105-465: Cut Copy (sometimes stylised as Cut/Copy ) are an Australian synth-pop band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford (vocals, keyboards and guitar). Originally a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning (bass guitar), and Mitchell Scott (drums). The band achieved breakthrough success in 2008 with their second album, In Ghost Colours , which included well-known singles " Lights & Music " and " Hearts on Fire ". Cut Copy
210-455: A Neve Electronics console used by Brian Eno , David Bowie , Queen and The Rolling Stones . From 2022-2023, Cut Copy toured North and South America, Australia, and Europe in support of Freeze, Melt . In 2022, Cut Copy released a vinyl box set chronicling their first decade. The set was limited to 2,000 copies worldwide and the first 1,000 sold out within 8 hours. It contained their first 3 albums which were out-of-print on vinyl for years,
315-435: A Cut Copy performance was essentially Whitford together with Joel McKenzie doing a DJ set that included sampling their own material. Throughout their career, the band has continued to do DJ sets and remixes for others. Whitford began working on the band's debut album in early 2003 and had written half a dozen songs when during a DJ gig, one of their samplers broke down. Together with Hoey, Scott and Foddy he began reinterpreting
420-651: A Doughnut" in particular was an early techno-pop fusion track, which made early use of a music sequencer . Izitso reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, while the song "(Remember the Days of the) Old Schoolyard" was a top 40 hit. That same month, the Beach Boys released their album Love You , performed almost entirely by bandleader Brian Wilson with Moog and ARP synthesizers, and with arrangements somewhat inspired by Wendy Carlos's Switched-On Bach (1968). Although it
525-538: A background in musical theatre, released his own synth-driven re-imagining of Irving Berlin's " Puttin' On the Ritz "; resulting in a subsequent long-play, After Eight , a concept album that takes music of 1930s sensibilities as informed by the soundscape of 1980s technology. The proliferation of acts led to an anti-synth backlash, with groups including Spandau Ballet, Human League, Soft Cell and ABC incorporating more conventional influences and instruments into their sounds. In
630-551: A bass guitarist and a drummer for the rhythm section. A single from the album, " Cars " topped the charts. Numan's main influence at the time was the John Foxx -led new wave band Ultravox who released the album Systems of Romance in 1978. Foxx left Ultravox the following year and scored a synth-pop hit with the single " Underpass " from his first solo album Metamatic in early 1980. In 1979, OMD released their debut single " Electricity ", which has been viewed as integral to
735-410: 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, including monophonic synthesizers (only able to play one note at a time). Many synth-pop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce the music. The result
840-658: A cult leader. The album Free Your Mind was released on 1 November 2013, reaching the top 20 in Australia, but meeting with minor success in the UK and US charts. After rehearsals in Nashville, Cut Copy embarked on a world tour of North and South America through to Europe and Russia. The music video for "We Are Explorers" premiered in February 2014, followed by the release of the vinyl single "In These Arms of Love" for Record Store Day . The latter
945-638: A duo where their partner played all the instrumentation. 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 . It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in jazz , folk music or the blues , 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 ". Later synth-pop saw
1050-516: A four-piece with the addition of bass guitarist Ben Browning. "Where I'm Going" became the theme song of RIM 's BlackBerry PlayBook 's sneak-preview video, which was released in September 2010. The band premiered the new single " Take Me Over " in November 2010 on Triple J's breakfast show with Tom & Alex. In an interview with The Music Network , guitarist Tim Hoey described it as "certainly one of
1155-448: A guitarist playing keyboards, who turned "punk songs into electronic songs". A single from the second Tubeway Army album Replicas , " Are Friends Electric? ", topped the UK charts in the summer of 1979. The discovery that synthesizers could be employed in a different manner from that used in progressive rock or disco, prompted Numan to go solo. On his futuristic album The Pleasure Principle (1979), he played only synths, but retained
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#17330862108131260-445: A hit with their debut single " The Promise ". Several German synth-pop acts of the late 1980s included Camouflage and Celebrate the Nun . Canadian duo Kon Kan had major success with their debut single, " I Beg Your Pardon " in 1989. An American backlash against European synth-pop has been seen as beginning in the mid-1980s with the rise of heartland rock and roots rock . In the UK
1365-430: A large number of acts, a number of them enjoying huge mainstream popularity in the country, like Beograd , Laki Pingvini , Denis & Denis , and Videosex . In the mid-1980s, key artists included solo performer Howard Jones , who S.T. Erlewine has stated to have "merged the technology-intensive sound of new wave with the cheery optimism of hippies and late-'60s pop", (although with notable exceptions including
1470-567: A large number of shows their fan-base grew and three members became more proficient in their instruments. In contrast to previous occasions, Whitford began songwriting with the others in the band. In the first half of 2006, Whitford was asked to produce a mix for the Fabric label, which included a number of Cut Copy mixes. It was released in August 2006 as FabricLive.29 and described as "collection of indie, hip-hop, electroclash and straight up rock". He did
