Tag: The Art Of Noise (Page 1 of 2)

THE ELECTRONIC LEGACY OF 1986

13 January 2026 /

What of 1986? This was at times, unlike previous years, a difficult one to enjoy musically.

TEARS FOR FEARS and SIMPLE MINDS had shown in 1985 that the most bankable way to break America was to present a new wave sound that had some synthesizers but not too many while big compressed drums and rawk guitars would be the relatable component for FM radio shows to draw in listeners for their commercials in between.

Following the ubiquity of Phil Collins throughout most of 1985, the domination of the GENESIS axis continued with seemingly endless stream of singles from the ‘Invisible Touch’ album while former leader Peter Gabriel achieved international mainstream success with the Staxx-flavoured art funk of ‘Sledgehammer’ on major rotation at MTV.

Elsewhere, WHAM! ended on a high as George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley played their final concert at Wembley Stadium but also playing what turned out to be their last concert with Freddie Mercury at Knebworth Park were QUEEN. Having gone down the dumper in 1984 with their third album ‘Waking Up With The House On Fire’ having been assessed as a “disaster of mediocrity” by Smash Hits’ Tom Hibbert, the long playing attempt to rescue CULTURE CLUB out of the dumper ‘From Luxury To Heartache’ did nothing to change fortunes with Boy George’s then undisclosed heroin addiction affecting its prolonged production.

Hollywood was where is it at in 1986; Giorgio Moroder and his mechanic Tom Whitlock would win an Oscar and Golden Globe for ‘Best Original Song’ with ‘Take My Breath Away’ which provided the love theme for ‘Top Gun’, the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide; although it was credited to BERLIN, it featured none of its members apart from vocalist Terri Nunn and would cause tensions that would split up the band.

THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS re-recorded ‘Pretty In Pink’ for the John Hughes movie of the same name while having already featured discreetly during a mall scene with ‘Tesla Girls’ during another Hughes film ‘Weird Science’ the year before, OMD achieved their biggest hit in America with the specifically written standalone song  ‘If You Leave’ which soundtracked the closing prom scene to touch the hearts of many teenagers stateside. However, the act who contributed the most music to the film was NEW ORDER with ‘Shellshock’, ‘Elegia’ and ‘Thieves Like Us’!

In the rush to make things more palatable for the American market, there were lukewarm offerings by THE HUMAN LEAGUE, HEAVEN 17, DURAN DURAN and EURYTHMICS who only a few years before had released some excellent albums. “We were all a bit lost by then” said Phil Oakey later in 2009 on the BBC documentary ‘Synth Britannia’, “we didn’t have anything to prove!”. But the worst one was ‘U-Vox’ by ULTRAVOX; as the lame titled suggested, this was a band with something missing and the record was to 1986 what OMD’s ‘Crush’ was to 1985 as it battled to incorporate orchestras, brass sections, acoustic guitars and the traditional Irish combo THE CHIEFTAINS into its sound.

After the programmed perfection of their Trevor Horn-produced chart toppers ‘Relax’ and ‘Two Tribes’, new producer Stephen J Lipson may well have been misguided in allowing FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD to play their own instruments on the second album ‘Liverpool’ as tensions within the band were about to cause implosion. Certainly the programmed Trevor Horn single remix of ‘Warriors Of The Wasteland)’ was far superior to the lame “as live” album version which unsurprisingly sounded like it was performed by a slightly polished-up pub rock combo!

Making a successful transition to organic instrumentation were TALK TALK with ‘The Colour Of Spring’, probably one of the best albums of 1986 regardless of genre. In E&MM, Mark Hollis said “I absolutely hate synthesizers” despite the band having had their breakthrough using them; while the sleeve credits did much to appease more rockcentric audiences with the vague acknowledgement of “instrumental” for Ian Curnow’s synth solos, the enjoyable long player did feature an electronic wind instrument called a Variophon and the state-of-the-art Kurweil on ‘Happiness Is Easy’!

Also heading into more organic territory with an ambitious double album divided into song-based and ambient instrumental records was David Sylvian; bringing in a number of guest guitarists like Robert Fripp, Phil Palmer and Bill Nelson, ‘Gone To Earth’ required more effort from listeners as the former leader of JAPAN distanced himself further from his old band although former bandmates Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri made contributions on a number of tracks.

As DAF went disco, Electronic Body Music influenced by the German duo’s imperial years on Virgin Records was emerging as a harder and darker alternative to the sanitised American-friendly sound that was now prevalent, with FRONT 242 and NITZER EBB issuing important singles that would trigger a new cult movement.

Overall, 1986 was a massive disappointment and confirmation of a wider downward spiral towards electronic creativity in pop music. House and dance would point towards the future but these sub-genres often lacked songs. Meanwhile, the emergence of Stock, Aitken & Waterman as a pop production factory would change the face of Top Of The Pops, Smash Hits and even the Independent Charts after years of delightful oddness but that is another story for others to tell…

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has somehow managed to assemble a list of 20 albums to represent The Electronic Legacy of 1986, although it must be highlighted that a fair number of those included would not have made the cut in previous years which had their embarrassment of riches. Not a “best of” list by any means, as usual, these are presented in alphabetical order by artist…

A-HA Scoundrel Days

While Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar were being perceived as a teenybop band thanks to the success of ‘Take On Me’, there was always an inherent Nordic gloom lurking within A-HA. Mostly produced by Alan Tarney, the blistering title song was swathed in a chilling melancholy. Then there were the hit singles but while ‘Cry Wolf’ was bouncy pop, there were snarls of frustration present in ‘I’ve Been Losing You’ and ‘Manhattan Skyline’.

‘Scoundrel Days’ is still available via Warner Music

https://a-ha.com/

ALPHAVILLE Afternoons In Utopia

ALPHAVILLE were under pressure on their second album ‘Afternoons in Utopia’, especially with the departure of founder member Frank Mertens. Ricky Echolette joined Marian Gold and Bernhard Lloyd but after the gritty commentary on heroin addiction of ‘Big In Japan’ in 1984, songs like ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Dance With Me’ possessed an anthemic optimism while on ‘Red Rose’, Gold moved from his Robert Smith impersonation into Bryan Ferry territory.

