previously unreleased tracks.

External links

• Band website with most recent information
• 808 State at Discogs
• ZTT Records official site
• ZTT Records official store
• Ian Peel: Warriors of pop, 21 years of ZTT Record Collector, September 2004 (copy at Zang Tuum Tumb and all that) Article about ZTT's history, contains info on 808 State