Artist

These Machines

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In a basement music-making studio in the south of England sit a bunch of machines. A Moog System 15, a Juno 106, classic Roland TR-808, TB-303 and TR-909s, an Emu SP1200, a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Aka MPC, a Mini-Moog... these machines have been some of the foundation hardware for electronic music over the years.

But these machines can’t make music by themselves. Despite all the hype about artificial intelligence (AI) and robots, these machines need somebody to collaborate with — a human — to draw out their soul and funk.

The variety of people who drop by to play on these machines are what make the music coming out of this studio so diverse. Whether it’s house music legends like Marshall Jefferson or Danny Rampling, or cult Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh laying down some vocals on a German/Scottish kosmische disco ditty; a session with dubwise breakbeat rave act Genaside II to making a track with unknown guitarist whizkid Scott Booth; from working with fledgling hotshots Cousn from Bristol to some songs with a Columbian band Steve met in the pub — these machines need humans to collaborate with. They can’t do it themselves.

The above-mentioned Columbian band Pollito Boogaloo provided the impetus for ‘Martina’, a Balearic Columbian love story that’s the first single from Steve’s new project. It’s backed by a melodic breakbeat piece that also utilises those Columbian vibes.

The electricity is on. The motor is running. Are you ready for the sound of These Machines?

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