Electropop / Synthpop
familyStarted 1977Peak 1981-1986, 2009-2015Last big hit still active
Pop built on synthesizers, drum machines, and sequencers rather than guitars: glossy electronic hooks, programmed grooves, and digital or analog-modeled textures ranging from icy and futuristic to warm and retro. Vocals sit atop blinking arpeggios, fat bass synths, and clipped four-on-the-floor or motorik beats.
History
Born when affordable synths and drum machines let late-70s acts trade rock instrumentation for circuitry. UK pioneers turned Kraftwerk's machine music into chart pop across the early 80s, then MTV globalized it. The sound receded in the 90s, surged back in a late-2000s electropop revival, and splintered into synthwave, hyperpop, and darkwave strands.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synth-pop
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electropop
- https://www.allmusic.com/style/synth-pop-ma0000002601