Beat Gems: A New Book Chronicles the History of Drum Machines
Bjooks, a specialist music imprint, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for its latest monograph, Beat Gems: Drum Machines in Modern Music, written by Oli Freke. The book explores the cultural impact and evolution of drum machines, covering over 60 devices from the 1959 Wurlitzer Side Man 5000 to modern classics like the Roland TR series and Akai MPC. It follows Bjooks' earlier titles Synth Gems, Inspire the Music (celebrating 50 years of Roland), and The Minimoog Book. Freke, a London-based author who runs Synth Evolution, provides encyclopedic knowledge and cultural context for each machine, accompanied by photography. The Kickstarter campaign begins this week.
Key facts
- The book is titled Beat Gems: Drum Machines in Modern Music.
- The author is Oli Freke.
- Bjooks is the publisher.
- The book is being funded via Kickstarter, with the campaign starting this week.
- It covers over 60 drum machines.
- It includes the 1959 Wurlitzer Side Man 5000, Elka Drummer One, NME Rattlesnake, LinnDrum, Roland TR series, and Akai MPC series.
- Bjooks previously published Synth Gems, Inspire the Music, and The Minimoog Book.
- Freke runs the Synth Evolution site.
Entities
Artists
- Oli Freke
Institutions
- Bjooks
- Roland
- Akai
- Wurlitzer
- Elka
- NME
- LinnDrum
- Kickstarter
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Italy