‘Afternoons In Utopia’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.alphaville.earth/

THE ART OF NOISE In Visible Silence

Having flown the ZTT nest, Anne Dudley, JJ Jeczalik and Gary Langan took their Fairlighted musique concrète to China Records and came up with ‘In Visible Silence’. With more variety and more polish, ‘Legs’ was classic AoN while a rework of ‘Peter Gunn’ with Duane Eddy and ‘Paranoimia’ would provide the hits, although the latter’s album version would be without Max Headroom. Although Langan would depart, a high profile collaboration with Tom Jones beckoned…

‘In Visible Silence’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.theartofnoiseonline.com/

THE BOOK OF LOVE The Book Of Love

A quartet comprising of Susan Ottaviano, the unrelated Ted Ottaviano, Jade Lee and Lauren Roselli, BOOK OF LOVE signed to Sire Records and opened for DEPECHE MODE on two US successive tours. Their self-titled debut LP contained lively synthpop tunes such as ‘You Make Me Feel So Good’, ‘Boy’ and ‘I Touch Roses’ but it was a song named after the Italian artist ‘Modigliani’ that had most impact, appearing in an episode of ‘Miami Vice’ and the film ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’.

‘The Book Of Love’ is still available via Sire Records

https://www.bookoflovemusic.com/

CHINA CRISIS What Price Paradise

With CHINA CRISIS now more of a band than the original duo concept fronted by Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon, ‘What Price Paradise’ had less of a Trans-Atlantic flavour compared to its predecessor ‘Flaunt The Imperfection’. Still featuring great songs such as ‘It’s Everything’, ‘Best Kept Secret’, ‘The Understudy’ and ‘Hampton Beach’, it is still one of life’s great mysteries that the magnificent ‘Arizona’ never got beyond No47 in the UK charts!

‘What Price Paradise’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.facebook.com/chinacrisisofficial

THE COMMUNARDS Communards

Although THE COMMUNARDS, Jimmy Somerville’s venture with future TV vicar Richard Coles was intended to have more traditional musical values, the electronic sound of his previous band BRONSKI BEAT could not be left totally behind. With Mike Thorne still at the production helm, ‘Disenchanted’ crossed ‘Why?’ with ‘Smalltown Boy’ while the spirited Hi-NRG cover of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ with Sarah-Jane Morris would be the UK’s biggest selling single of 1986.

‘Communards’ is still available via London Records

https://www.jimmysomerville.co.uk/

DAF 1st Step To Heaven

When Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado reunited in 1985 to record ‘1st Step To Heaven’, they opted not only to stop wearing back but to sing in English. Less aggressive than previous DAF works with a more electronic disco sound, ‘Voulez-Vous Coucher Avec Moi’ quoted from LADY MARMALADE despite being an original while ‘Pure Joy’ was inspired by Prince’s ‘1999’. But best of all was the joyous ‘Brothers’ which celebrated Görl and Delgado’s friendship.

‘1st Step To Heaven’ is currently unavailable

http://www.robert-goerl.de

DEPECHE MODE Black Celebration

Producer Daniel Miller wanted a dystopian intensity to the fifth DEPECHE MODE album ‘Black Celebration’ and with Gareth Jones acting as Tonmeister, Martin Gore’s increasingly bleaker songs found the perfect sonic backdrop. The 7 track segue from the opening title song to ‘Stripped’ that included ‘Fly On The Windscreen’ and ‘It Doesn’t Matter Two’ remains DEPECHE MODE’s most outstanding sequence of music.

‘Black Celebration’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.depechemode.com/

ERASURE Wonderland

Andy Bell and Vince Clarke’s debut album ‘Wonderland’ was not an instant hit. The lead single ‘Who Needs Love (Like That)?’ was mistaken by some to be an unreleased YAZOO recording. Among the album’s highlights were the joyous ‘Reunion’ and the funky ‘Push Me… Shove Me’ . The record’s HI-NRG centrepiece ‘Oh L’Amour’ flopped as a single but undeterred, ERASURE toured the college circuit to build up a new fanbase from scratch.

‘Wonderland’ is still available via Mute Records

https://www.erasureinfo.com/

I START COUNTING My Translucent Hands

As I START COUNTING, Simon Leonard and Dave Baker finally released their longform debut following two impressive Daniel Miller-produced singles ‘Letters To A Friend’ and ‘Still Smiling’. Both included on the CD edition of ‘My Translucent Hands’, quirky tracks such as ‘Catch That Look’ and maintained the standard if with less immediacy. The duo would open for Mute label mates ERASURE on their 1987 European tour.

‘My Translucent Hands’ is still available via Mute Records

I Start Counting / Fortran 5 / Komputer

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Rendez-Vous

‘Rendez-Vous’ had something of a loose space theme but the space shuttle Challenger tragedy tinged the release with sadness as the ‘Last Rendez-Vous (Ron’s Piece)’ was to have featured astronaut Ron McNair playing sax. Meanwhile, the symphonic ‘Second Rendez-Vous’ inspired by Wendy Carlos would become favourite of Pope John Paul II and the rousing ‘Fourth Rendez-Vous’ captured the vein of the classic Jean-Michel Jarre single.

‘Rendez-Vous’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

HOWARD JONES One To One

After two hit albums with Rupert Hine, Howard Jones had Arif Mardin on production duties for ‘One To One’ having been impressed by his work with SCRITTI POLITTI. While still very synth-driven, an array of session musicians on drums, guitars, bass and brass featured for a more sophisticated sound. But ‘Little Bit Of Snow’ found him in reflective mood on the ivories as the singles ‘All I Want’ and ‘You Know I Love You… Don’t You?’ failed to crack the UK Top30.

