RBMA Profiles Afrika Bambaataa’s “Looking for the Perfect Beat” in New ‘beat:repeat’ Episode
The latest episode of Red Bull Music Academy‘s ongoingbeat:repeatseries follows the production of Afrika Bambaataa […]
The latest episode of Red Bull Music Academy‘s ongoingbeat:repeatseries follows the production of Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force’s 808 anthem, “Looking for the Perfect Beat.” In the course of the five-minute video, the track’s original producers, Arthur Baker and John Robie (who were also behind Bambaataa’s seminal “Planet Rock” tune), discuss the production methods that yielded the song. Together the pair show some of the specific 808 drum-machine patterns which appear in the track, and the way in which they used the mixing board and outboard studio boxes to create evolving layers of sound; a production method perhaps well-utilized now, but which was still beginning to be explored at the time of the song’s creation.
The newest episode of RBMA’s beat:repeat series can be watched in full below.