| Synthpop | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Electronic art music, Post punk, New Wave |
| Cultural origins: | Late 1970s, United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments: | Synthesizer - Drum machine - Tape loops - Drums - Guitar (in latter incarnations were added Sequencer - Keyboard - Sampler) |
| Mainstream popularity: | Large, worldwide, especially in 1980s |
| Derivative forms: | Electroclash |
| Subgenres | |
| Electropop - Electroclash - Futurepop - Synthpunk | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Regional scenes | |
| Other topics | |
Synthpop is a style of popular music in which the Synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. While it might be argued that most current popular and commercial music in the industrialized world is realized via electronic instruments, synthpop has its own stylistic tendencies which differentiate it from other music produced by the same means. These include: the exploitation of artificiality (the synthesizers are not used to imitate acoustic instruments), the use of mechanical rhythms and "feel", the use of vocal arrangements as a counterpoint to the artificiality of the instruments, and the use of Ostinato patterns as an effect. Synthpop song forms are generally the same as in "regular" pop music. Lyrically, synth pop has an affection for science-fiction themes.
Synthpop is sometimes referred to as Electropop although electropop is generally regarded to be a particular style of synthpop that incorporates the more robotic elements and feel of Electro.
Numerous bands in the 1980s were quite successful, however most acts of the 1990s did not have more than a modicum of commercial success in the United States though in Europe, South America, and Asia the genre was more widely accepted.
Synthpop is increasingly used in gothic and industrial circles to describe various dark electronic artists, particularly those in the Electronic body music and Futurepop genres. It is otherwise generally used in its more classic sense, referring to early 1980s synthesizer driven pop acts (e.g., Depeche Mode, Erasure) as well as a variety of New Romantic pop acts from the same era (e.g., Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet).
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