‘One To One’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

KRAFTWERK Electric Café

Coming after the 5 year wait since 1981’s ‘Computer World’ as the world KRAFTWERK anticipated came true, ‘Electric Café’ was something of a disappointment. Distracted by cycling and technology, there were still delights to be found. ‘The Telephone Call’ featuring Karl Bartos on lead vocals was a highlight along with the voice sample-laden ‘Musique Non Stop’ while the ironic ‘Sex Object’ was fun despite the barrage of DX7 presets like a YouTube tutorial…

‘Electric Café’ is now available as ‘Techno Pop’ via Parlophone Records

https://kraftwerk.com/

NEW ORDER Brotherhood

NEW ORDER were simultaneously about indie guitar rock and electronic disco, although rarely mixing. On their fourth album ‘Brotherhood’, the band’s schizophrenic musical personalities were separated across two sides. The electronic part was headed by ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, but there was also the solemn ‘All Day Long’, the sinister ‘Angel Dust’ and the Lou Reed pastiche ‘Every Little Counts’ with its laughter and unforgettable scratching stylus ending!

‘Brotherhood’ is still available via Rhino

https://www.neworder.com/

GARY NUMAN Strange Charm

Things really had got “strange” for Gary Numan as his Numanoids marched on BBC Broadcasting House to protest that ‘This Is Love’ and ‘I Can’t Stop’ had charted yet were not getting radio airplay; however, they were the worst songs on ‘Strange Charm’. Something of an underrated record, the dreamy ‘My Breathing’ and the Vangelis-inspired title song were impressive while there was also a new great Bill Sharpe collaboration ‘New Thing From London Town’.

‘Strange Charm’ is still available via BMG

https://garynuman.com/

OMD The Pacific Age

A much better record than the rotten ‘Crush’, with a heavier synth, choral and live drum edge, one highlight was ‘The Dead Girls’ which revisited the sonics of ‘Architectural & Morality’ but with digital technology. Although the hit came from the Paul Humphreys sung ‘(Forever) Live & Die’, the Andy McCluskey fronted ‘Stay’ and ‘We Love You’ provided the electronic rock disco drive while ‘Flame Of Hope’ clearly fell under the spell of THE ART OF NOISE.

‘The Pacific Age’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://omd.uk.com/

PET SHOP BOYS Please

While PET SHOP BOYS debut album wasn’t perfect with ‘Suburbia’ and ‘Violence’ improving in re-recordings, ‘Please’ featured not only ‘West End Girls’ and ‘Love Comes quickly’ but had an array of brilliant track including ‘Two Divided By Zero’ and ‘Tonight Is Forever’. While an ironic observation on the rise of yuppies, the misunderstood ‘Opportunites (Let’s Make Lots Of Money)’ proved to be quite prophetic for Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, but who was the brains?

‘Please’ is still available via Parlophone Records

https://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK Flaunt It

SUICIDE reconfigured for the 21st Century with Giorgio Moroder at the studio helm, behind the hype of cyberpunk combo SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK were some decent tracks even if they all sounded the same! The throbbing drive of ‘Love Missile F1-11’, ‘21st Century Boy’ and ‘Sex-Bomb-Boogie’ provided the fun but the flow was spoiled by novelty effects and samples while there were paid adverts between tracks as an honest statement on commercialism.

‘Flaunt It’ is still available via BMG

https://mail.sputnikworld.com/Sigue_Sigue_Sputnik.html

SPARKS Music That You Can Dance To

Inspired by a London Records A&R muttering “why can’t you make music that you can dance to?” after the avant pop of ‘Change’, SPARKS took inspiration for their lively if underrated 14th album, recorded in Brussels with old pal Dan Lacksman of TELEX engineering. The title song echoed ERASURE’s ‘Oh L’Amour’ while Ron Mael played with bursts of Fairlight and Roland Jupiter 8 on the falsetto soul of ‘Fingertips’ and Russell got to impersonate Gene Pitney on ‘Rosebud’.

‘Music That You Can Dance To’ is still available via Repertoire Records

https://allsparks.com/

STACEY Q Better Than Heaven

The front woman of synthpop act SSQ who had a US dance hit with ‘Synthicide’ in 1983, Stacey Q may have begun as a ‘Shy Girl’ but with its fair number of tunes as good as ‘Two Of Hearts’ like sister song ‘Insecurity’ and the more Jam & Lewis influenced ‘Music Out Of Bounds’, her debut album ‘Better Than Heaven’ is a reminder how fun and carefree pop music once was and should still be. The album remains a collection of wonderfully innocent escapism.

‘Better Than Heaven’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

https://www.facebook.com/people/Stacey-Q/100040905591794

Text by Chi Ming Lai
13th January 2026

THE ELECTRONIC LEGAGY OF 1984

24 February 2024 /

1984 saw FM synthesis, sampling and computer controlled systems taking a more dominant role in not just electronic music making but within mainstream pop as well.

The ubiquity of the Yamaha DX7 with its realistic sounds and the dominance digital drum machines meant that inventive electronic sound design would take a backseat. This meant that the otherworldly fascination that had come with Synth Britannia was now something of a distant memory. But despite the popularity of the Emulator at this time for its factory disk derived symphonic strings, brass and choirs, the Roland Jupiter 8 remained the main analogue synth for the likes of THE BLUE NILE and TALK TALK as well as Howard Jones.

While Trevor Horn and his team were well equipped with all the state of the art equipment money could buy for the ZTT releases of THE ART OF NOISE and FRANKIE GOES HOLLYWOOD, OMD and HEAVEN 17 were among those who purchased the Fairlight Series II. SOFT CELL and Gary Numan chose the PPG system while THE HUMAN LEAGUE opted for the Synclavier II.

However, despite all the high tech, the most disappointing record of the year was undoubtedly ‘Hysteria’, THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s lukewarm follow-up to ‘Dare’ which departed from the supreme synthpop formula of its predecessor. ‘Dare’ producer Martin Rushent had left the troubled sessions following disagreements with the band but as the recording continued to be prolonged, his replacement Chris Thomas soon followed him through the door.  Hugh Padgham who had worked with Phil Collins on his key hit recordings was drafted in to finish the record.

