Editing Synth-pop (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Sequential Circuits Prophet 5.jpg|thumb|alt=A colour photograph of a synthesizer with a keyboard |The [[Prophet-5]], one of the first [[polyphonic synthesizer]]s. It was widely used in 1980s synth-pop, along with the [[Roland Jupiter-4|Roland Jupiter]] and [[Yamaha DX7]].]]
Synth-pop is defined by its primary use of synthesizers, [[drum machine]]s and [[Music sequencer|sequencers]], sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described the genre as diverse but "characterised by a broad set of values that eschewed rock playing styles, rhythms and structures", which were replaced by "synthetic textures" and "robotic rigidity", often defined by the limitations of the new technology,<ref name=Borthwick/> including [[Monophonic (synthesizers)|monophonic]] synthesizers (only able to play one note at a time).<ref>Barry R. Parker, ''Good Vibrations: the Physics of Music'' (Boston MD: JHU Press, 2009), {{ISBN|0-8018-9264-3}}, p. 213.</ref>

Many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce the music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were "typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic 'progression' to speak of".<ref>{{Citation |author=M. Spicer |contribution=Reggatta de Blanc: analysing style in the music of the police |year=2010 |title=Sounding Out Pop: Analytical Essays in Popular Music |editor1=J. Covach |editor2=M. Spicer |isbn=978-0-472-03400-0 |pages=124–49 |publisher=University of Michigan Press }}</ref> Early synth-pop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection.<ref name=AMsynthpop/><ref name="Reynolds2010"/> Common lyrical themes of synth-pop songs were isolation, urban [[anomie]], and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow.<ref name=Reynolds2009/>

In its second phase in the 1980s,<ref name=Reynolds2009/> the introduction of dance beats and more conventional rock instrumentation made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop.<ref name=AMsynthpop>{{citation|title=Synth pop |publisher=AllMusic |url={{AllMusic|class=explore|id=style/d18|pure_url=yes}} |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5x6RaN2Dj?url=http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/synth-pop-d18 |archive-date=11 March 2011 |url-status=dead }}.</ref><ref name="Reynolds2010"/> Synthesizers were increasingly used to imitate the conventional and clichéd sound of orchestras and horns. Thin, treble-dominant, synthesized melodies and simple drum programmes gave way to thick, and compressed production, and a more conventional drum sound.<ref name=Cateforis2009/> Lyrics were generally more optimistic, dealing with more traditional subject matter for pop music such as romance, escapism and aspiration.<ref name=Reynolds2009/> According to music writer [[Simon Reynolds]], the hallmark of 1980s synth-pop was its "emotional, at times operatic singers" such as [[Marc Almond]], [[Alison Moyet]] and [[Annie Lennox]].<ref name="Reynolds2010">{{citation|title=The 1980s revival that lasted an entire decade |author=S. Reynolds |journal=The Guardian |date=22 January 2010 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/jan/22/eighties-revival-decade |author-link=Simon Reynolds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906075519/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/jan/22/eighties-revival-decade |archive-date=6 September 2011 |location=London |url-status=dead }}</ref> Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of a duo where their partner played all the instrumentation.<ref name=Reynolds2009>{{citation|title=One nation under a Moog |author=S. Reynolds |journal=The Guardian |date=10 October 2009 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/10/synth-pop-80s-reynolds |author-link=Simon Reynolds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513040458/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/10/synth-pop-80s-reynolds |archive-date=13 May 2011 |location=London |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Although synth-pop in part arose from [[punk rock]], it abandoned punk's emphasis on ''authenticity'' and often pursued a deliberate ''artificiality'', drawing on the critically derided forms such as disco and [[glam rock]].<ref name=Borthwick>{{citation|title=Popular Music Genres: an Introduction|author1=S. Borthwick  |author2=R. Moy  |name-list-style=amp |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7486-1745-6 |chapter=Synthpop: into the digital age |publisher=Routledge |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGPdDwAAQBAJ}}</ref> It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in [[jazz]], [[folk music]] or the [[blues]],<ref name=Borthwick/> and instead of looking to America, in its early stages, it consciously focused on European and particularly Eastern European influences, which were reflected in band names like Spandau Ballet and songs like Ultravox's "[[Vienna (Ultravox song)|Vienna]]".<ref name="Reynolds2005p327">{{citation|title=Rip It Up and Start Again Postpunk 1978–1984 |author=S. Reynolds |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-571-21570-6 |page=327 |publisher=Faber & Faber |author-link=Simon Reynolds }}</ref> Later synth-pop saw a shift to a style more influenced by other genres, such as [[soul music]].<ref name="Reynolds2005p327"/>