Roland Founder and Music Legend Ikutaro Kakehashi Dies at 87

Ikutaro Kakehashi, best known as the founder of Roland Corporation, has died at 87. He was an engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Roland Corporation. His company quickly became synonymous with electronic music effects and under his leadership, Roland introduced many of the most iconic gear, including:

– The System 700 modular synthesizer
– The TB-303 bassline synthesizer
– The TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines
– The Jupiter-8 & D-50 synthesizers

The TR-808’s unique ‘sizzling’ drum and hand clap sounds were crucial to genre-defining songs from the likes of Afrika Bambaataa and Nine Inch Nails, and it’s so iconic that artists have sometimes based their albums or even careers around it.

Kakehashi, along with Dave Smith, was awarded a Technical Grammy in 2013 for contributions to the development of the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) technology.

The industry would have gone in a very, very different direction if he hadn’t been around. BlackoutHipHop extends condolences to Ikutaro Kakehashi’s family and friends.

Via Synthtopia & Engadget.