Although the excellent ‘Louise’ saw the estranged couple from ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ cross paths again a few years on, the laudable attempt at political observation and guitar-driven dynamics ‘The Lebanon’ confused fans. Meanwhile the remainder of the album was underwhelming, with the reworked version of ‘I Love You Too Much’ sounding a poor shadow of the dynamic Martin Rushent original which had premiered on the Canadian ‘Fascination! EP in 1983.

Those pop acts who had topped the UK charts in 1983 like CULTURE CLUB and SPANDAU BALLET also suffered from lacklustre follow-ups and were superseded by the rise of WHAM! Despite the absence of a new studio album, DURAN DURAN managed to score a No1 with ‘The Reflex’ and a No2 with ‘The Wild Boys’, both in a creative union with Nile Rodgers while making an impact in 1984 was Nik Kershaw.

The split of YAZOO the previous year led to Alison Moyet issuing her first solo album ‘Alf’ but the new Vince Clarke project THE ASSEMBLY lasted just one single ‘Never Never’ featuring the vocals of Feargal Sharkey. Comparatively quiet in 1984, NEW ORDER released their most commercial single yet in ‘Thieves Like Us’.

With bands like A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS, THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS and U2 having achieved success in North America with a more rock derived template, the lure of the Yankee Dollar steered SIMPLE MINDS towards that less artful bombastic direction with the ultimately flawed ‘Sparkle In The Rain’. The purer synthesizer sound was now less desirable in terms of Trans-Atlantic marketability and pressure was put on acts to use more guitar and live drums, something that would become even more prominent in 1985.

So until then, here are 20 albums selected by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK seen as contributing to the electronic legacy of 1984. Listed in alphabetical order, there is a restriction of one album per artist moniker

ALPHAVILLE Forever Young

Fronted by Marian Gold, German trio ALPHAVILLE broke through in the UK with a Zeus B Held remix of ‘Big In Japan’ and while that particular version is not included on the ‘Forever Young’ album, the original mix held its own alongside songs like ‘Sound Like A Melody’ and ‘Fallen Angel’. Meanwhile, the poignant title song has since become an evergreen anthem borrowed by the likes of THE KILLERS and JAY-Z!

‘Forever Young’ is still available via Warner Music

https://www.alphaville.earth/

THE ART OF NOISE Who’s Afraid Of?

From the off, THE ART OF NOISE were rattling cages. ‘Beat Box’ was the track which scared KRAFTWERK enough for them to delay the release of their ‘Technopop’ album and rework it as the underwhelming ‘Electric Cafe’. The crazy staccato sample cacophony of ‘Close (To The Edit)’ which was later borrowed by THE PRODIGY for ‘Firestarter’ still sounds as fresh and mad as ever while ‘Moments In Love’ heralded a new age in mood music.

‘Who’s Afraid Of?’ is still available via ZTT

https://www.facebook.com/artofnoiseofficial/

BLANCMANGE Mange Tout

On the back of hit singles in ‘Blind Vision’, ‘That’s Love That It Is’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me’, the brilliantly titled second BLANCMANGE album ‘Mange Tout’ became their biggest seller. Another surprise came with a melodramatic cover of ABBA’s ‘The Day Before You Came’; considered an odd but daring decision at the time, it was something of a cultural prophecy with ABBA now fully reabsorbed into mainstream popular culture.

‘Mange Tout’ is still available via Edsel Records

http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

THE BLUE NILE A Walk Across The Rooftops

Glum Scottish trio THE BLUE NILE had an innovative deal with Linn, the Glasgow-based high quality Hi-Fi manufacturer where their crisply produced debut ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ as used by dealers to demonstrate the sonic range of their products. ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’ and ‘Stay’ got BBC Radio1 airplay and while they were not hits, the artful album became a favourite among the cognoscenti and other musicians.

‘A Walk Across the Rooftops’ is still available via Confetti Records

https://www.facebook.com/TheBlueNileOfficial

BRONSKI BEAT The Age Of Consent

When BRONSKI BEAT first appeared, they were nothing short of startling, thanks to their look, melodic synth sound and Jimmy Somerville’s lonely earth shattering falsetto. ‘The Age Of Consent’ used their position as openly gay performers to make important statements such as ‘Smalltown Boy’, ‘Why’ and ‘Need A Man Blues’ as well as the anti-consumerist ‘Junk’ and the self-explanatory protest song ‘No More War’.

‘The Age Of Consent’ is still available via London Records

https://www.facebook.com/officialjimmysomerville

CABARET VOLTAIRE Micro-Phonies

Featuring the blissful ‘Sensoria’, the second Some Bizzare long playing adventure of CABARET VOLTAIRE saw Stephen Mallinder and Richard H Kirk at possibly their most accessible yet while still remaining alternative. With a Fairlight CMI now taking over from the previous tape experiments alongside the punchy rhythmic backdrop, tracks like ‘Do Right’ and ‘Slammer’ exemplified their alternative club direction.

‘Micro-Phonies’ is still available via Mute Artists

https://mute.com/artists/cabaret-voltaire

DEAD OR ALIVE Sophisticated Boom Boom

With Pete Burns now looking more and more like Gina X, it was no big surprise that her producer Zeus B Held was helming DEAD OR ALIVE’s electronic disco direction. An energetic cover of KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND’s ‘That’s The Way’ was the hit breakthrough but there was also mighty sequencer dance tunes such as ‘Misty Circles’ and ‘What I Want’, as well as the Morrissey fronting ABBA serenity of ‘Far Too Hard’.

‘Sophisticated Boom Boom’ is still available via Cherry Pop

https://www.discogs.com/artist/46720-Dead-Or-Alive

DEPECHE MODE Some Great Reward

Despite more adult songs with S&M metaphors about capitalism and doubts about religion, ‘Some Great Reward’ was the last innocent DEPECHE MODE album. With Gareth Jones now taking on a co-production role with Daniel Miller, the sampling experimentation was honed into the powerful metallic pop of ‘Something To Do’, ‘Master & Servant’, ‘If You Want’ and ‘Blasphemous Rumours’ while there was also the sensitive piano ballad ‘Somebody’.

