MONOEYE

The fluid, versatile play of Jimi Hendrix with his Stratocaster. Without him, the position of the Stratocaster in the music scene might be vastly different today. However, there was someone who wasn’t pleased with his playing: Leo Fender, the creator of the Stratocaster. The tremolo unit on the Strat was originally designed to add vibrato in Hawaiian and country music, but Hendrix’s use of it to wildly bend pitches and even replicate the sound of bombing infuriated Fender.

This story is a well-known trivia among guitar enthusiasts. The key point is that an unintended use of a device can become mainstream. This phenomenon is common in the relationship between music and musical equipment. For instance, Auto-Tune, now a staple effect for vocals, was originally designed to correct pitch rather than produce the robotic voice effect it’s famous for today. Similarly, turntables were not meant for scratching, and early guitar amps were designed to produce clean sounds, not the distorted tones that are now ubiquitous. Despite these “incorrect” uses, such unintended applications are widespread. I, too, am fond of these “mistakes,” probably because of my contrarian nature. They resonate with me in a way that’s almost sympathetic.

One of my favorite instruments exemplifying this is the Roland TB-303, which is also the theme of our song “MONOEYE.” The TB-303’s distinctive sound, like the edgy, squelching tone in Daft Punk’s “Da Funk,” is instantly recognizable once you’ve heard it. It’s been prominently used in various tracks, including some recent hits by Hikaru Utada.

Interestingly, any use of the TB-303 in music is technically a misuse. Originally, it was intended to provide bass lines for musicians practicing at home, in conjunction with the TR-606 drum machine. However, its difficult interface made it hard to produce the intended sounds, and it wasn’t a commercial success. The bass tones it produced didn’t even resemble real bass sounds. Consequently, it was sold off cheaply, and acid house artists, who were often strapped for cash, started using its quirky sounds in their music, leading to its iconic status in dance music.

In a sense, the TB-303 is the Stratocaster of loop music. Its appeal lies in its addictive quality. The sound it produces, often described as “gooey,” seems to deliver raw electricity straight from the outlet to your ears. Its built-in sequencer, although limited compared to modern ones, creates an organic rhythm. Yet, being a machine, it doesn’t have the nuanced touch of a human, resulting in a rhythm that is paradoxically both organic and merciless. This contradiction is part of what makes the TB-303 so captivating.

To harness this addictive quality in our own music, we created the song “MONOEYE.” We applied an auto-filter to an electric bass to create a loop that mimics the characteristic rising pitch of the 303’s sound. This attempt to recreate the TB-303’s sound on an electric bass, an instrument it could never quite become, felt like a satisfying “mistake.”

In the final section of the song, Tsuge channels Jimi Hendrix in a solo, providing a fitting tribute with a “correct” use of the Stratocaster: smooth vibrato and the reverb-tremolo of a Fender amp. Perhaps Leo Fender, from heaven, would be pleased.