Newbuild (album)

The album was recorded at Spirit Studios in Manchester. The group recorded the album on tape found discarded outside the BBC's Manchester studios. It had been recorded on and edited many times; meaning it would no longer meet the organization's quality requirements.{{Cite journal |last=Trask |first=Simon |date=October 1989 |title=The State of Technology (MT Nov 1989) |url=http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/the-state-of-technology/174 |journal=Music Technology |issue=Nov 1989 |pages=54–60}} The group used a lot of Roland equipment including a TR808, TR909, TB303, a Juno 106 and four SH101s. One technique used was 'silhouetting' where the group would build a track around an atmospheric sample, then remove the sample from the final cut. The album was named after a local council housing project.

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/newbuild-mw0000666686|title=Newbuild – 808 State|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=26 August 2017|last=Bush|first=John}}

| rev2 = Alternative Press

| rev2score = 4/5{{cite magazine|url=https://www.808state.com/various/reviews/AlbumReview-Newbuild.htm|title=808 State: Newbuild|magazine=Alternative Press|issue=134|date=September 1999|access-date=26 August 2017|last=Hampton|first=Justin|page=97}}

| rev3 = OffBeat

| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.808state.com/various/reviews/AlbumReview-Newbuild.htm|title=State 808: Newbuild|magazine=OffBeat|issue=3|date=November 1988|access-date=26 August 2017|last=Mellor|first=Christopher}}

| rev4 = Pitchfork

| rev4score = 9.8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/e/eight-o-eight-state/newbuild.shtml|title=808 State: Newbuild|website=Pitchfork|access-date=26 August 2017|last=Cooper|first=Paul|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020617122108/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/e/eight-o-eight-state/newbuild.shtml|archive-date=17 June 2002|url-status=dead}}

}}

In a 1988 review, OffBeat described the album as "compulsive stuff, you don't exactly listen to it, more like feeel the frequencies... and respond." In 1999, Alternative Press called it an "artificial dystopia" in which the tracks "strip away the soul of Detroit techno and replace it with a cold and rhythmic paranoia."

Later techno artists Aphex Twin and Autechre have saluted the album as a major influence. The former reissued the album on his Rephlex label in 1999. He stated: "It was the next step after Chicago acid, and as much as I loved that, I could relate much better to 808 State. It seemed colder and more human at the same time."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.stuartaitken.com/post/43672088536/808statemojo|title=Acid Muthas Mental|magazine=Mojo|issue=135|date=February 2005|access-date=9 July 2021|last=Aitken|first=Stuart|page=116}} He also produced a remix of "Flow Coma", which appeared on his 2001 EP 2 Remixes by AFX.{{cite web|url=https://www.factmag.com/2017/04/14/best-aphex-twin-songs/|title=The 50 best Aphex Twin tracks of all time|website=Fact|date=14 April 2017|access-date=11 February 2023}}

A collection of unreleased material from the era was released in 2004 as Prebuild.

1. "Sync/Swim" – 6:20
2. "Flow Coma" – 6:01
3. "Dr. Lowfruit (4 A.M. Mix)" – 7:36
4. "Headhunters" – 5:02
5. "Narcossa" – 5:17
6. "E Talk" – 4:01
7. "Compulsion" – 5:22

• Performer, writer – Gerald Simpson, Graham Massey, Martin Price
• Engineer – Graham Massey
• Artwork – Metropark
• Design – Johnson & Panas

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Category:1988 debut albums

Category:808 State albums