Synth Pop

1977 - Its rise

1990 - its fall

Explore synth pop artists of the 70s and 80s

or listen to our playlist as you immerse yourself in the history of Synth-pop…

5 minutes on the history of Synth pop

Minus a synthesizer, it’s just like your ex.

Dark and sinister yet bubbly and bouncy at the same time.

And you know deep down you’ll always be in love...

Even though that Post-Punk time of your life was simply a New Wave and mostly experimental.

What is synth pop?

I am sure you have seen the term when reading about your favorite pop stars like Lady Gaga, Owl City, Lord, or Robin. However, what exactly is synth pop, and how is it different from other pop music subgenres? Well, keep reading, and I'll shed some light on the history of the Synth Pop genre.

The History of Synth Pop in the 70s and 80s

Synth pop is a derivative genre of pop music, mixing the sounds of disco music with pop. It also borrows elements from progressive rock and art-rock. It was one of the most popular subgenres globally from the late 70s to the late 80s. The places where it reached the highest popularity levels were the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

Synth pop is short for synthesizer pop and is electronic and pop music. The synthesizer is the dominant sound; synth pop is typically associated and distinguished by its heavy use of drum machines and sequencers.

Synth Pop explores the artificiality of music. Its main distinctive features are the use of synthesizers to imitate instruments, the use of prerecorded mechanical rhythm, vocal arrangements, and distortions for the voice and the ostinato (which is a figure that repeats consecutively and for several measures). Synth pop track structures are identical to those of pop music.

The genre appears as influenced by David Bowie, Brian Eno, or Roxy's music, in a series of British bands, which, in turn, adapted to new electronic sounds and drum machines.

Also, synth pop and electro-pop are often used interchangeably. However, they are two different genres; the main difference is that electro-pop draws more heavily from electronic elements than synth pop.

Where and when did synth pop originate?

The origin of synth pop dates back to the development of synthesizers, and the pioneers of the genre were the Germans "Kraftwerk" clearly influential on David Bowie himself, and those who came later. Other notable mentions include Jean Michel Jarre, Gary Numan, Giorgio Moroder, Fad Gadget, and the Human League, who have been exploring electronic sounds in Europe and America since the 1970s.

The phenomenon was Western; bands like Yellow Magic Orchestra and Hikashu also created their sound and became immensely popular in Japan. Meanwhile, the now-legendary songs "I Feel Love" (1977) by Donna Summer, produced by Moroder; Visage's "Fade To Gray" (1980) and The Flirts "Passion" (1982) set trends with powerful bass and sparkling melodies as the 80s were beginning.

Many factors contributed to the birth of synth pop, one of the most important was the creation of the Moog synthesizer in 1964. Also, the later introduction of the Minimoog version, which was portable and practical for live performances. It could be seen adopted by musicians like Pink Floyd and Yes, who, in turn, began to define the psychedelic synth-rock sound. Although the synthetic, city-dwelling character of synth pop was initially criticized, it soon gained adherents, and many bands started to experiment with synthesizers.

Synth pop was seen as minimalist and artificial, contrasted with punk's anger, despair, and vague menace, yet still managed to establish an urban identity that soon took on a futuristic tinge and attracted sci-fi enthusiasts.

Typical lyrical themes were that of isolation and being emotionally cold or hollow. This was because early monophonic synthesizers could only play one note at a time. The invention of the midi keyboard and polyphonic synthesizers led to a massive rise in the 1980s in which its characteristic sounds dominated most of the pop music.

Synth pop was initially criticized for being soulless because some people way back in the dark ages felt that synth pop was not a real instrument note. It was also associated with the LGBTQ community as many synth pop stars were accused of gender-bending.

Some of the most distinctive songs from early synth pop are Gary Numan's "Cars" (1979), Depeche Mode's "Photographic" (1981), "Only You" (1982) by the English band Yazoo.

There were relevant groups that incorporated complex visual elements, such as the German Kraftwerk veterans, who took up, for example, Russian constructivism. Other influential musicians include Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno with Roxy Music, whose novel use of electronic instruments impressed audiences and generated a lasting influence.

Parallel to the post-punk era, synth pop emerged with superior force as bands like Depeche Mode and Soft Cell began to conquer a more broad audience's fears. Synth technology rapidly evolved, invading both nightclubs and radio stations with innovative dance sounds and transforming existing genres such as disco and pop. Soon neon, metallic colors, and fantastic landscapes became unmistakable as part of the synth pop aesthetic. Subgenres quickly appeared; for example, the hyperactive HI-NRG is an exaggerated and frenzied version of the synth pop sound. Around this time, MIDI technology was introduced, and the ability to use synthesizers was greatly facilitated.

