Search results
1980s
- After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts.
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Synth-pop
People also ask
When did synth pop end?
How did synth pop become popular in the '80s?
When was synth-pop born?
When did synth music become popular?
Synth-pop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981–2, with bands such as OMD, Japan, Ultravox, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Yazoo and even Kraftwerk, enjoying top ten hits. The Human League's and Soft Cell's UK number one singles "Don't You Want Me" and "Tainted Love" became the best selling singles in the UK in 1981.
- Enter Synthpop
- A Very Brief History of Synthpop
- The 1980s, New Romantics, and Synthpop
- Synthpop Technology, Culture, and Influences
- Important Synthpop Bands and Songs
- Synthpop from The 1970s to The 1980s
- Modern 80s Synthpop Artists
- Synthpop Bands Since The 1990s
- What Is Synthpop: Final Thoughts
While it’s referred to as techno-pop and many other variations to some, it’s a massive genre that’s made its mark on music and society. Synthpop comprises music that is either mostly or completely produced electronically by synthesizers, modulators, and drum machines. Its influence reaches bands as diverse as Aphex Twin, Atari Teenage Riot, and The...
The first embers of what would become synthpop began back in the 1960s and 70s. It grew from multiple musical influences and crucially, from the development of synthesizers in the 1960s. The prelude to the rise of synthpop goes back to the developments made in psychedelic and progressive rock from the late 1960s. Bands such as Pink Floyd, Silver Ap...
During the 1980s everything changed. Synthesizers and drum machines became much cheaper and more portable. The introduction of MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) changed audio production forever, and music videos became the commercial rage. Synthpop found a home in the New Romantic movement. Developing in the London scene, the New Romantic...
It’s all in the name. Synthpop would be nothing without the technological advances made in music production technology. As far back as the 1950s, advances in computer processing trickled down to music creation. These devices could generate a variety of tones and repetitive figures and sustain signals indefinitely, going beyond what any human could ...
Talking about all of the genre-defining bands and songs would take a semester of college lectures. For now, let’s look at a few of the bands, artists, and their songs that brought synthpop to pop culture.
Brian Eno – Here Come the Warm Jets, Roxy Music, Heroes
Brian Eno has lived an eclectic musical career. He’s worked in progressive rock, created classical compositions, and has become known as a highly respected record producer. He’s also a massive creative force behind ambient music. In addition to all that, Eno found time to help lay the foundations for synthpop. Heroes(Eno co-wrote the title track and others with David Bowie) is a classic example of powerful melodies over a bed of ambient electronic sounds. While Brian Eno’s solo music is not a...
Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene
French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre is another example of the early proponents of synthpop. His classical album Oxygenewas recorded using a home studio, which was very rare at the time, with both analog and some of the earliest examples of digital synths. This particular album influenced a whole generation of EDM producers a decade later.
Suicide – Cheree
Suicide was a synth-punk duo from New York. The duo made great strides with minimalist electronic instrumentation with sparse lyrics. Their hit record Chereeranks as one of the top 100 indie singles ever and is a perfect example of the minimalist style that influences early synthpop.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – Enola Gay
British electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is one of the pioneers of 80s synthpop. Their mix of experimental sounds with minimalist lyrics defined the sound of 1980s electronic pop music. Their hit single Enola Gayis an anti-war song that sold over 5 million copies. It also enjoyed lasting popularity in the LGBTQ community.
Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Soft Cell is a duo from the UK that achieved popularity in the early 1980s. One of their most influential hit songs was Tainted love, written by Ed Cobb and originally recorded in 1964. A slower tempo and the exclusive use of synths and drum machines provided a sharp contrast to the 1964 version. The Soft Cell remake became a huge hit in the US and the UK to become a synthpop classic.
Duran Duran – The Chauffeur
Duran Duran is one of the best-known new wave bands coming out of Brittian. They rose to high acclaim worldwide in the 1980s. They were at the forefront of the so-called British invasion spearheaded by MTV and music video publicity. Duran Duran also led the rise of the New Romantic scene, with one of their best albums of the era being Rio. “The Chauffer” went on to be a big hit with its accompanying music video, making use of vocal sampling and a range of synth sounds.
Ladytron – Light and Magic
Forming in 1999, Ladytron is a British synthpop group keeping the genre alive well into the 21st century. Their 2003 album Light and Magicshowed off darker sounds compared to their first musical efforts and kick-started their popularity. Ladytron achieved further critical acclaim with Witching Hour (2005) and Velcoifero(2008).
Grimes – Art Angles
Canadian-born singer-songwriter and producer Grimes is an artist with a wide palette of musical influences. She has risen to fame for her dramatic and impressionistic songwriting, as well as her fusion of multiple genres such as synthpop, electronica, indie, nu-metal, and much more. Some of her most successful albums include Art Angles (2015), Visions (2012), and Miss Anthropocene(2020).
La Roux – La Roux
La Roux is a synthpop duo based in the UK formed by singer Elly Jackson and producer Ben Langmaid. Their self-titled debut release in 2009 won a Grammy Award and peaked at number two on the UK album chart. After Langmaid departed the group, Jackson continued to produce music under the same name, with critically acclaimed albums like Trouble in Paradise (2014) and Supervision(2020).
If there is a way to sum up the 1980s in terms of music, synthpop is an obvious choice. The stage antics, artsy and genderless fashionsense, experimentation and provocative themes all describe not only the music but the time in history society was going through. The advances made in synthesizer technology directly affected popular music and gave th...
Synth Pop. Synth Pop was one of the most distinctive subgenres of new wave. In the early '80s, a number of bands -- primarily British and heavily influenced by Roxy Music and David Bowie -- adapted the electronic innovations of bands like Kraftwerk for pop songs. Initially, in the hands of artists like Gary Numan, the Human League, and Depeche ...
Feb 10, 2020 · In many ways, synth-pop could only ever have been born in early ’80s Britain, as radical new tech met unique social conditions: the zenith of analogue synth technology colliding with grim reality as newly-elected Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher began to turn the screw.
- Future Music
Released in 1977, Donna Summer's Moroder-produced I Feel Love and Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express divided pop time in two as profoundly as Anarchy In The UK. The 80s begin there. Bands seized on...
History. [ edit] Influences. Mid 20th Century avant-garde composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen were pioneers in the development of electronic music. The use of synthesizers in rock music began in the 1960s, notably by The Beatles, however, the instruments were highly complex, temperamental, and expensive.
Jun 19, 2019 · Electrical Language: The Secret History of Synth Pop. When the sultans of synth wrested the keys to pop’s executive washroom from guitar strummers in the ’80s, the charts were invaded by electronic outfits like Soft Cell, The Human League, Depeche Mode, et al.
