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808 STATE SKETCHED the blueprint for British techno as we know it. Forming in 1988 as a trio, Graham Massey, Martin Price and Gerald Simpson released the UK's first acid house album, 'Newbuild', in that year. Simpson left to go solo as A Guy Called Gerald, and Mancunian DJs The Spinmasters were brought in to replace him. 808 State pioneered live techno years before Orbital and the Chems, and their '91 album 'Ex-el' pioneered the pop/techno collaboration featuring contributions from Björk and Bernard Sumner. Oddly, it was Radio 1's Gary Davies who exposed the act to a wider audience by
playlisting 'Pacific State', their number 10 hit
from 1989. A more obvious fan is Aphex Twin
who has recently re-released 'Newbuild' and
'Quadrastate' through his Rephlex label. 808
State are still a going concern, and they play
live at Bestival this year. In yer face!
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