Synth-Pop Music Guide: A Brief History of Synth-Pop

Synth-pop is a popular music genre that combines the post-punk energy of new wave with the innovations of 1970s electronic music. Riding a wave of synthesizer technology, groups like New Order, the Human League, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, and Eurythmics scored numerous hits in the United States, the UK, and around the world.

Synth-pop—sometimes referred to as electro-pop—stems from the electronic music of the 1970s that Kraftwerk and Brian Eno helped pioneer. Like these early electronic acts, synth-pop groups favored early synthesizers (such as the Minimoog from Robert Moog) and drum machines (particularly the Roland TR-808 and TR-909). While many 1970s electronic compositions were meandering and experimental (see Eno's collaborations with David Bowie on Heroes), synth-pop songs were often short and succinct, slotting perfectly into FM radio stations and MTV.

Rooted in punk rock, the synth-pop genre rose to prominence quickly and continues to influence popular music today.

• Punk rock origins: Most of the musicians who defined the synth-pop movement have their origins in punk rock. Tubeway Army, an English group fronted by Gary Numan, scored a record contract based on their guitar-driven live shows. Yet their eponymous debut album arrived in 1978 packed with synth sounds thanks to Numan's discovery of the Minimoog synthesizer. This sound defined one of their major hits, "Are Friends Electric?" Meanwhile, the British band New Order arose from the ashes of Joy Division, a guitar group built on lead singer Ian Curtis's dour, post-punk energy. Following Curtis's death, the group handed vocal duties to guitarist Bernard Sumner and made keyboards a more integral part of the New Order sound.
• Skyrocketing popularity: It did not take long for synth-pop to rocket up the pop charts. Thanks to ample hooks and clever music videos, many groups enjoyed rapid mainstream success including Duran Duran, Soft Cell, Thomas Dolby, Ultravox, Alphaville, the Thompson Twins, the Human League, and Tears for Fears. When A Flock of Seagulls released "I Ran (So Far Away)" in 1982, it was a massive MTV hit, as were "Take on Me" for A-ha and "Fade to Grey" for Visage.
• Convergence with electronic dance: By the late 1980s, synth-pop had begun to merge with the electronic dance styles of the era, such as Chicago house and Detroit techno. Groups like Erasure, the Communards, and Pet Shop Boys scored radio hits but did even better at raves and dance clubs in New York City, London, and Berlin.
• Lasting influence: Synth-pop waned in the 1990s, as pop music tastes swung back to live instruments. But by the 2010s, guitar music had started to fade in popularity, and a new wave of synth-pop bands began to emerge including Chvrches, La Roux, the Naked and Famous, Cut Copy, and Calvin Harris. Synth-pop keyboards and drum machines have also taken hold among indie and hip hop artists of the present day.

Most synth-pop songs share a few common characteristics.

1. 1. Songs based around synthesizers and drum machines: Popular synth-pop instruments include the Yamaha DX7 keyboard, the Roland TR-808 drum machine, the Roland Jupiter, and the Sequential Prophet-5.
2. 2. Simple lyrics: In the spirit of disco, synth-pop groups tended to favor light, playful lyrics that focused on love and partying. Hits like the Human League's "Don't You Want Me" and Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" have lyrics about love and longing. Yet a handful of synth-pop songs do take on deeper themes, such as "Enola Gay" by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD).
3. 3. Gender-bending fashion: Following the spirit of their forebear, David Bowie, many synth-pop groups embraced androgynous looks—like Eurhythmics’ singer Annie Lennox, Depeche Mode's Martin Gore, and the Human League’s frontman Phil Oakey. Much of synth-pop fashion intersects with the New Romantic movement of early 1980s’ London.

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