The Art of Production: 808 State - The making of Cobra Bora

Graham Massey breaks down an 808 State classic - Cobra Bora at RA's 21st birthday celebrations last November.
Check out the full feature: ra.co/features/4121
Few electronic musicians or producers can claim to have stayed relevant for over four decades. Notching up a career that has continually blurred boundaries and includes experimental post-punk classics, early British mutations of acid house, dance floor hip-hop jams, rave anthems and collaborations with Björk and UB40, 808 State cofounder Graham Massey is one of them. He's been part of the fabric of the Manchester music scene since the mid-'70s, when he took his first steps in music as part of an art rock band whose work is lost to history. Since then, Massey has been in constant flux musically, building a vast catalogue that includes as many experimental oddities and freewheeling fusions as commercially successful club anthems and chart-bothering pop singles.
Producer: Sophie Misrahi
Production by Bearded Fellows

[@CliffyBurrows]

People don't realise just how much goes into music like this. They just think its dance music and a endless loop made easily. Yeah bollocks, its hard and its genius.

[@michaelgill1203]

Everybody would have a go son! Well said

[@carnmarth334]

"Yeah bollocks, its hard and its genius." Unlike your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

[@CliffyBurrows]

ha ha what a pointless reply. I'm sure your 4 subscribers will be delighted 🤣

[@Blank_Frank]

"Cobra Bora" is one of my ultimate fav tracks from 808, it's so good to see Graham explain how they composed the whole thing !

[@chris45rpm]

I echo that 100%

[@digimaton]

in terms of reconfiguring what electronic dance music could be, this was them at their peak, read way back, escapes me where, that they did a US tour (91?) and played Detroit, blew folk away... and listen to the influence of 808 on Mike Banks, undeniable.

[@markjohnston8989]

"how *they* composed the whole thing !" Who were 'they'?

[@Blank_Frank]

@@markjohnston8989 Graham Massey, Andy Barker, Martin Price and Darren Partington

[@mandelbot5318]

@@markjohnston8989No offence, but I genuinely don’t understand the motivation behind this question. “They” are 808 State. It’s that simple. (The line-up has changed over the years and with the passing of Andy Barker, sadly, it’s just Graham Massey now. But your question looks more like a challenge than a request for clarification of which band members contributed to this particular track, which I find odd.)

[@Roland_Tr909_Swing]

God I wish Gerald and Graham could collobaborate more

[@ScotLang]

Now do all the rest please. I spent so much time breaking these tracks down when I first started producing. So dense. So rhythmically interesting. Seriously love this.

[@cray56]

I always thought of 808 State as the Weather Report of Techno

[@nutster9000]

90 was possibly the first serious electronic techno dance album. There was the "almost album" of Quadrastate & Prebuild but 90 was the first fully formed album that predated LFO and Orbital.

[@benjaminwarr]

listened to this non-stop as I travelled Egypt in 1990 cant tell you how atmospheric it was, genius.

[@karlhudson7209]

"We were throwing paint at the canvas" - move over Rembrandt... Am 46 years old. This takes me back - big time. Only a few years ago did I discover music production and I still have all on making a four on the floor beat. The fact this was done over 30 years ago AND how you did it really blows my mind. Thank you for inspiring a generation.

[@mikabreto]

Meeting Graham Massey after the Atlanta show on the ex:el tour, I gifted him a keychain disco ball light & sound effect that I had purchased at Contempo Casuals. I asked him what he’d listened to recently, and he told me about St. Etienne. Brilliant. They had just released ‘Only Love Will Break Your Heart’ which busted out the Neil Young song into a reggae house beat, and made me an instant fan. Forever in debt to him for making some of my favorite choons and turning me on to some new stuff as well. Cheers.

[@jokubrik6597]

Brilliant video! Wish we could see more tracks broken down this way from 808 State.

[@synaesmedia]

Fascinating. This was always one of my favourite 808 State tracks. Not surprising at all to hear that Massey was a Latin music fan. And trying to bring that vibe to it.

