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Key acts: Ladyhawke, Frankmusik, Kylie Minogue
When Kylie launched her comeback with the hit single Spinning Around in 2000, she heralded a new era for synth pop, one that continues in the work of artists such as Ladytron, the Knife, Hot Chip, Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, and a new tip for 2009, Frankmusik — to yield superb results, albeit with much less commercial impact than Kylie has had. The most persuasive proselytiser for the notion that electronic music can course and thrum with emotion despite being made with machines, synth pop stretches from Giorgio Moroder’s ground-breaking work with Donna Summer in the 1970s to today’s leading lights. Borrowing from both Bowie and Roxy’s consciously arty 1970s releases and the more clinical and robotic work of Kraftwerk et al, it is seen by detractors as all style over substance, lightweight and arch rather than profound and authentic. Synth pop soared in the 1980s: acts such as Duran Duran (whose shoulder-padded posing scarcely helped defenders of the genre) flew the flag for the frothier end of the synth-pop spectrum; the Human League, Ultravox, Yazoo, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics and OMD occupied a middle ground; while Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and New Order stood on the darker side. The Killers briefly looked as if they would encompass the entire territory, though they then decamped for rockier ground. The Las Vegans’ recent re-embracing of synths suggests they’ve realised there remains musical gold to be mined in the genre. The best examples are stylish, certainly. But lacking in substance? I think not.
ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS
Recent: The Killers, Hot Fuss (2004); The Knife, Deep Cuts (2003); Ladyhawke, Ladyhawke (2008)
Classic: The Human League, Dare (1981); Eurythmics, Touch (1983); Pet Shop Boys, Actually (1987)
Key track: Ladyhawke, Paris Is Burning (2008)
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