1575-685: A limited cassette run of 400 copies. According to Dan Whitford, the new album was about three-quarters complete as of October 2016. In July 2017, "Airborne" was released as the lead single from the new album. Next month, the band announced that the record would be called Haiku from Zero and simultaneously released the second single, "Standing in the Middle of the Field". The album was released on 22 September 2017 to mostly positive reviews. Despite this, it turned out Cut Copy's least commercially successful album since their debut Bright Like Neon Love , peaking outside
1680-435: A major element of pop and rock music , directly influencing subsequent genres (including house music and Detroit techno ) and has indirectly influenced many other genres, as well as individual recordings. Synth-pop is defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers , sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Borthwick and Moy have described the genre as diverse but "characterised by
1785-618: A major influence on subsequent synth rock. In 1971, the British film A Clockwork Orange was released with a synth soundtrack by American Wendy Carlos . It was the first time many in the United Kingdom had heard electronic music . Philip Oakey of the Human League and Richard H. Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire , as well as music journalist Simon Reynolds, have cited the soundtrack as an inspiration. Electronic music made occasional moves into
1890-497: A major influence on the later synth-pop sound. David Bowie 's Berlin Trilogy , comprising the albums Low (1977), "Heroes" (1977), and Lodger (1979), all featuring Brian Eno, would also be highly influential. The Cat Stevens album Izitso , released in April 1977, updated his pop rock style with the extensive use of synthesizers, giving it a more synth-pop style; "Was Dog
1995-457: A more conventional drum sound. Lyrics were generally more optimistic, dealing with more traditional subject matter for pop music such as romance, escapism and aspiration. 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 . Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of
2100-428: A series of hit singles, beginning with their debut single " Planet Earth " and the UK top five hit " Girls on Film " in 1981. They would soon be followed into the British charts by a large number of bands utilising synthesizers to create catchy three-minute pop songs. In summer 1981 Depeche Mode had their first chart success with " New Life ", followed by the UK top ten hit " Just Can't Get Enough ". A new line-up for
2205-629: A shift to a style more influenced by other genres, such as soul music . Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in the mid-1960s, around the same time as rock music began to emerge as a distinct musical genre. The Mellotron , an electro-mechanical , polyphonic sample-playback keyboard was overtaken by the Moog synthesizer , created by Robert Moog in 1964, which produced completely electronically generated sounds. The portable Minimoog , which allowed much easier use, particularly in live performance
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#17330862108132310-488: A style of electronic dance music influenced by synth-pop and funk that led to the emergence of Detroit techno in the mid-1980s. The continued influence of 1980s synth-pop could be seen in various incarnations of 1990s dance music, including trance . Hip hop artists such as Mobb Deep have sampled 1980s synth-pop songs. Popular artists such as Rihanna , UK stars Jay Sean and Taio Cruz , as well as British pop star Lily Allen on her second album, have also embraced
2415-589: A synthesizer, I’m going to have you. Video Killed the Radio Star is putting musicians out of business." 1980 also saw the release of where "Video Killed the Radio Star" came from, the Buggles' debut album The Age of Plastic , which some writers have labeled as the first landmark of another electropop era, as well as what for many is the defining album of Devo's career, the overtly synth-pop Freedom of Choice . The emergence of synth-pop has been described as "perhaps
2520-609: A synthwave song by the Weeknd, peaked at number one in 29 countries, including the United States, in early 2020; and later became the Billboard number-one greatest song of all time in November 2021. This wave of revival not only popularized established acts but also enabled new artists like Dua Lipa , whose retro-influenced album Future Nostalgia won multiple awards and was hailed for its energetic embrace of vintage pop sounds. Meanwhile, indie artists such as M83 continued to explore
2625-404: A tour and began to play 'a garage band version' of the material. At this stage Foddy left the group to study for his PhD, and the band continued as a three-piece. In 2005, the trio toured internationally for the first time, as support to international acts such as Franz Ferdinand , The Presets , Junior Senior , Bloc Party and Mylo while also playing a number of European festivals. By playing
2730-524: A track, "Love Is All We Share", that was written about a year earlier. On 26 June 2020, the band announced their sixth full-length album, Freeze, Melt , which was released on 21 August. The same day they released the lead song to the album, called "Cold Water". Freeze, Melt was produced by bandleader Dan Whitford and mixed by Christoffer Berg known for his work with The Knife and Fever Ray at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg , Sweden . Berg utilized
2835-495: Is considered a case of multiple discovery of naming. Hence, the term can be used interchangeably with "synth-pop", but is more frequently used to describe the scene of Japan. The term "techno-pop" became also popular in Europe, where it started: German band Kraftwerk's 1986 album was titled Techno Pop ; English band the Buggles has a song named "Technopop" and Spanish band Mecano described their style as tecno-pop. "Synth-pop"
