The best song featuring the TR-909 drum machine?

Kaiwan_NI

The TR-909 Hall of Fame: Your Picks

Alright folks, let's talk beats. Our manager of sound design just dropped his top picks for the ultimate tracks that have shaped electronic music, all fueled by the unmistakable punch of the TR-909 in our latest blog post.

Check out the playlist here:

https://blog.native-instruments.com/best-songs-tr909/

But now, it's your turn to sound off. What's your take on the list?

Cast your vote which song you think deserves the top spot in the TR-909 hall of fame and let's see which beats reign supreme. Or, shout out the ones we missed by leaving a comment below.

P.S. While you're at it, don't miss our latest expansion pack, Drum State, featuring heavy percussion hits inspired by the TR-909. Check it out here:

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/expansions/drum-state/?_ga=2.56786538.1113415206.1715845180-550821597.1715845180

Kaiwan_NI

Plastikman – “Spastik”

One track that doesn't make the cut, but deserves to be in the list, for me, is Jeff mills - "The Bells"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Epe1KlU4gw

AdelV

Daft Punk – “Revolution 909”

Yeah - orginal Revolution 909 is amazing but i love this remix. Sounds HUGE even after all years. S-Man and Junior Sanchez were amazing in thier prime time.

https://youtu.be/vLEo5ZyxxPI

PoorFellow

Whitney Houston – “I’m Every Woman”

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/30953/the-best-song-featuring-the-tr-909-drum-machine

I am sure that you will think me rude , so my apology in advance.

But either you did too superficial a search or the list is colored by your own choice..

Why I am saying this is because I would not ever make such a list without "Black Box – Ride on Time" and "Techtonic – Pump Up The Jam" (Original Google source) :

Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam (Official Music Video)

Sound Behind the Song: “Pump Up the Jam” by Technotronic, Quote:"The song is one of the most sampled in history"

Technotronic "Pump Up The Jam" Rebuilt

Black Box - Ride on Time (Official Video)

Get the sound of Blackbox's Ride On Time

The Black Box - Ride on Time , while yes in between just terrible screaming to listen to, still to me is both some of the most hard pumped music but also a track with a brilliantly utilized sampling of the 'acapella' version of Loleatta Holloway's Love Sensation. Love Sensation brilliantly sampled more times including by Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch

Sub reference :

Loleatta Holloway - Love Sensation (Original Acapella) (HQ)

Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch : Good Vibrations (Official Music Video)

Spring Goose

Bushwacka! - Chorus

Colin Dunkerley

Aphex Twin – “Heliosphan”

A 909 poll without a mention of Jeff Mills seems wild. Have you seen the man with his hands on that machine?

djswerve

Schoolly D “PSK (What Does it Mean) from the OG Gangsta Rapper.
Monstrous reverb on the snare. Elite.

Dbas

Culture Beat Mr Vain

FORSHAW90909

LFO – “LFO (The Leeds Warehouse Mix)”

this list is a sick joke

PoorFellow

Whitney Houston – “I’m Every Woman”

I have no idea as to the accuracy of this list but I just stumbled over this list at Discogs : Roland TR-909 by disman00911 Discogs Lists

Quote :

Songs that use the classic 909 drum machine. Just about every house/techno/dance record from the late 80s, 1990s, and the early-to-mid 2000s used this machine.

Putting the "non-dance" tracks in the front of the list as not many hip hop, downtempo, R&B, or rock tracks used the 909 (not counting dance remixes of certain songs). At page 5 (showing 25 tracks at a time) is where all the club/house/techno/etc records from 1985 onward start to kick in.

TV/Movie/Video Game themes & music that used the 909 but aren't on discogs
- Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-1998 tv show)
- Booker T's theme from WCW and WWE (can you dig it sucka!)
- American Idol (2002-present reality show)
- Koopaling boss battle in New Super Mario Bros Wii (2009) & NSMBU theme in Super Mario Maker 1 & 2 (2014, 2019)

chk071

https://community.native-instruments.com/discussion/comment/154881#Comment_154881

The music I grew up with, haha.

Trekkie

Phil Collins – “Take Me Home”

Probably showing my age but Phil Collins, being 'first' or one of the first does it for me, he really changed drums (In the Air Tonight) prior to that drum machines were really looked down on. I remember a video of Tom Petty's drummer bashing the ****** out of one of the machines.

gviio

Given the choices and omission of classic 909 tracks like:

Faithless - Insomnia, Inner City - Good Life, Soul II Soul - Keep on Movin, Mr. Fingers - Can You Feel It, 808 State - Pacific State, A Guy Called Gerald - Voodoo Ray etc.

I’m going with:

https://youtu.be/OnT58cIJSpw?si=Jj2sBD0URb3irzFx

vlab

I would cast my vote to Bjork, for her track "the hunter"... A pretty amazing use of this drum machine.

PK The DJ

LFO – “LFO (The Leeds Warehouse Mix)”

Famous 909 patterns inc. Bjork (courtesy of Doctor Mix)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKiWt8IcMmM

sparkchasr

New Order Blue Monday - the shuffle is a bug in the 909