Clan Analogue celebrate 30 Years and the TB-303!
Two events, from 40 years ago and 30 years ago, seemingly unrelated yet completely intertwined, are celebrated in Clan Analogue’s newest compilation release Cognition 303: Bassline Deviations.
In 1982 Roland released a new bass sequencer and synthesizer which manifestly failed in its intended purpose – to replace the bass player.
In 1992 Brendan Palmer and Toby Grime had a chance meeting on a train platform in Sydney, bonding over their shared love of obsolete electronic music instruments, and decided to form an electronic music artists’ collective.
The Roland TB-303 Bass Line machine was a discarded device of the 1980s, forgotten as shiny digital synths became the industry standard of polished pop and stadium rock. However a new generation in the late 80s and early 90s reclaimed these analogue relics from pawn shops and Trading Post adverts, inspired by the new sounds of techno, house and electronic experimentalism. These young artists became the flagbearers for new musical movements which swept through the 1990s. From this era, 30 years ago, Clan Analogue was born, Australia’s longest-running and most influential electronic music collective.
Cognition 303: Bassline Deviations celebrates the 40-year history of the TB-303, its status as the last great iconic instrument of electronic music, and explorations of its newest sonic manifestations. The TB-303 has become one of the most used, modified and cloned instruments in electronic music. For Cognition 303 Clan Analogue artists from across Australia heeded the call to create a new selection of sounds exploring all versions of this instrument and its expanding musical lineage.
Cognition 303 spans the styles associated with the TB-303 and pushes them into new and unexpected directions. Techno superstar Honeysmack collaborates with T-Rek for one of his famed acid techno bangers. Australian dance music pioneer Andy Rantzen teams up with fellow 303 lover Ryan Spinoglio to give us a stripped-back funk exploration using four TB-303s. Composite Cone and Klaps celebrate the famed Robin Whittle 303 Devilfish modification. Vision Four 5 produce an anthemic piece of stadium techno while KOshowKO channels the legendary Charanjit Singh by blending the 303 with non-Western instruments. Suspect and Factorypreset, two halves of the seminal Dark Network, each create a piece of hypnotic ambient acid house groove, just some of the squelchy masterpieces on Cognition 303.
Download Cognition 303 from Bandcamp for a bonus collection of 14 more Australian 303 tracks from Clan Analogue’s artists, including contributions from Bleepin’ J Squawkins, Ming One and dyLAB.
Tracklist:
1. Swinging Tasty Bag l Junkyard
2. Mechana l Non-Existent
3. Vision Four 5 l Acidulous Broth
4. Ollie Lee l EMU Lotion
5. Composite Cone & Klaps l Untitled Devilfish Acid Track
6. Times of the Sines l Two 303s and a 909
7. Noneohone l Smokey
8. Andy Rantzen & Ryan Spinoglio l No Gluten For Putin
9. Honeysmack & T-Rek l Wet Channel Acid (CA Mix)
10. KOshowKO l The 303rd Babel of Greed
11. Factorypreset l Off the Clock (Drugs Mix)
12. BluNjin l Forest Rez
13. sd_falter l Alt-Tabbed
14. Suspect l Darkmatter
15. Bleepin’ J Squawkins l The Downup Accent Slide [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
16. Cwerk l Phonezy [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
17. Ming One l Two Face [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
18. Nufe l Searbhag [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
19. Abel el Toro l You, You, You [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
20. Marcus Newman l Weekend on Europa [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
21. Acidalius l Acidemocracy [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
22. Sebastian Bayne l Zenomorph Blood [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
23. Speedloader l Blood of Jesus [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
24. dyLAB l Clan Acid A Log [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
25. Arcane Trickster l Order to Go [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
26. Mr Rachele l Clone [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
27. Pure Saboteur l Dynamique Quadratic Mix [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
28. Fate Æffect l Spry A4D3 [bonus track on Bandcamp only]
Album credits:
Executive Producer: Ryan Spinoglio
Design: James Wingrove
Mastering (tracks 1-14): Darren Ziesing
Label support: Nick Wilson
released in 2022