2940-473: Is often displayed as one word with a forward slash in between: Cut/Copy. Whitford began producing music at his home-studio and submitted a demo-tape to Modular Recordings , who subsequently signed him sometime in the first half of 2001. He enlisted the help of veteran guitarist Harry Howard to record the debut single "1981", which was released on vinyl only. With Howard filling in on guitar, Whitford asked his childhood friend Bennett Foddy to join on bass with
3045-527: Is sometimes used interchangeably with " electropop ", but "electropop" may also denote a variant of synth-pop that places more emphasis on a harder, more electronic sound. In the mid to late 1980s, duos such as Erasure and Pet Shop Boys adopted a style that was highly successful on the US dance charts, but by the end of the decade, the synth-pop of bands such as A-ha and Alphaville was giving way to house music and techno . Interest in synth-pop began to revive in
3150-415: Is underground house and techno, with the occasional live PA . A CD series was launched in 2001 under Fabric Records. It rotates monthly between Fabric and FABRICLIVE , with the series showcasing established and emerging DJs. It is entirely independent and operated solely by Fabric. The full list of titles in the series can be seen at Fabric discography . On 19 September 2008, Reilly and Leslie opened
3255-581: The Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks in 2010. She also used the genre on her comeback single " Die Young ". Mainstream female recording artists who have dabbled in the genre in the 2010s include Madonna , Taylor Swift , Katy Perry , Jessie J , Christina Aguilera , and Beyoncé . In Japan, girl group Perfume , along with producer Yasutaka Nakata of Capsule , produced technopop music combining 1980s synth-pop with chiptunes and electro house from 2003. Their breakthrough came in 2008 with
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3360-462: The Japanese Albums chart. Much like Japan, Korean pop music has also become dominated by synth-pop, particularly with girl groups such as f(x) , Girls' Generation and Wonder Girls . In 2020, the genre experienced a resurgence in popularity as 1980s-style synth-pop and synthwave songs from singers such as the Weeknd who gained success on international music charts. " Blinding Lights ",
3465-525: The New Romantic movement. Despite synth-pop's origins in the late 1970s among new wave bands like Tubeway Army and Devo, British journalists and music critics largely abandoned the term "new wave" in the early 1980s. This was in part due to the rise of new artists unaffiliated with the preceding punk/new wave era, as well as aesthetic changes associated with synth-pop's movement into the pop mainstream. According to authors Stuart Borthwick and Ron Moy, "After
3570-751: The Virgin Mobile FreeFest in Columbia, Maryland , US. Zonoscope was supported by further singles "Need You Now" and "Blink and You'll Miss a Revolution" in 2011. In March 2012, bassist Ben Browning released his debut solo EP Lover Motion on Cut Copy's Cutters Records imprint. It was preceded by the single "I Can't Stay". In early September 2013, the full version of the title track to their fourth album Free Your Mind debuted at six specific locations worldwide. Fans were informed that they could visit selected billboards in Mexico, Chile, Australia, two locations in
3675-416: The indietronica and electroclash movements in the late 1990s, and in the 2000s synth-pop enjoyed a widespread revival and commercial success. The genre has received criticism for alleged lack of emotion and musicianship; prominent artists have spoken out against detractors who believed that synthesizers themselves composed and played the songs. Synth-pop music has established a place for the synthesizer as
3780-514: The 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock , electronic , art rock , disco , and particularly the Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk . It arose as a distinct genre in Japan and the United Kingdom in the post-punk era as part of the new wave movement of the late 1970s. Electronic musical synthesizers that could be used practically in a recording studio became available in
3885-409: The 1980s, 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. 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
3990-560: The 1990s were Savage Garden , the Rentals and the Moog Cookbook . Electronic music was also explored from the early 1990s by indietronica bands like Stereolab , EMF , the Utah Saints , and Disco Inferno , who mixed a variety of indie and synthesizer sounds. Indietronica began to take off in the new millennium as the new digital technology developed, with acts such as Broadcast from
4095-585: The Bravery and the Stills all left their synth-pop sound behind after their debut albums and began to explore classic 1970s rock, but the style was picked up by a large number of performers, particularly female solo artists. Following the breakthrough success of Lady Gaga with her single " Just Dance " (2008), the British and other media proclaimed a new era of female synth-pop stars, citing artists such as Little Boots , La Roux , and Ladyhawke . Male acts that emerged in
4200-517: The British music press of the late 1970s and early 1980s for their German influences and characterised by journalist Mick Farren as the " Adolf Hitler Memorial Space Patrol". In 1983, Morrissey of the Smiths stated that "there was nothing more repellent than the synthesizer". During the decade, objections were raised to the quality of compositions and what was called the limited musicianship of artists. Gary Numan observed "hostility" and what he felt
4305-549: The Communards . The Communards' major hits were covers of disco classics " Don't Leave Me This Way " (1986) and " Never Can Say Goodbye " (1987). After adding other elements to their sound, and with the help of a gay audience, several synth-pop acts had success on the US dance charts. Among these were American acts Information Society (who had two top 10 singles in 1988), Anything Box , and Red Flag . British band When in Rome scored