‘Some Great Reward’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.depechemode.com/

FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD Welcome To The Pleasure Dome

The Trevor Horn produced ‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’ was a double album that should have been edited down to a single record but that would have missed the point. Featuring three supreme UK No1 singles in ‘Relax’, ‘Two Tribes’ and ‘The Power Of Love’, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD had their place cemented in musical history, regardless of the radio bannings and controversial marketing stunts.

‘Welcome To The Pleasure Dome’ is still available via ZTT

https://www.hollyjohnson.com/

ROBERT GÖRL Night Full Of Tension

With songs like ‘Playtime’ and ‘Love In Mind’, Robert Görl took a cool escapist journey into synthpop on ‘Night Full Of Tension’ dominated by digital drum machines and sequencers. In a volte face from the DAF drummer, he exuded a relaxed English vocal style in the manner of Bryan Ferry and David Bowie. There were also additional vocal contributions from Annie Lennox on ‘Charlie Cat’ and the duet highlight ‘Darling Don’t Leave Me’.

‘Night Full Of Tension’ is still available via Mute Records

http://www.robert-goerl.de

HEAVEN 17 How Men Are

The success of ‘The Luxury Gap’ brought money into HEAVEN 17 and this was reflected in the orchestrally assisted Fairlight jamboree of ‘How Men Are’. “I think it’s an underrated album and that was when we were probably in our most daring and creative phase” said Martyn Ware and that manifested itself on the sub-ten minute closer ‘And That’s No Lie’ and the outstanding Doomsday Clock referencing opener ‘Five Minutes To Midnight’.

‘How Men Are’ is still available via Virgin Records

https://www.heaven17.com/

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE Zoolook

Having been an early adopter of the Fairlight CMI on ‘Magnetic Fields’, Jean-Michel Jarre utilised it further to create an instrumental palette sampled from 25 spoken languages on ‘Zoolook’. It also saw the use of notable musicians including Marcus Miller, Yogi Horton, Adrian Belew and Laurie Anderson who lent her voice to the delightfully oddball ‘Diva’. The magnificent highlight was the 11 minute ‘Ethnicolour’.

‘Zoolook’ is still available via Sony Music

https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/

HOWARD JONES Human’s Lib

‘Human’s Lib’ was the beginning of Howard Jones’ imperial phase, with four hit singles ‘New Song’, ‘What Is Love?’, ‘Hide And Seek’ and ‘Pearl In The Shell’ included on this immediate debut. But there was quality in the other songs with ‘Equality’ sounding like an arrangement blue print for A-HA’s ‘Take On Me’ and the title song about Ruth, David and Dennis touching on the complexities of love triangles!

‘Human’s Lib’ is still available via Cherry Red Records

http://www.howardjones.com/

GARY NUMAN Berserker

After the jazzier overtones of ‘Warriors’, ‘Berserker’ was conceived as “a science alternative album” by Gary Numan and therefore much more of an electronic proposition. Dominated by the PPG Wave system which had been the heartbeat of FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD, ‘My Dying Machine’ pumped like ‘Relax’ while the rhythmic title song and the exotic ‘Cold Warning’ provided other highlights.

‘Berserker’ is still available via Eagle Records

https://garynuman.com/

OMD Junk Culture

With its embracement of calypso, reggae, indie and mainstream pop, ‘Junk Culture’ was perhaps even more experimental than ‘Dazzle Ships’ and took OMD outside of the Germanic sound laboratory they had emerged from. Known for two slightly inane hits, ‘Locomotion’ put them back into the UK Top5 while ‘Talking Loud & Clear’ only just missed out on the Top10. However, the best single from the album ‘Tesla Girls’ stalled at No21!

‘Junk Culture’ is still available via Universal Music

https://omd.uk.com/

SECTION 25 From The Hip

Co-produced by Bernard Sumner of NEW ORDER, ‘From The Hip’ followed founder member Larry Cassidy’s statement that “you can’t be a punk all your life”. Recruiting vocalist Jenny Ross and keyboardist Angela Cassidy, ‘Looking From A Hilltop’ with its clattering drum machine, pulsing hypnotism and ominous synth lines was the album’s standout while ‘Program For Light’ explored further electronic territory.

‘From The Hip’ is still available via Factory Benelux

https://www.section25.com/

SOFT CELL This Last Night In Sodom

If ‘The Art Of Falling Apart’ was the difficult second SOFT CELL album, ‘This Last Night In Sodom’ was an even more challenging proposition with some tracks even mixed in mono! The thundering percussive cover of ‘Down In The Subway’ was a metaphor for Marc Almond’s mental state while ‘L’ Esqualita’ provided some fabulous gothic menace alongside the frenetic rush of ‘Soul Inside’, all aided by Dave Ball and his PPG Wave 2.2.

‘This Last Night In Sodom’ is still available via Some Bizzare

https://www.softcell.co.uk/

TALK TALK It’s My Life

Now a trio, the second TALK TALK album saw them work with producer Tim Friese-Greene who would also have a songwriting role alongside Mark Hollis. Still reliant on synthesizers for its aural template, the initial five song sequence from ‘Dum Dum Girl’ to ‘Tomorrow Started’ was superb, taking in the title song, the magnificent ‘Such A Shame’ and the emotive ballad ‘Renée’. It sold well in Europe but was largely ignored in the UK.

‘It’s My Life’ is still available via EMI Music

https://www.facebook.com/talktalkfans

THOMPSON TWINS Into The Gap

Following their breakthrough record ‘Quick Step & Side Kick’, ‘Into The Gap’ was the most commercially successful THOMPSON TWINS studio album, putting the quirky trio into the US Top10. With Tom Bailey now taking on a co-producer role alongside Alex Sadkin, it featured the megahits ‘Hold Me Now’ and ‘Doctor Doctor’ while the neo-title song ‘The Gap’ offered an Eastern flavoured take on ‘Trans-Europe Express’.

