I first heard about the DP-008 in an interview with Bradford Cox, the front person of the band Deerhunter, long one of my favorite contemporary songwriters and bands, in 2010.
In the interview Cox said that everyone should have one of these machines, the (at the time) new portable digital 8 track from TASCAM. It had built in microphones and reverb, Bradford explained. And; It runs on batteries so you don’t have to worry about finding a power source. Having a portable multi track recording companion that ran on batteries was a god send. I immediately bought one and took it everywhere with me.
A few years later I stayed at Bradfords house in Atlanta while on my first ever solo tour opening for the great Cate Le Bon in 2013. Bradford was a fan of Cates and wanted to meet her, so Bradford offered to host us for the night, a night that ended up being pivotal for both Cate and I. Pivotal for me because Bradford off handedly encouraged me to buy a house in my hometown as soon as I could - advice I took very seriously and the next year I did just that (I had already taken their advice on purchasing the DP008 and that worked out, so why not). And pivotal for Cate as she and Bradford went on to make a bunch of music together.
Recently I was working on a mini documentary around the upcoming 10-year anniversary of my album Harlem River when the cinematographer asked if I had any demos of the songs. I told him all about the DP008 and how I had once demoed the whole album on it but deleted the songs to make space, something I deeply regretted. He asked if I still had the machine.
I opened a few drawers and poked through a few cabinets before quickly coming across it. I was sure it wouldn’t work, but after popping in a few batteries, its little digital face illuminated and the muscle memory around how to work it came flooding back.
The bad news was that I had been right, the Harlem River demos had been deleted. But the good news was that I was reunited with my DP008, at long last.
The rediscovery of this little machine has had me thinking a lot about Deehunter and that night at Bradfords. Deerhunters lo-fi masterpiece, Monomania, had just come out, the curveball follow up to their breakthrough Halcyon Digest, (that they in fact recorded entirely on the DP008). I remember telling Bradford that night that I loved the album to which they replied “i’m glad you like it, because nobody else does”.
I’ve been listening to Monomania on repeat the past few weeks and it’s aged incredibly well. All of Deerhunters records from that era have, but Monomania felt before it’s time upon its release, so it’s as if the world is just now catching up to it.
SO in the spirit of Bradford Cox, a Deerhunter binge and dusting off my old trusty DP008 It only felt appropriate to clear out its cobwebs with a Deerhunter cover.
So without further adieu, this is Agoraphobia, one of the first Deerhunter songs I ever fell in love with, off their album Microcastle.
*This post is dedicated to Bradford Cox, wherever they may be. Thank you! xoxo