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4410-710: The Dark (OMD) – to 'throw away their guitars' and become a synth act. Kraftwerk had its first hit UK record later in the year with " Autobahn ", which reached number 11 in the British Singles Chart and number 12 in Canada. The group was described by the BBC Four program Synth Britannia as the key to synth-pop's future rise there. In 1977, Giorgio Moroder released the electronic Eurodisco song " I Feel Love " that he had produced for Donna Summer , and its programmed beats would be
4515-546: The Human League along with a new producer and a more commercial sound led to the album Dare (1981), which produced a series of hit singles. These included " Don't You Want Me ", which reached number one in the UK at the end of 1981. Synth-pop reached its commercial peak in the UK in the winter of 1981–2, with bands such as OMD , Japan , Ultravox , Soft Cell , Depeche Mode, Yazoo and even Kraftwerk , enjoying top ten hits. The Human League's and Soft Cell's UK number one singles "Don't You Want Me" and " Tainted Love " became
4620-586: The UK and top 40 in the US. and Thompson Twins , whose popularity peaked in 1984 with the album Into the Gap , which reached No.1 in the UK and the US top ten and spawned several top ten singles. In 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood released their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome (produced by Trevor Horn of the Buggles), with their first three singles, " Relax ", " Two Tribes " and " The Power of Love ", topping
4725-404: The UK chart. The music journalist Paul Lester reflected, "no band has dominated a 12-month period like Frankie ruled 1984". In January 1985, Tears for Fears' single " Shout ", written by Roland Orzabal in his "front room on just a small synthesizer and a drum machine", became their fourth top 5 UK hit; it would later top the charts in multiple countries including the US. Initially dismissed in
4830-690: The UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany, and Ratatat and the Postal Service from the US, mixing a variety of indie sounds with electronic music, largely produced on small independent labels. Similarly, the electroclash subgenre began in New York at the end of the 1990s, combining synth-pop, techno, punk and performance art. It was pioneered by I-F with their track "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" (1998), and pursued by artists including Felix da Housecat , Peaches , Chicks on Speed , and Fischerspooner . It gained international attention at
4935-540: The US (Detroit, and California) and one in the UK at Blaneau Gwent in South Wales. When fans were standing near the billboard, they could open an app which would allow them to stream the track through their smartphones. The track quickly appeared on Triple J's hitlist getting regular airplay. The music video for "Free Your Mind", directed by Christopher Hill and released in October 2013, stars Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgård as
5040-501: The US (unlike the UK), where synth-pop is sometimes considered a "subgenre" of "new wave" and was described as "technopop" or "electropop" by the press at the time, the genre became popular due to the cable music channel MTV , which reached the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles in 1982. It made heavy use of style-conscious New Romantic synth-pop acts, with " I Ran (So Far Away) " (1982) by A Flock of Seagulls generally considered
5145-408: The US the following year. The success of synth-pop and other British acts would be seen as a Second British Invasion . In his early 1980s columns for The Village Voice , music critic Robert Christgau frequently referred to British synth-pop as "Anglodisco", suggesting a parallel to the contemporary genres of Eurodisco and Italo disco , both highly popular outside the US. Indeed, synth-pop
5250-459: The album Game , which led to a renewed interest in technopop within mainstream Japanese pop music. Other Japanese female technopop artists soon followed, including Aira Mitsuki , immi , Mizca , SAWA , Saori Rinne and Sweet Vacation . Model-singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu also shared the same success as Perfume's under Nakata 's production with the album Pamyu Pamyu Revolution in 2012, which topped electronic charts on iTunes as well as
5355-479: The album was finalised at the band's homebase in Melbourne. In May 2007, the band decided to play a small Australian tour while Modular Recordings released the single " Hearts on Fire " digitally and on vinyl. In September, the band had announced the completion of their second album, In Ghost Colours , but its Australian release was delayed until 22 March 2008 to co-ordinate with its international release. The rest of
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#17330862108135460-421: The arrival of indie rock bands, particularly the Smiths , has been seen as marking the end of synth-driven pop and the beginning of the guitar-based music that would dominate rock into the 1990s. By 1991, in the United States synth-pop was losing its commercial viability as alternative radio stations were responding to the popularity of grunge . Exceptions that continued to pursue forms of synth-pop or rock in
5565-615: The band released the So Cosmic mix in February 2008, showing the disco/new wave inspiration behind In Ghost Colours . The album debuted on the ARIA Albums Chart at number one and was also a minor chart success in the UK and the US. Cut Copy's next single, " Lights & Music " was used in video game FIFA 09 . It reached the top 10 in the Australian dance chart and became their most popular song. "Far Away", album's third and final single,
