Synth-pop

Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop;[10] also called techno-pop[11][12]) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument.[13] It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic, art rock, disco, and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk. It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s.

Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. 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. The development of inexpensive polyphonic synthesizers, the definition of MIDI and the use of dance beats, led to a more commercial and accessible sound for synth-pop. This, its adoption by the style-conscious acts from the New Romantic movement, together with the rise of MTV, led to success for large numbers of British synth-pop acts in the US during the Second British Invasion.

The term "techno-pop" was coined by Yuzuru Agi in his critique of Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine in 1978 and is considered a case of multiple discovery of naming. Hence, the term can be used interchangeably with "synth-pop", but is more frequently used to describe the scene of Japan.[14] The term "techno-pop" became also popular in Europe, where it started: German band Kraftwerk's 1986 album was titled Techno Pop; English band the Buggles has a song named "Technopop" and Spanish band Mecano described their style as tecno-pop.[15]

"Synth-pop" is sometimes used interchangeably with "electropop",[12] but "electropop" may also denote a variant of synth-pop that places more emphasis on a harder, more electronic sound.[16] In the mid to late 1980s, duos such as Erasure and Pet Shop Boys adopted a style that was highly successful on the US dance charts, but by the end of the decade, the synth-pop of bands such as A-ha and Alphaville was giving way to house music and techno. Interest in synth-pop began to revive in the indietronica and electroclash movements in the late 1990s, and in the 2000s synth-pop enjoyed a widespread revival and commercial success.

The genre has received criticism for alleged lack of emotion and musicianship; prominent artists have spoken out against detractors who believed that synthesizers themselves composed and played the songs. Synth-pop music has established a place for the synthesizer as a major element of pop and rock music, directly influencing subsequent genres (including house music and Detroit techno) and has indirectly influenced many other genres, as well as individual recordings.

  1. ^ a b Zaleski, Anne (26 February 2015). "Where to start with '80s U.K. synth-pop". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Reynolds2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e Paul Lester (20 October 2022). "Things that dreams are made of: The birth of synth-pop". Classic Pop.
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Borthwick was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The New Synthesizer Rock". Keyboard. June 1982. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  6. ^ Synth Pop at AllMusic
  7. ^ Fisher, Mark (2010). "You Remind Me of Gold: Dialogue with Simon Reynolds". Kaleidoscope (9).
  8. ^ a b Trask, Simon (September 1988). "The Techno Wave". Music Technology. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  9. ^ Glenn Appell; David Hemphill (2006). American popular music: a multicultural history. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. p. 423. ISBN 978-0155062290. Retrieved 12 May 2012. The 1980s brought the dawning age of the synthesizer in rock. Synth pop, a spare, synthesizer-based dance pop sound, was its first embodiment.
  10. ^ Trynka & Bacon 1996, p. 60.
  11. ^ "High-fidelity sound systems". Stereo Review. 48: 89. 1983.
  12. ^ a b Collins, Schedel & Wilson 2013, p. 97, "synth pop (also called electro pop, techno pop, and the like)"; Hoffmann 2004, p. 2153, "Techno-pop, also termed synth-pop or electro-pop"
  13. ^ "Synth-Pop Music Guide: A Brief History of Synth-Pop". Masterclass. 7 June 2021.
  14. ^ Shikata, Hiroaki (17 October 2005). "The Origin of Techno-pop". All About (in Japanese).
  15. ^ "Mecano site".
  16. ^ Jones 2006, p. 107.

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