[@SRDhain]

This is class. I met Graham years ago at a Roland event in London and he was so down to earth & chilled.

[@ColonyThreeMusic]

My favorite track of all time! Thank you for posting this!

[@aeiouxs]

Yep I think Cobra Bora is my favourite 808 State track of all time, absolutely incredible 'seeing into it' like this, the multiple detuned SH-101 lines blew me away, RDJ himself must be wetting himself at that... thank you Graham!

[@spaced4448]

This is brilliant! One of my favourite tunes from 1990

[@zsteinkamp]

So amazing. Really amazing. So cool to be able to learn how this iconic music was made.

[@dzod]

This is awesome. Can we see the whole event?

[@a_nick_t]

The genius of Graham Massey! 😎👍🏼

[@GIRTHGIRL]

Fantastic !!!!!! thank you :). one of my all time favourite tracks

[@Zsklar]

Legendary electronic techno track. Definitely in my top 10. Perhaps top 5 even.

[@michaelgill1203]

Check out circa 91! I wrote on a st

[@Steve-bo6ht]

Incredible having Graham breaking down Cobra Bora and 808 States influence in getting me interested in Synthesizers many years ago and writing my own tracks.

[@robbiewabisabi]

Brilliant! I remember having an R8 and doing all the pitching of the drums. And yes to the cowbell!

[@EddieTemple]

The Cobra Bora 'Short Cut' version on the Cubik EP got more play than the main track. So pleased to find it was going to be on 808:90, but the full version never quite had the same 'unpolished' vibe as the ep track did.

[@pob808]

One of my fave 808 tracks.

[@kavika121]

One of all time favorite, especially the call the cops remix. 😍✨

[@epigon1]

Pure gold! 808 state is a legend for sure

[@Roland_Tr909_Swing]

There must be more of this video come on mang

[@elcasho]

Awesome, more please! And don't just end the video, needs a suitable ending so we can like and comment

[@jamiebancroft706]

love love love that track!

[@Arikool]

Fundamental & inspiring

[@Station2Station-du2gh]

Haha, minimoog. Then it was stolen, and they bought another one when they were on tour here in Denver! Good seeing you doing this one, Graham. - Station2Station

[@paramotorhead]

I still have my Roland R8 👍 and my copy of cobra bora. Thanks for the music ❤

[@Roland_Tr909_Swing]

Interesting breakdown from Graham .

[@robertreid8241]

Amazing track, and sampled by Moodymann!

[@chris1.2]

Awesome track, the fat bass synth is so, err fat, and use of reverb on this album was so genius.

[@nutster9000]

Never forget the first time I put this on a turntable. Purchased it at Our price I think it was called in Colchester then took it into the hifi shop next door. Can I have a demonstration of this Marantz hifi please mate?! I think the only other electronic music musician that made anything similar with Cuban rhythms & electo beats at that time was Boris Blank of Yello. Cobra Bora was a Jackson Pollock kitchen sink cop show theme track that sounded like nothing else at the time.

[@aeiouxs]

"Jackson Pollock kitchen sink cop show theme track" - I like that! Cobra Bora FTW, even just it's ****ing title.

[@nutster9000]

@@aeiouxs I remember the 12" of Cubic had Ancodia on the B side & sticking that on a hifi turntable in the next shop (Dixon's). I remember ZTT had their phone number on the back. Which I rang & Trevor Horn's wife Jill answered the phone!

[@simasasdek]

I bought many of my vinyls in that Our Price, including United State 90 which was an accidental find. I had 90 on cassette (always had my Walkman on!) and decided to get the vinyl to add ro the 12"s and EPs I had. Found 90 in the rack and as I pulled it out it revealed the pink cover behind it and as I clocked what it was I just had to get it. Almost double the price as it was an import, but well worth it. One of my favourite albums to this day.

[@martinvegas1327]

Acid tune👍