5670-527: The band travelled to New York where the new album was completed in a six-week period. Whitford commented on Goldsworthy's contribution that "he was almost like an extra member of the band and gave us feedback on things that were working and things that he thought we could change. On top of that he has an incredible wealth of experience with what he's done with other records and brought some of those recording techniques to our music". After some mixing in Los Angeles,
5775-404: The band's first 2 EPs which were previously unavailable on vinyl and only available through this set, and a 72-page zine curated by Cut Copy's Dan Whitford. Synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop ; also called techno-pop ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in
5880-463: The beginning of the new millennium and spread to scenes in London and Berlin, but rapidly faded as a recognizable genre as acts began to experiment with a variety of forms of music. In the new millennium, renewed interest in electronic music and nostalgia for the 1980s led to the beginnings of a synth-pop revival, with acts including Adult and Fischerspooner . Between 2003 and 2004, it began to move into
5985-610: The best selling singles in the UK in 1981. In early 1982 synthesizers were so dominant that the Musicians' Union attempted to limit their use. By the end of 1982, these acts had been joined in the charts by synth-based singles from Thomas Dolby , Blancmange , and Tears for Fears . Bands such as Simple Minds also adopted synth-pop into their music on their 1982 album New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84) . ABC and Heaven 17 had commercial success mixing synth-pop with influences from funk and soul music . Dutch entertainer Taco , who has
6090-528: The boundaries of the genre, blending it with shoegaze and ambient music to create a complex, layered sound in their album Digital Shades Vol. 2 . The genre's adaptability and nostalgic appeal have contributed to its enduring presence and continued evolution in the music industry. Synth-pop has received considerable criticism and even prompted hostility among musicians and in the press. It has been described as "anaemic" and "soulless". Synth-pop's early steps, and Gary Numan in particular, were also disparaged in
6195-428: The city having lost 50% of its nightclubs since 2008, a "decline [which] must stop if London is to retain its status as a 24-hour city with a world-class nightlife". Following the closure, supporters of the club launched a social media and crowdfunding campaign supporting reopening the club. Over £200,000 was raised toward a legal fighting fund to appeal the council's decision. In November 2016, news reports stated that
6300-468: The club's resident DJs Craig Richards and Terry Francis . Richards was also one of the Directors of Music Programming, selecting the line-ups for Saturday nights, which have featured appearances by DJs such as Ricardo Villalobos , Carl Craig , Ellen Allien , and many others. Sundays at Fabric are promoted by "Wetyourself", a polysexual event that has been running since February 2009. The music policy
6405-678: The club. Following a campaign to save the club it was permitted to be reopened with increased security and restrictions. The club was founded by Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie and opened on 29 October 1999. Fabric occupied the renovated space of the Metropolitan Cold Stores. Smithfield Meat Market stands and operates from a site directly opposite. The area's construction took place in Victorian times alongside nearby landmarks Holborn Viaduct and Fleet Valley Bridge. Fabric has three separate rooms with independent sound systems; two of
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#17330862108136510-440: The commercial charts. "This is a finger, this is another... now write a song" British punk-influenced band Tubeway Army , intended their debut album to be guitar driven. In late 1978, Gary Numan , a member of the group, found a minimoog left behind in the studio by another band, and started experimenting with it. This led to a change in the album's sound to electronic new wave. Numan later described his work on this album as
6615-482: The council and the club's management were working on an out of court settlement that might lead to the reopening of the club. On 21 November 2016, Fabric and Islington Council reached agreement that the club could reopen with stricter conditions: a new photo identification system, covert surveillance, a lifetime ban for anyone found dealing or possessing illegal drugs, and no under-19s allowed between Friday 8pm to Monday 8am. Shortly after these changes were made, it
6720-513: The definition of MIDI and the use of dance beats, led to a more commercial and accessible sound for synth-pop. This, its adoption by the style-conscious acts from the New Romantic movement, together with the rise of MTV , led to success for large numbers of British synth-pop acts in the US during the Second British Invasion . The term "techno-pop" was coined by Yuzuru Agi in his critique of Kraftwerk's The Man-Machine in 1978 and
6825-472: The design agency Alter, who continue to produce all of the graphical material for the band. According to Whitford, the band's name was a random choice: "I was in the edit menu [of my computer] and I moved down in the document to the few words that didn't make sense together, and at that particular day and time the words 'cut' and 'copy' really stood out to me. At the time it felt like a fairly abstract choice but now it feels very tied in with what we do". The name
6930-560: The early " dominatrix " image of the Eurythmics' Annie Lennox . In the U.S. this led to British synth-pop artists being characterised as "English haircut bands" or "art fag " music, though many British synth-pop artists were highly popular on both American radio and MTV . Although some audiences were overtly hostile to synth-pop, it achieved an appeal among those alienated from the dominant heterosexuality of mainstream rock culture, particularly among gay, female and introverted audiences. By
