Roland catches up with DJ Pierre at his beloved ADE festival in Amsterdam to hear how he invented the Acid sound with a TB-303, and how AIRA and the new Roland Boutique synths have captured his heart.
Contributed by Roland UK
Hailing from Chicago, DJ Pierre created the prototype sound of Acid House with his Roland TB-303 on Phuture’s seminal 1987 Acid Tracks EP. Originally intended as a bass accompaniment for guitarists, the ‘303 achieved hallowed status in club music circles after Pierre’s re-purposing of its sound. He explains, “We picked up this TB-303 at a second-hand shop and we thought we’d just get it to make bass-lines but once I started twisting the knobs it just sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before”.
Having carried the torch for Roland gear over the years, the ‘303 and his much-treasured Juno-106 synth in particular, DJ Pierre has become quite a convert to the possibilities offered by the Roland AIRA range and when we caught up with him recently at ADE 2015, we simply had to introduce Pierre to the new Roland Boutique JU-06 synth, to see how it rated against his original.
“When Roland started going back and re-creating some of the gear from the 80s I’d always ask if they’d be doing the 106 or something that sounded like the 106. I’ve never found another keyboard that could duplicate that bass sound of the 106. When I heard that the Boutique line included the JU-06 I just had to have it”
Mission accomplished; here’s to the Phuture.
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