‘Into The Gap’ is still available via Edsel Records

http://www.thompsontwinstombailey.com/

ULTRAVOX Lament

With self-produced sessions in the Musicfest home studio of Midge Ure, there were more obviously programmed rhythm tracks than previously while tracks ranged from the earnest rock of ‘One Small Day’ to the sequencer-driven ‘White China’. The apocalyptic Michael Rother influenced ‘Dancing With Tears In My Tears’ that gave ULTRAVOX with their biggest hit since ‘Vienna’ although the Celtic overtures of ‘Man Of Two Worlds’ was the album’s best song.

‘Lament’ is still available via Chrysalis Records

http://www.ultravox.org.uk/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
24th February 2024

YELLO Point

14 September 2020 /


Switzerland’s YELLO have never been an act to over-expose themselves in relation to the product that they’ve released.

Previous album ‘Toy’ was released in 2016 and prior to that ‘Touch Yello’ came out in 2009; so after a four year gap we now have the duo’s latest work ‘Point’.

According to their label Universal, ‘Point’ takes the classic YELLO aesthetic of albums such as ‘Stella’, ‘One Second’ and ‘Flag’ and “twists it into something ultra-modern.” the sound “part spy film, part Dali-painting, part strobe lit dance floor, part 4D car chase and part deep space torch song. It’s YELLO, absolutely on point.”

Within the first 10 seconds of album opener ‘Waba Duba’, there is no mistaking that this IS YELLO; the track is based around a tribal Dieter Meier chant and punctuated with staccato horn stabs which recall their biggest hit ‘The Race’. Thankfully ‘Waba Duba’ doesn’t take itself too seriously with gibberish-style lyrics “Do you want me to do/Don’t take me for a fool/I’m only happy man/I jump out of the can”. All in all, ‘Waba Duba’ is a feelgood track with enough synth parts to satisfy fans of their more electronic work.

‘The Vanishing of Peter Stong’ starts like an EBM track with a menacing synth bassline, but the live drums and vocal narrative from Meier takes the piece into a completely different direction. Throughout the album comparisons could easily be made with THE ART OF NOISE, both acts are known for their sampling with Boris Blank having a huge sample collection (400,000+). ‘The Vanishing of Peter Strong’ features more rhythmic vocal sampling and the kind of production sheen that Trevor Horn and Stephen Lipson cultivated with their associated ZTT acts.

‘Way Down’ features an offbeat skanking backbeat and a welcome female vocal layer above Meier’s trademark talking growl. Beautifully produced again with an amazing clarity to the drum sound; cinematic horns and echoed synth arpeggios excel on a short three minute track that doesn’t outstay its welcome.

‘Out of Sight’ starts like a distant cousin to KRAFTWERK and ‘Boing Boom Tschak’ before being joined by a “dum dum” vocal bass line which again echoes THE ART OF NOISE. The vocal sampling and stuttering of LES RYTHMES DIGITALES’ ‘Jacques Your Body’ seems to be an influence too…

‘Arthur Spark’ is far more electronic in nature, with low-slung synth bass sequencer work and APOLLO 440-ish vocodered vocals. A KRAFTWERK-style drum pattern dips in out of the track and subtle guitar work features throughout. What is admirable here is that five tracks in and each track has its own atmosphere with original sounds and none of the tracks become overly repetitive or linger around for too long (actually none of the songs on ‘Point’ are in excess of four minutes in length).

‘Core Shift’ features a fantastic synth breakdown at its 38 second mark, again another stunningly mixed track; if one worked in a hi-fi shop ‘Point’ would make a great sonic fidelity demonstration album.

‘Rush for Joe’ is a cheeky John Barry-style spy theme-in-waiting with added Korg M1 organ bass sounds, whilst album closer ‘Siren Singing’ features the only guest vocalist on the album with an appearance from British based Chinese artist Fifi Rong. ‘Siren Singing’ is an ambient downtempo piece which draws ‘Point’ to a more introspective conclusion. The only track not to feature Meier’s vocals and without him, results in a piece which is pretty un-YELLO like.

The deal breaker with YELLO has always been Dieter Meier’s vocals, he’s always been a storyteller rather than a singing vocalist, and there is no deviation from that template here. Arguably ‘Point’ would function better with more guest vocalists, but he is part of the duo’s signature sound and as album closer ‘Siren Singing’ proves, his absence ends up being missed.

From a production point of view, ‘Point’ is stunning throughout and although there are no huge stand-out tracks here, the album is a concise re-affirmation of the YELLO sound and long term fans will adore it.

‘Point’ is released via Universal Music, available as a collector’s box, CD, deluxe CD, vinyl LP and digital download

http://yello.com

https://www.facebook.com/yello.ch/

https://www.instagram.com/yello_official/

Text by Paul Boddy
14th September 2020

DUDLEY – JECZALIK – LANGAN Live at The British Library

18 March 2018 /

With THE ART OF NOISE’s influential and innovative reputation, this live gig was never going to be an ordinary one.

The British Library is certainly not your run of the mill venue either and this show was part of ‘A Season of Sound’, a celebration of the Library’s extensive Sound Archive which hosts in excess of 6 millions recordings.

With their reputation as early pioneers of sampling and use of the Fairlight to grab found sounds alongside more conventional drums and synth textures, this reboot of THE ART OF NOISE made a perfect fit to help celebrate the Library’s own collection of audio.

Special mention must be given to the show’s sound system, a sonically stunning Bowers & Wilkins set-up which throughout the evening delivered audiophile quality live sound, something which you rarely get at gigs these days. The sound system, a cut-down version of the one used at Primavera Sound Festival, which was apparently worth close to a million Euros became a real draw for crowds there.

The PA system was put to good use prior to the band coming on stage, with the audience being treated to a superb ‘Blessed Are The Noisemakers’ mixtape by Kevin Foakes aka DJ Food, with different AON-related tracks like remixes of SCRITTI POLITTI and FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD plus snippets of 10CC in ‘Life is a Minestrone’ and ‘I’m Not In Love’ in honour of Lol Creme who was a member of both acts.

