synth-pop
A genre of electronic pop music built primarily around synthesizers, drum machines, and sequencers, emerging from the new wave movement in the early 1980s.
In Depth
Synth-pop crystallized in the early 1980s when affordable synthesizers like the Roland Jupiter-8 and Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 became available, along with programmable drum machines like the LinnDrum and Roland TR-808. Pioneers like Kraftwerk had established electronic pop in the 1970s, but acts like Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Yazoo, and the Human League made it commercially dominant.
The genre's peak commercial success came between 1981 and 1985, with chart-topping hits from Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, and Tears for Fears. Unlike earlier electronic music, synth-pop foregrounded catchy melodies and emotional vocals alongside its mechanical rhythms. After declining in the late 1980s, synth-pop has experienced repeated revivals — Ladytron and Fischerspooner in the early 2000s, then Chvrches, Grimes, and Purity Ring in the 2010s. Its influence on modern pop production is immeasurable.
Depeche Mode started as a cheerful synth-pop group playing songs about seaside holidays — their evolution into one of the darkest, most influential electronic acts was entirely unplanned.