7035-545: The first band of the movement to have a hit single as the synth-driven " To Cut a Long Story Short " reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1980. Visage's " Fade to Grey ", characteristic of synth-pop and a major influence on the genre, reached the top ten a few weeks later. Duran Duran have been credited with incorporating dance beats into synth-pop to produce a catchier and warmer sound, which provided them with
7140-689: The first hit by a British act to enter the Billboard top ten as a result of exposure through video. The switch to a " new music " format in US radio stations was also significant in the success of British bands. Reaching No. 2 in the UK in March 1983 and No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 six months later, Rolling Stone called Eurythmics' single " Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) " "a synth-pop masterpiece". Bananarama 's 1983 synth-pop song " Cruel Summer " became an instant UK hit before having similar success in
7245-571: The genre. Fabric (club) Fabric (stylized as fabric ) is a nightclub in Farringdon, London , England. Founded in 1999 on Charterhouse Street opposite Smithfield Market , the club was voted World Number 1 Club in DJ Magazine ' s "Top 100 Clubs Poll" in 2007 and 2008 and ranked World Number 2 in 2009, 2010 and 2017. Fabric was closed down and its license was revoked by Islington Council in 2016, after two drug-related deaths at
7350-406: The licensing board to defend Fabric's way of handling drugs and drug dealers at their club. Fabric's licence was revoked and it was announced that the venue would be closed permanently. A campaign was launched to secure the club's future, backed and popularised by DJs, musicians, venue-goers and several politicians. London's mayor Sadiq Khan criticised the decision and placed it in the context of
7455-406: The lyrics of " What Is Love? " – "Does anybody love anybody anyway?") and Nik Kershaw , whose "well-crafted synth-pop" incorporated guitars and other more traditional pop influences that particularly appealed to a teen audience. Pursuing a more dance-orientated sound were Bronski Beat whose album The Age of Consent (1984), dealing with issues of homophobia and alienation, reached the top 20 in
7560-526: The mainstream with Ladytron , the Postal Service , Cut Copy , the Bravery and the Killers all producing records that incorporated vintage synthesizer sounds and styles that contrasted with the dominant genres of post-grunge and nu metal . In particular, the Killers enjoyed considerable airplay and exposure and their debut album Hot Fuss (2004) reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 . The Killers,
7665-781: The mainstream, with jazz musician Stan Free , under the pseudonym Hot Butter , having a top 10 hit in the United States and United Kingdom in 1972, with a cover of the 1969 Gershon Kingsley song " Popcorn " using a Moog synthesizer, which is recognised as a forerunner to synth-pop and disco . The mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians such as Jean Michel Jarre , Vangelis , and Tomita . Tomita's album Electric Samurai: Switched on Rock (1972) featured electronic renditions of contemporary rock and pop songs, while utilizing speech synthesis and analog music sequencers . In 1975, Kraftwerk played their first British show and inspired concert attendees Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys – who would later found Orchestral Manoeuvres in
7770-466: The material. Later in the year, Whitford gathered all the recordings and travelled to Paris to mix the album with Phillippe Zdar and his team, and found that he had "two different versions of the recordings, so I started taking parts from both of those, and putting them together". In April 2004, Cut Copy released their debut LP Bright Like Neon Love to moderate success, supported by the singles "Future" and "Saturdays". The four-piece began rehearsing for
7875-551: The media as "the Lennon–McCartney of synth-pop". Giorgio Moroder collaborated with the band Sparks on their album No. 1 In Heaven (1979). That same year in Japan, the synth-pop band P-Model made its debut with the album In a Model Room . Other Japanese synth-pop groups emerging around the same time included the Plastics and Hikashu . This zeitgeist of revolution in electronic music performance and recording/production
7980-576: The mid-1960s, and the mid-1970s saw the rise of electronic art musicians. After the breakthrough of Gary Numan in the UK Singles Chart in 1979, large numbers of artists began to enjoy success with a synthesizer-based sound in the early 1980s. In Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music, and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts. The development of inexpensive polyphonic synthesizers,
8085-609: The mid-1980s, synth-pop had helped establish the synthesizer as a primary instrument in mainstream pop music. It also influenced the sound of many mainstream rock acts, such as Bruce Springsteen , ZZ Top and Van Halen . It was a major influence on house music , which grew out of the post-disco dance club culture of the early 1980s as some DJs attempted to make the less pop-oriented music that also incorporated influences from Latin soul , dub , rap music , and jazz . American musicians such as Juan Atkins , using names including Model 500, Infinity and as part of Cybotron , developed
8190-529: The monochrome blacks and greys of punk/new wave, synthpop was promoted by a youth media interested in people who wanted to be pop stars, such as Boy George and Adam Ant ". The New Romantic scene had developed in the London nightclubs Billy's and the Blitz and was associated with bands such as Duran Duran, Visage , and Spandau Ballet . They adopted an elaborate visual style that combined elements of glam rock , science fiction and romanticism . Spandau Ballet were
8295-898: The more pop moments on the album." Zonoscope peaked at number three in Australia in February 2011 and was a considerable success internationally. In March 2011, the group performed on the Saturday of the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, US. In June, they played at the Indie Fest in Puerto Rico and two dates in Tel Aviv . In July, the band performed to an audience of 25,000 people at the Camp Bisco festival in Mariaville Lake, New York , and in September played
