{"id":2404903,"date":"2026-05-06T17:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2404903"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:51:26","slug":"beat-gems-book-charts-the-evolution-of-the-drum-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/beat-gems-book-charts-the-evolution-of-the-drum-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Beat Gems\u2019 book charts the evolution of the drum machine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Specialist music imprint Bjooks is venturing into another sphere of electronic music with its latest monograph, Beat Gems<\/em> (being funded via Kickstarter<\/a>, with the campaign starting this week). Following on from the earlier, self-explanatory Synth Gems<\/em><\/a>, Inspire the Music<\/em><\/a>, a celebration of 50 years of innovation by Japanese musical megacorp Roland, and The Minimoog Book<\/em><\/a>, which doubles down on the history of the pioneering synthesizer, the new book is subtitled \u2018Drum Machines in Modern Music\u2019.<\/p>\n

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A spread from Beat Gems<\/em> featuring the Roland TR-707<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption>

(Image credit: Bjooks)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Few pieces of musical tech inspire as much loyalty and fascination as the drum machine. Oli Freke\u2019s book is a deep dive into the history and development of this incredibly influential device, covering the origins of the tech, from proto-drum machines like the 1959 Wurlitzer Side Man 5000, often described as the first ever rhythm machine, through to early analogue devices like the cult Elka Drummer One from Italy<\/a> and the NME Rattlesnake from the 1970s through to electronic drums like the LinnDrum and the Roland TR series.<\/p>\n

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A spread from Beat Gems<\/em> featuring the Wurlitzer Side Man 5000<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption>

(Image credit: Bjooks)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Beat Gems<\/em> takes the reader through obscure sidebars in music history without ignoring the ultra-influential classics, such as the development of Akai\u2019s MPC series, one of the backbones of modern hip-hop (devices that are still widely used today<\/a>, old and new). The cultural context of each machine is also considered, along with beautiful photography of each example.<\/p>\n

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A spread from Beat Gems<\/em> featuring the Rattlesnake drum machine<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption>

(Image credit: Bjooks)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

In all, there are more than 60 drum machines chronicled in the book. The author, London<\/a>-based Oli Freke<\/a>, runs the excellent Synth Evolution<\/a> site and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of electronic music machines.<\/p>\n

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A spread from Beat Gems<\/em> featuring the Alesis HR-16<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption>

(Image credit: Bjooks)<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Beat Gems: Drum Machines in Modern Music, by Oli Freke, more information at <\/em>Bjooks.com<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>@WeMakeBjooks<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Kickstarter.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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