Synthpop Era
tagStarted 1979Peak 1981-1985Last big hit 1986
Pop built on analog and early digital synthesizers and drum machines: sequenced arpeggios, cold pad washes, robotic basslines and detached, melodic vocals. New Wave melodicism with electronic textures replacing guitars, yielding catchy, danceable singles with a futuristic, often melancholic European sheen.
History
Inspired by Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder and enabled by newly affordable synths and drum machines like the Roland CR-78 and, from 1982, the LinnDrum, British acts such as Depeche Mode, the Human League and Soft Cell pushed all-electronic pop onto the charts around 1981. MTV amplified the look before the pure-synthpop wave gave way mid-decade to harder dance and rock production.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synth-pop
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_CR-78
- https://www.classicpopmag.com/features/synth-pop-the-rise-of-the-machines/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_You_Want_Me