Synthpop

Synthpop is a genre of music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It originated as part of the New Wave movement of the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, and it has continued to exist and develop ever since. The genre has seen a resurgence in popularity in the late 2000s/early 2010s.

Characteristics

While most current popular music in the industrialized world is realized via electronic instruments, synthpop has its own stylistic tendencies which differentiate it from other music produced by the same means. These include the exploitation of artificiality (i.e., the synthesis of sounds from waveforms) where the synthesizers are not used to imitate acoustic instruments, the use of mechanical sounding rhythms, vocal arrangements as a counterpoint to the artificiality of the instruments, and ostinato patterns as an effect. Synthpop song structures are generally similar to those of other popular music.

History

Influences

Mid-twentieth-century avant-garde and musique concrète composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen were pioneers in the development of electronic music. However, the instruments were originally large, highly complex, temperamental, and expensive. The use of synthesizers in rock music began in the 1960s, notably by the Beatles. In the late 1960s, there was a surge of Moog synthesizer-affected albums by artists like Perrey and Kingsley, Dick Hyman and, most notably, Wendy Carlos. In 1972, jazz musician Stan Free, under the pseudonym Hot Butter had a top 10 hit in the United States and United Kingdom with a cover of the 1969 Gershon Kingsley song "Popcorn". It is considered a forerunner to synthpop due to the use of the Moog synthesizer.^[1] David Bowie, Roxy Music, and Kraftwerk influenced the first wave of British Synthpop.^[2]

First wave: 1977–1990

Kraftwerk, one of the first bands to popularize synthpop.

Giorgio Moroder paired up with Donna Summer in 1977 to release the electronic disco song I Feel Love. While a disco song first and foremost, the programmed, arpeggiated beats had a profound impact on the bands which would soon be known as synthpop. That same year, Ultravox member Warren Cann purchased a Roland TR-77 drum machine, which was first featured in their October 1977 single release Hiroshima Mon Amour.

In 1978, the first incarnation of The Human League of Sheffield, England released their debut single "Being Boiled". In the United States, Devo, who had been using synthesizers since their beginnings in 1975, moved towards a more electronic sound.

In the UK, the original synthesizer bands had a sound that was generally dark, moody and robotic and were more founded in an avant-garde, art rock aesthetic. In 1979, Tubeway Army, a little known outfit from West London, who dropped their initial punk rock image and topped the UK charts in the summer of 1979 with the single "Are Friends Electric?" and their album Replicas. This prompted the singer/songwriter, Gary Numan to go solo and in the same year he released the Kraftwerk inspired album, The Pleasure Principle which was another number one album, and he topped the singles charts for the second time with "Cars".

This Zeitgeist of revolution in electronic music performance and recording/production was encapsulated by then would be record producer, Trevor Horn of The Buggles in the international hit "Video Killed the Radio Star".

Giorgio Moroder collaborated with the band Sparks on their album, No. 1 In Heaven. Others were soon to follow, including Frank Tovey, who performed under the name Fad Gadget. Tovey who was signed to Daniel Miller's Mute Records and made use of "found objects" in his recordings such as bottles and razors. Daniel Miller himself had a role in the emerging futurist movement as a performer under the name The Normal which released a one-off single Warm Leatherette. Although the single did not chart, it became a cult favorite and has been covered by many artists since its release, including Grace Jones, Duran Duran and Nine Inch Nails.

Depeche Mode, one of the most successful synthpop bands of all time.

The sounds of synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s as well as replacing disco in dance clubs in Europe. Other successful synthpop artists of this era included Alphaville, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, New Order, The Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Thomas Dolby, Yazoo, Art of Noise, Heaven 17, OMD, Japan, Thompson Twins, Eurythmics, a-ha, Telex, Tears For Fears (though the latter two would branch out into a wider rock/pop sound), Real Life, Camouflage, Modern Talking, Bananarama, and others are bands of the Synthpop style.

In early synthpop the synthesizer stood out and the music sounded eerie, sterile and slightly menacing. By the mid 1980s the technology had improved to the point that synthpop acts used the instrument to create a sound that resembled many instruments and allowed mainstream rock and pop acts to incorporate the synthesizer into their sound. At this point the synthesizer did not stand out and the differences between synthpop and mainstream music started to decrease.^[2][3] According to music writer Simon Reynolds the hallmark of original synthpop was its "emotional, at times operatic singers" such as Marc Almond, Alison Moyet and Annie Lennox.^[4]

Throughout the United States, where synthpop is considered a sub genre of New Wave^[3][2], the genre became popular, in large part due to the cable music channel MTV.^[3]. In Los Angeles, a small Pasadena radio station helped to expand synthpop throughout LA's younger community and the surrounding (+ world wide) market. That outlet through KROQ (106.7 MHz), in Pasadena, CA, opened new wave and synthpop more than any other source in the United States at the time. In addition, filmmaker John Hughes also played a major role in popularizing the genre through films such as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink.^[5]

At the end of the 1980s with the help of a gay audience Erasure, Information Society, Anything Box, and Red Flag made headway on the United States dance charts.^[6][7]

Synthpop hiatus: 1991–2008

By 1991 in the United States synthpop was losing its commercial viability as alternative radio stations were responding to the popularity of grunge rock.^[8][6] Exceptions during the decade were Savage Garden, The Rentals, and Moog Cookbook.^[6]

Synthpop artists, such as Joy Electric have been influenced by the pioneering analog-coldwave sounds of the mid 1970s to early 1980s and have established a purist sound taken from the pre-sampling era. Low-fidelity synthpop artists Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields, Microfilm and Ariel Pink have found success on independent labels.

In Europe underground and counterculture bands loosely labeled as Electronic Body Music^[9] and Futurepop like Apoptygma Berzerk, Covenant, The Crüxshadows, VNV Nation, And One, Spock, Mesh, & deVision also contributed to synthpop by blending elements of Industrial and alternative pop music. The band Freezepop gained popularity in the video game market.^[10]

By the end of the 1990s many of the 1980s acts had been dropped by their labels and added other elements to their sound.^[6]

2009–present

Lights, a Canadian synthpop singer who became popular in the late 2000s.

Acts described as synthpop in recent years include Hot Chip, Cut Copy, Lights,^[11] Metric, Little Boots,^[12] Owl City (who achieved a number 1 US single),^[13] Ladytron, Phoenix,^[14] Passion Pit,^[15] The Presets,^[16] Ladyhawke,^[17] La Roux,^[18] Robyn,^[19][20] Röyksopp,^[21] Tesla Boy,^[22] and Shy Child.^[23]

Artists

See also

• Darkwave
• Schaffel beat – triplet feel popularized in electronic music by acts like Depeche Mode, Erasure, Covenant, The Knife, and Goldfrapp.

References

External links

• Synthpop resources on the net
• Online directory of synthpop web resources