8400-450: The music press as a "teeny bop sensation" were Norwegian band a-ha , whose use of guitars and real drums produced an accessible form of synth-pop, which, along with an MTV friendly video, took their 1985 single " Take On Me " to number two in the UK and number one in the US. Synth-pop continued into the late 1980s, with a format that moved closer to dance music, including the work of acts such as British duos Pet Shop Boys , Erasure and
8505-513: The period 1976–77 was initially hostile to the "inauthentic" sound of the synthesizer, but many new wave and post-punk bands that emerged from the movement began to adopt it as a major part of their sound. British punk and new wave clubs were open to what was then considered an "alternative" sound. The do it yourself attitude of punk broke down the progressive rock era's norm of needing years of experience before getting up on stage to play synthesizers. The American duo Suicide , who arose from
8610-417: The post-punk scene in New York, utilised drum machines and synthesizers in a hybrid between electronics and post-punk on their eponymous 1977 album . Around this time, Ultravox member Warren Cann purchased a Roland TR-77 drum machine , which was first featured in their October 1977 single release " Hiroshima Mon Amour ". Be-Bop Deluxe released Drastic Plastic in February 1978, leading off with
8715-522: The release of UK band the Human League 's debut single " Being Boiled " and The Normal 's " Warm Leatherette ", which both are regarded as seminal works in early synth-pop. Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire are also regarded as pioneers of the late 1970s that influenced the emerging synth-pop in Britain. In America, post-punk band Devo began moving towards a more electronic sound. At this point synth-pop gained some critical attention, but made little impact on
8820-580: The rise of synth-pop. This was followed by a series of landmark releases within the genre, including the 1980 hit singles " Messages " and " Enola Gay ". OMD became one of the most influential acts of the period, introducing the "synth duo" format to British music. Vince Clarke , who co-founded the popular synth-pop groups Depeche Mode , Erasure , Yazoo and the Assembly , has cited OMD as his inspiration to become an electronic musician. Bandleaders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have been described in
8925-451: The rooms feature stages for live acts. A feature of the club is its vibrating floor in Room One: known as a "bodysonic" dancefloor, sections of the floor are attached to 400 bass transducers emitting bass frequencies of the music being played. In 2010, Fabric briefly went into administration after its sister club Matter , with whom it had a cross-guaranteed loan, announced it would close for
9030-476: The same for the American clothing company Triple 5 Soul in the same year, which Modular later released as a podcast. For much of 2006, Whitford had been working on the second album using the three-piece template that had been touring the world. Towards the end of September, he had much of the album complete in demo form. These recordings were sent to Tim Goldsworthy who agreed to produce the new record. In early 2007
9135-714: The same period include Calvin Harris , Empire of the Sun , Frankmusik , Hurts , Ou Est Le Swimming Pool , Kaskade , LMFAO , and Owl City , whose single " Fireflies " (2009) topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2009, an underground subgenre with direct stylistic origins to synth-pop became popular, chillwave . Other 2010s synth-pop acts include the Naked and Famous , Chvrches , M83 , and Shiny Toy Guns . American singer Kesha has also been described as an electropop artist, with her electropop debut single " Tik Tok " topping
9240-464: The single "Electrical Language" with Bill Nelson on guitar synthesizer and Andy Clark on synthesizers. Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) with their self-titled album (1978) and Solid State Survivor (1979), developed a "fun-loving and breezy" sound, with a strong emphasis on melody . They introduced the TR-808 rhythm machine to popular music , and the band would be a major influence on early British synth-pop acts. 1978 also saw
9345-421: The single most significant event in melodic music since Mersey-beat ". By the 1980s synthesizers had become much cheaper and easier to use. After the definition of MIDI in 1982 and the development of digital audio , the creation of purely electronic sounds and their manipulation became much simpler. Synthesizers came to dominate the pop music of the early 1980s, particularly through their adoption by bands of
9450-521: The summer due to financial difficulties suffered as a consequence of continued delays with TfL upgrade of the Jubilee Line. Fabric was put on the market on 1 June 2010. On 24 June it was announced Fabric was no longer in administration and had been bought by the Fabric Life consortium. On 7 September 2016, after a review into the drug-related deaths of two people in the club, Leslie appeared in front of
9555-487: The top 50 in Australia and failing to enter general charts elsewhere. The band embarked on a tour to promote the new album, performing in North America, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Japan from 2017 to 2018. In November 2018, they released a new single, "Ocean Blue", which was recorded during Haiku from Zero sessions. In 2019, Cut Copy played a series of concerts in Europe. On 8 May 2020, Cut Copy released
9660-470: The view to release an EP. The band was assisted by Robbie Chater of The Avalanches who produced the seven largely instrumental tracks that were leaning heavily on samples. I Thought of Numbers was released in September 2001 and spurred a number of remixes on vinyl. The following year saw Whitford remould the band with a view to take to the stage. Their live debut was at the 2003 Livid festival where they performed in front of 5,000 people. In 2003, Howard