By the second half of the eighties, synth pop had spread notoriously; acts such as Eurythmics and Erasure enjoyed absolute success, and synthetic sounds continued to pervade other currents. This is how synth pop became iconic in the 1980s, a decade that saw the rise of legendary bands like Depeche Mode and New Order.

Notable Synth Pop Songs of the 80s

Don't you want me -and the Human League, who have been exploring electronic sounds: In 1981, the British quintet The Human League released "Dare," the album that marked their commercial and artistic consecration. The leading single from that album was "Don't You Want Me," a song that would immediately climb to number 1 in the United Kingdom. Also on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, where it remained for three consecutive weeks. The song, which was defined by a critic of the time as "a devastating chronicle of a frayed romance wrapped in the best pop hooks," has sold more than a million and a half copies so far, becoming the 23rd most successful single in the history of British popular music.

People are people - Depeche Mode: Included on the album "Some Great Reward," this 1984 song is one of the most representative titles of the Depeche Mode sound in the first half of the 80s. The song, whose lyrics condemn racism ("I can't understand what makes a man hate another man, Help me understand," sings in one of the choirs by keyboardist Martin Gore, composer of the song), stands out for its sound with hard drum and etched metal tapping.

West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys: Singer Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, the English duo Pet Shop Boys, reached the top of the charts in America and the United Kingdom with this 1985 song. It also won the award for the best single of that year in the Brit Awards. The theme was also chosen as the best international success at the Ivor Novello Awards and obtained, ten years after its release, the award for "Song of the decade 1985-1994" by the British Academy of Compos Songwriters.

Sometimes - Erasure: Included on the album "The Circus," the second album by the English duo Erasure, this 1986 song became one of their biggest hits. It occupied the number 2 position in the British rankings and entered the United Kingdom's dance clubs for the first time. This song and other singles that stood out from the album "The Circus," the critics commented that "if there was something like a formula for the perfect pop for the late 80′s then Vince Clarke (keyboardist and former member by Depeche Mode and Yazoo) and Andy Bell (singer) may own the copyright.

Strangelove - Depeche Mode: Included on the album "Music for the masses," this 1987 song composed by keyboardist Martin Gore positioned Depeche Mode in the world rankings, anticipating the success of their later album, "Violator," released in 1990. The song, which stands out for the powerful vocal performance of Dave Gahan. And the musical drama and sonic aggressiveness provided by the synthesizers played by Alan Wilder, Martin Glore, and Andrew Fletcher have metaphorical lyrics that speak of desire, sin, and masochism, condensed in the "strange love" that gives the song its name.

Decline in Popularity

By the end of the 80s, synth pop suffered a decline and almost forgotten, partly because of the revival of rock music, often represented by the British band The Smiths in Europe and the grunge in North America. In 1994 we can say that synth pop has its decline, but it helped establish the synthesizer as an instrument of pop music. Although it did not completely disappear in the 1990s (bands like Wolfsheim, Daft Punk, and Pet Shop Boys continued to produce electronic music), the genre lost its commercial appeal for several years. It remained quietly alive in the underground scene until its surprising return in the first decade of 2000. During the 2000s, bands like Crystal Castles, Owl City, M83, Grimes, and Chvrches resurrected the genre by bringing it back to the forefront of European summer festivals.

While synth pop, as it was known initially, had disappeared, its influence never ultimately died. At the beginning of 2000, new proposals emerged that took up the sound that had been so popular in the eighties, giving it a frantic and impatient turn that propelled the genre to fame now known as electro.

Among the most representative names of this new wave is Vitalic with his memorable hit "My Friend Dario," Miss Kittin & The Hacker with "Frank Sinatra," and Felix Da Housecat / Chicks On Speed ​​with "Rocket Ride."

By the end of the 2000s, synth pop had returned to both the underground and mainstream scene; its best eras were present in the sound of many promising artists such as Anoraak, Junior Boys, La Roux, Tesla Boy, and The Knife, and also ran in the veins of pop, for example, Confessions On A Dancefloor (2006) by Madonna is a Synthpop album in its entirety. Other pop artists such as Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue, and Kesha also incorporated it into their music.

Currently, synth pop is considered a key piece in electronic music's evolution and will continue to inspire musicians to come.