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Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock , electronic , art rock , disco , and particularly the ...
- Synthwave
Synthwave (also called outrun, retrowave, or futuresynth) is...
- List of Synth-Pop Artists
Synth-pop (also known as electropop or technopop) is a music...
- Synthwave
- 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...
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Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me".
- 1982–present
- Marian Gold, David Goodes, Jakob Kiersch, Carsten Brocker, Alexandra Merl
- Precursors. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, around the same time as rock music began to emerge as a distinct musical genre.
- Origins (1977–1980) Early guitar-based punk rock that came to prominence in the period 1976–77 was initially hostile to the "inauthentic" sound of the synthesizer, but many new wave and post-punk bands that emerged from the movement began to adopt it as a major part of their sound.
- Commercial success (1981–1985) The emergence of synth-pop has been described as "perhaps the single most significant event in melodic music since Mersey-beat".
- Declining popularity (1986–2000) Synth-pop continued into the late 1980s, with a format that moved closer to dance music, including the work of acts such as British duos Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and the Communards.
Rhombicuboctahedron by Leonardo da Vinci. Synthpop is a subgenre of New Wave in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with the era between the late 1970s and early to middle 1980s, although it has continued to exist and develop ever since.
Mar 26, 2024 · Quick Answer. Synth-pop, short for synthesizer pop, is a music genre prominent since the late 1970s, featuring synthesizers as the dominant musical instrument. Originating in Japan and the UK in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement, synth-pop quickly gained popularity for its futuristic sound and catchy melodies.