9765-508: The year was spent doing remixes and playing a number of local festivals. In December 2007, the group toured Australia with Daft Punk on the Nevereverland tour, and the Sydney leg of which attracted a crowd of almost 50,000 people. The promo-only single "So Haunted" was made available for airplay while Whitford was putting together another compilation of mixes. As a prelude to their second album,
9870-402: Was "ignorance" regarding synth-pop, such as his belief that people "thought machines did it". OMD frontman Andy McCluskey recalled a great many people "who thought that the equipment wrote the song for you", and asserted: "Believe me, if there was a button on a synth or a drum machine that said 'hit single', I would have pressed it as often as anybody else would have – but there isn't . It
9975-554: Was all written by real human beings". According to Simon Reynolds, in some quarters synthesizers were seen as instruments for "effete poseurs", in contrast to the phallic guitar. The association of synth-pop with an alternative sexuality was reinforced by the images projected by synth-pop stars, who were seen as gender bending , including Phil Oakey 's asymmetric hair and use of eyeliner, Marc Almond 's "pervy" leather jacket, skirt wearing by figures including Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and
10080-557: Was announced that Fabric would halve the number of "FABRICLIVE" bass-driven nights, which included their famous Playaz drum and bass residency, which spiked controversy among fans. The musical genres played at Fabric vary. Friday nights (known as "FABRICLIVE") are dedicated to bass music genres, being mainly drum and bass since its inception. FABRICLIVE also features genres including grime , breakbeat , dubstep and bassline . Saturday nights, (known simply as "Fabric") showcase genres such as house , techno and disco , and feature
10185-567: Was encapsulated by then would-be record producer Trevor Horn of the Buggles in the single " Video Killed the Radio Star "; the song topped the UK charts in October 1979 and it also became an international hit; two years later it was the first song aired on MTV. Geoff Downes , keyboardist for the Buggles, states, "When we did a rerecorded version for Top of the Pops , the Musicians’ Union bloke said, "If I think you’re making strings sounds out of
10290-531: Was established in 2001 in Melbourne , Australia as the solo project of Dan Whitford, a DJ and graphic designer. Whitford was educated at Scotch College and studied graphic design at Monash University . During his studies he became interested in dance music and began DJing while hosting a radio show. Around this time he bought a sampler and keyboards to experiment with. Musically he was "inspired by indie low-fi stuff as much as dance". Upon graduating Whitford co-founded
10395-462: Was highly praised by some critics and musicians (including Patti Smith and Lester Bangs ), the album met with poor commercial reception. The album has been considered revolutionary in its use of synthesizers, while others described Wilson's extensive use of the Moog synthesizer as a "loopy funhouse ambience" and an early example of synth-pop. Early guitar-based punk rock that came to prominence in
10500-520: Was later included in the deluxe re-release of Free Your Mind . In November, the band released a well-received mix album Oceans Apart . The band spent most of the 2015 working on the follow-up to Free Your Mind . Another mix album, Forest Through the Trees , was released in June and was followed by a DJ tour. In September 2016, the band released January Tape , a 44-minute ambient instrumental piece available as
10605-439: Was often minimalist, with grooves that were "typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic 'progression' to speak of". Early synth-pop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Common lyrical themes of synth-pop songs were isolation, urban anomie , and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow. In its second phase in
10710-431: Was played on Nip/Tuck , a United States TV series, on one of its final episodes, in a club scene. In July 2010, radio station Triple J broadcast the teaser track "Where I'm Going" ahead of Cut Copy's third album, Zonoscope , which drew inspirations from the early 1980s. It was largely recorded in a Melbourne warehouse with only the band and an engineer working on it. The band confirmed that they had officially become
10815-502: Was replaced by Tim Hoey, a student at the Victoria College of Art after he and Whitford began exchanging demo tapes. Drummer Mitchell Scott joined shortly after, explaining that "we were just in the same circle of friends, and Tim was sort of roped in because he could play guitar and Dan's sampler had actually broken down, which kind of brought on the need to find a new way of thinking about a live show". Prior to Hoey and Scott joining,
10920-457: Was taken up across the world alongside the continuing presence of disco , with international hits for German synth-pop as well as Eurodisco acts including Peter Schilling , Sandra , Modern Talking , Propaganda , and Alphaville . Other non-British groups scoring synth-pop hits were Men Without Hats and Trans-X from Canada, Telex from Belgium, Yello from Switzerland, and Azul y Negro from Spain. The synth-pop scene of Yugoslavia spawned
11025-438: Was widely adopted by progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes . Instrumental prog rock was particularly significant in continental Europe, allowing bands like Kraftwerk , Tangerine Dream , Can and Faust to circumvent the language barrier. Their synthesizer-heavy " Kraut rock ", along with the work of Brian Eno (for a time the keyboard player with Roxy Music ), would be
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