303 Day is Acid Day

Today is the 3rd of March – 3/03 – which is a special day for us techno lovers. It is special because it is the day that we celebrate one of the most popular synthesizers ever made, Roland’s TB-303. It was first released in 1982 and aimed towards guitar players to simulate bass guitars. However, the product was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. Many owners of the TB-303 pawned them, allowing people like DJ Pierre to buy them cheap and experiment with them. He founded the group Phuture with Spanky and Herb J and released Acid Tracks – listen below – in 1987. This is the birth of Acid House.

The sounds that the little grey box made are still used by many techno and house producers. Many either own one or have a way of replicating the awesome squelching and resonant sound it is known for. One of them is the Bristol-based DJ and producer Om Unit. Usually producing Drum&Bass, Jungle and Footwork, he fused the weirdness of the TB-303 and the laidback vibes of Dub on a new album: Acid Dub Studies.

On his Bandcamp, he writes that “Acid Dub Studies is the fully-fledged result of the merging of the calligraphic expression of the 303 Acid bassline with the stern sway of Dub Reggae and the hazier edges of Dub Techno and Ambient music”. He adds that “Acid Dub Studies comes from the pressing need to break with perceived expectation and to explore an honest and natural space away from the genre labels and tags that had been often lazily applied to his sizeable catalogue of music.”

I felt the urge to introduce you to this brilliant album because it is simply… Well… Brilliant! The tracklist is flawless. Thus listening to the whole project on repeat is a real treat. I don’t get bored with it and easily put it at work. You can really sense the introspective nature of the album and immerse yourself in it with ease.

Even though I only got into Dub and Reggae since being with Emilie, I have learned to appreciate and love both genres and can already say that this album is going to end up in my top releases of 2021, if not in my top 100 albums ever.

✌🏾

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