As the band walked on stage, the screen behind became a Fairlight boot-up page, with each musician being ‘initialised’ in a kind of homage to KRAFTWERK who apparently shelved their ‘Technopop’ album after hearing AON’s pioneering sampling work.

Sadly there were no actual Fairlights on stage, but each member had Mac screens with the iconic green on black text to reference the machine which was so pivotal to the band’s sound. From left to right the set-up was Anne Dudley on synths / digital piano / electronic percussion, Gary Langan on mixing duties / percussion and JJ Jeczalik on Arturia Matrixbrute synth / Roland electronic percussion.

Also present but via a couple of pre-recorded video clips was ex-member Paul Morley… this was a bit of a surprise as the ZTT split with AON was very acrimonious. Although billed as an ‘In Visible Silence’ gig, the show was still very much a greatest hits set, with a few choice cuts taken from the trio’s aforementioned second album.

After introductory track ‘Instruments Of Darkness’, there was an early airing of ‘Beatbox’ from the band’s debut EP ‘Into Battle With…’ followed by an all-too-short rendition of ‘Camille’, the band’s ‘Moments in Love’ Part Two.

‘Paranoimia’ featuring Max Headroom was next to appear with suitably appropriate graphics behind the band before the stunningly beautiful ‘Moments In Love’.

This was preceded by an introduction from JJ on the various uses of the track, from a Brylcreem advert through to its usage at MADONNA’s wedding to Sean Penn!

To keep the sample trainspotters happy, there was an interesting mid-set diversion when JJ explained the background behind some of the AON samples used. This included the rhythm track for ‘Eye Of A Needle’ which samples the sound from a squash game; the ball being hit, the squeak of a training shoe on the court and the start of a groan from the impact of someone being hit by the ball. Also included was a special mention for the cash register sound which also ended up on ABC’s ‘Date Stamp’ from ‘The Lexicon Of Love’.

One of the more experimental pieces from the bands’ back catalogue, the Steve Reich-inspired ‘Opus’ with its looped / cut-up vocals was up next, followed by AON’s breakthrough hit ‘Close (To The Edit’). Complete with an extended and very comical three-way car not starting sample-off; this track received the best reception on the night and the now iconic “Hey!” vocal additionally recalled THE PRODIGY’s ‘Firestarter’ which sampled it. After a short break, the band came back on for an encore of ‘Peter Gunn’ with its Rik Mayall promo video projected behind, as the trio left the stage to a rolling set of credits behind them.

This gig was a real bucket list moment for many, the band had supported THE HUMAN LEAGUE last year in Liverpool, but live shows by the ex-AON members have been few and far between.

The deservedly rapturous reception that Dudley, Jeczalik and Langan received for their British Library gig should hopefully spur them into doing more dates as they are an utterly engaging live act with a pioneering back catalogue that is more than worthy of being re-visited.

If you get a chance to see this line-up (especially with a B&W sound system), don’t hesitate, it’s a timely reminder of how incredibly influential AON were and helps to cement their position in electronic music history.

‘Influence’ is still available as a double CD via Union Square

http://www.theartofnoiseonline.com

https://www.facebook.com/artofnoiseofficial/

https://twitter.com/artofnoiseoffic

Text and Photos by Paul Boddy
18th March 2018

25 FAVOURITE DIGITAL SYNTHS

4 March 2017 /

The switch to digital technology in the production of synthesizers caused a seismic shift not just in the way that music was produced, but also how analogue devices were perceived.

The advent of the Yamaha DX7 was the catalyst which caused many musicians to throw out/sell their old Moogs and Korgs with the viewpoint that these new devices could do everything sonically that they could plus more besides. The newly pioneered Frequency Modulation and Phase Distortion forms of synthesis meant that harmonically complex sounds such as bells and pianos could now be simulated and the warm, analogue sounds of synths such as the Roland Jupiter range began to sound immediately dated in comparison.

The trend was continued when both Korg and Roland introduced their PCM/sample-based M1 and D50 synths which added in new layers of complexity in sound creation which again would have been impossible to create using a voltage controlled oscillator-based device.

One only has to listen retrospectively to songs like ‘Human’ by THE HUMAN LEAGUE or albums such as ‘Provision’ by SCRITTI POLITTI to hear how the sawtooth-based electronic sounds of the past had almost overnight become replaced by shiny bell-like tones and THAT omnipresent rubbery ‘Lately’ DX bass sound.

However, hindsight is a wonderful thing and many producers/musicians were left with major egg on their faces when it eventually became apparent that digital synths weren’t the be all and end all, lacking the warmth and ease of programmability that their earlier analogue counterparts were able to provide.

Tales of vintage synths being sold for relative peanuts are now legendary and most keyboard players who experienced this era will have an appropriate sob story to tell relating to this!

The next wave of technology to have a significant impact was the birth of the digital sampler – now musicians were able to grab any sound and trigger it from a keyboard and again this had a huge effect on the sound of music production.

Ironically in 2016, everything has now come full circle; manufacturers are now frantically reissuing remakes of earlier analogue and digital products, while with the birth of the virtual synthesizer, packages such as the Arturia Collection V offer up software versions of the Prophet 5, Oberheim SEM and Minimoog at an affordable price.

The choice of digital synthesizers here is a fairly personal one and it isn’t intended to endorse a particular product. Some of the chosen synthesizers weren’t necessarily the highest specified ones either, but were adopted because a producer/musician managed to use it in such a way that belied their lower price point. The synths chosen are also from the first wave of digital synths and as such doesn’t include any of the current wave of digital-based products.

