Modern synthpop

Modern Synthpop is the term given to bands who emerged in the post-grunge era that recalled the synthpop bands of the 1980s and eschewed guitars. The record label A Different Drum distributes much of the genre's entire output, but representative acts are also occasionally self-released, like Color Theory and Carol Masters, or signed to a handful of other small indie labels like Ninthwave Records, Jarret, and Synthphony. Most “bands” in the genre often consist of one or two members and are usually self produced (see bedroom producing) rather than professionally produced.

Modern Synthpop is a microgenre of the larger synthpop genre in pop music.

History

With the arrival of grunge in the early 1990s most major US labels no longer signed or supported the synthesizer-oriented bands popular in the 1980s. Some bands who would be embraced by Modern Synthpop fans like Red Flag and Anything Box were dropped by their labels and began self-releasing new albums. Other new bands like Tony Reed and Synthetic FM began to use the new medium of the internet to distribute their music. Other bands came up through the Christian Music label system. Among the more popular modern synthpop acts are Echoing Green, Cosmicity, and Color Theory.

These bands were influenced by 1980s acts like Depeche Mode (perhaps the most influential band in the scene), Erasure, Information Society, The Pet Shop Boys, OMD, and Alphaville.

While Modern Synthpop is a heavily U.S.-centric scene, some of the more important bands to emerge in the genre, such as De/Vision and Mesh, are European. However many such bands signed to major labels in Europe are not strictly part of the indie-oriented Modern Synthpop. European bands signed to the aforementioned U.S. labels and their ilk include Blue October, The Nine, Spray, and Empire State Human.

Modern Synthpop and Christian Music

Some of the bands active in the genre come from a strong Christian background. It has been suggested by some active in the genre that this is because synthpop is a far less aggressive form of pop music and therefore more suited to young people seeking to express themselves while still maintaining Christian values.

Some bands, like Cosmicity and Ganymede, have never expressed strong ties to Christianity, while others often muted their connection despite being on Christian labels (Joy Electric for example). Cosmicity caused controversy early in their career by swearing on one of their songs and more recently by poking fun at Mormons on the best of set Definitive.

The strong connection to midwestern Christian values provides an interesting contrast with the gay club origins of classic synthpop, like Erasure, Soft Cell, and The Pet Shop Boys. Much of the subversive and sexualized content of early synthpop is still highly present in the closely related genres of industrial futurepop and, to a lesser extent, house music.

A Different Drum

Modern synthpop as a genre was coalesced in the mid 1990s by the emergence of the A Different Drum label out of Salt Lake City. The label started as a mail order business but soon began to release their own CDs from bands who sent in demos. The label also began to release albums from established modern synthpop bands like Cosmicity and Echoing Green and eventually from classic synthpop acts like Alphaville and Real Life. The label also released of one the best selling modern synthpop albums ever, Iris’s Disconnect. Disconnect featured one of the few modern synthpop songs to be played at mainstream dance clubs, “Annie, Would I Lie To You.” In online discussions the band has said that several thousand copies of that album have been sold.

It was also during this time that two key labels that focused on synthpop emerged as well. Jarret Records released albums by Anything Box but vanished within a couple of years, while longer lived has been Synthphony, who initially released single artist albums but recently have released mostly remix collections.

Importance of Various Artist Collection Albums in the Genre

The very first CD that A Different Drum released was a collection of the some of the more high-profile synthpoop music being released in Europe. Other labels like Synthphony and Ninthwave also started with CDs that collected songs by various artists. Often these sets have been popular because they feature remixes or unreleased tracks from popular bands. They have also been helpful for fans of the genre to hear new bands. Popular ongoing series include Electricity and WXJL from Ninthwave, Synthpop Club Anthems and State of Synthpop from A Different Drum and Synthphony’s REMIXed series.

Emergence of Electroclash

The late 1990s into 2001 saw what was arguably the height of the genre, demonstrating it’s maturity but also its limitations. A national magazine, Lexicon Magazine, focused on the Genre, but folded in 2001. Two large scale “festivals” were held in Los Angeles California in 2000 and 2001 under the name Synthcon. The 2000 Synthcon saw the debut of Soviet, one of the few bands to cross over to the Electroclash scene and also saw an informal reuniting of one of the more influential synthpop bands Information Society.

Funding problems plagued both festivals, to the point that the 2001 festival collapsed mid way through. A larger scale festival, Synthpop Goes the World was held in Toronto in 2003 but has not been repeated. A smaller scale festival has been held in 2004, 2005 and 2006 in Salt Lake City by A Different Drum.

Modern Synthpop was briefly lumped with the explosion of the Electroclash movement in 2002. However, fans of both generes often fought to distance themselves. Aside from Soviet and the Boston band Freezepop, few Modern Synthpop bands were able to jump on the Electroclash bandwagon.

Decline

Since 2002, some have claimed the genre to be in declined or to have splintered. The failure of Synthcon 2001, the near collapse of Ninthwave Records, the disappearance of Lexicon Magazine, and the failure of a succession of fan websites are all testaments to these perceptions.

However, A Different Drum continues to flourish, the genre continues to exert heavy influence on EBM and industrial music, and arguably the biggest modern synthpop album ever came out in 2003, from the Postal Service. Although the Postal Service are not a product of the modern synthpop scene, they have distilled a number of the same influences.

A Partial List of bands in the Modern Synthpop Genre

This is by no means a complete list, additions are welcome and needed. Some bands are here because they may have released albums that were synthpop but now have moved on to more mainstream sounds.