After unveiling the magic behind one of the most sampled tunes in Hip Hop history, the latest episode of Red Bull Music Academy’s ongoing beat:repeat series follows the production of Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force’s 808 anthem, “Looking for the Perfect Beat”. Arthur Baker and John Robie spent six months crafting an 808 odyssey, pushing the drum machine to new heights. “Looking for the Perfect Beat” re-imagined what was possible, a sample-ready symphony that has spawned a thousand styles.

Baker and Robie discuss in detail their approach to crafting the 1983 classic – with a pretty great live deconstruction/recreation of the beat and its arrangement by Robie, playing the mixing board “like an instrument in itself.” Watch the new episode in full below.