FAIRLIGHT CMI (1979)

The Rolls Royce of samplers and a fully integrated workstation that included a digital synth, sequencer and rhythm programmer, the Australian Fairlight CMI and its 28mb of memory (!) indelibly left its mark on music production. Costing as much as a decent sized house, the CMI helped transform the sound of artists such as JEAN-MICHEL JARRE who used it extensively on ‘Magnetic Fields’ and ‘Zoolook’. Its omnipresent ‘Orchestra 5’ “Whooomph!” patch was used and abused by everybody from PET SHOP BOYS, KLAUS SCHULZE and KATE BUSH to U2 and prog rockers YES…

Iconic example of use: PET SHOP BOYS ‘It’s A Sin’

NED SYNCLAVIER (1979)

The Synclavier was an all singing, all dancing sampling mega-workstation that was favoured by DEPECHE MODE, MICHAEL JACKSON and THE CURE. The cost of some of the versions of the Synclavier made the Fairlight seem affordable in comparison, with a top-spec system going for the outrageous price of $200,000 dollars! Like the CMI, the Synclavier was way ahead of its time and brought a higher quality of sampling and sequencing into a few privileged high end studios.

Iconic example of use: SOFT CELL ‘Tainted Love’

CON BRIO ADS200 (1980)

With only two units being produced, once seen, the Con Brio ADS200 can never be forgotten. Looking like something out of ‘Space 1999’, with a built-in display monitor and clad wall-to-wall in veneer, the ADS200 is probably the nearest the synth world came to an outlandish concept car; it looked incredible, but ultimately was doomed to remain a pipe dream. One belonged to BECK’s father David Campbell who reportedly paid £17,000 for it. The ADS200’s implementation of FM synthesis raised a few legal eyebrows at Yamaha although no action was taken.

Iconic example of use: Fittingly the Con Brio ADS100 got used for sound effects on the movie reboot of ‘Star Trek’

PPG WAVE 2 (1981)

The striking and very blue-looking PPG (Palm Products GmbH) Wave 2 synth became another popular digital synth. Its bell-like quality can be heard on DEPECHE MODE’s ‘A Broken Frame’. TANGERINE DREAM also toured with one extensively after assisting the company with the development many of their other products. Martin Gore had a Casio MT30 sat on his PPG Wave 2 with a ‘Fairlite’ name stuck on the back in what could be seen as a side swipe at Vince Clarke who had ploughed a large percentage of his royalties into a Fairlight purchase.

Iconic example of use: DEPECHE MODE ‘The Sun & The Rainfall’

YAMAHA GS1 (1981)

Despite its 19th Century appearance and looking for all intents and purposes like a grand piano, the GS1 was the first keyboard produced by Yamaha to feature the patented Frequency Modulation (FM) technology. Like the Fairlight, the GS1’s prohibitive price tag of $25,000 meant that it was out of reach for most musicians. The size and weight of the machine at nearly 90kg meant that it was never intended to be a touring machine; only a 100 units were manufactured too, but it still deserves its place in synthesizer history for kick-starting the FM revolution.

Iconic example of use: TOTO ‘Africa’

DIGITAL KEYBOARDS SYNERGY (1982)

The Synergy used additive synthesis to generate its sounds and its 74 note keyboard made it attractive to keyboard players like WENDY CARLOS who used the Synergy on ‘Digital Moonscapes’ and ‘Beauty In The Beast’. It was unusual in that it allowed the layering of four sounds and also possessed a four track in-built sequencer, but unfortunately lost its memory once the machine was powered down. Sadly, the DX7 signalled the death knell for the Synergy, costing three times less and being fully programmable…

Iconic example of use: WENDY CARLOS ‘Tron’ soundtrack

YAMAHA DX7 (1983)

Taking the technology first used in the GS1, the DX7 brought FM Synthesis to the masses and along the way transformed the sound of the charts between 1983-1989. The DX’s distinctive rubbery bass sound started to appear everywhere from A-HA’s ‘Take On Me’, HOWARD JONES’ ‘What is Love?’ through to LEVEL 42’s ‘Hot Water’. But unless you were a musical brainiac like BRIAN ENO, the DX7 was notoriously difficult to program and legend has it that most units which were returned back to Yamaha for any maintenance still had their preset sound banks left untouched!

Iconic example of use: BERLIN ‘Take My Breath Away’

YAMAHA DX1 (1983)

The DX1 could be considered as a connoisseur version of the DX7, every part of it is THAT more expensive looking from its fully weighted keyboard, deeper control panel through to its wooden end cheeks. The sound of the DX1 was much thicker than the often thin sounding DX7 because the user was able to layer two sounds together. If however you intend buying one of these, the secondary market is extremely limited as only 140 models were produced. Users included PET SHOP BOYS and DIRE STRAITS.

Iconic example of use: DIRE STRAITS ‘Money for Nothing’

CASIO CZ101 (1984)

The CASIO CZ101 and YAMAHA DX100 were almost like distantly related cousins; both had mini keys, utilised digital sound generating techniques and had guitar strap pegs which allowed them to be played in a keytar style. The 101 was adopted by Vince Clarke and was used extensively on the debut ERASURE album ‘Wonderland’. Despite being digital, the CZ range was still capable of some pretty rich analogue style sounds and patches like the Organ preset soon found themselves appearing on many a house track.

Iconic examples of use: BLANCMANGE ‘Believe You Me’ album

EMU EMULATOR II (1984)

Much beloved of DEPECHE MODE and NEW ORDER, the follow-up to the original Emulator was an 8 bit machine that had analogue filters. In contrast to the rack-mounted Akai range, the keyboard-based Emulator became a much more popular live machine, with sample storage being held on 5.5 inch floppy disks. The addition of MIDI compatibility, in-built sequencer and separate audio outputs made it a highly sought after sampler. PET SHOP BOYS’ Neil Tennant played one in the infamous Old Grey Whistle Test performance where he fluffs the string part in ‘Opportunities’.

Iconic example of use: DEPECHE MODE ‘Christmas Island’

ENSONIQ MIRAGE (1984)

The Mirage was a good value for money sampler/synthesizer, although the specifications these days look laughable with 8 bit, 333 note sequencing memory and 128kb of RAM. It featured analogue filters, a velocity sensitive keyboard and 8 note polyphony. Even now, players swear by the warmth that the filter can give to a sample, but the inscrutable programming method it utilised via hexadecimal-code manipulation meant that editing samples was only for the faint-hearted! Users included SKINNY PUPPY and JANET JACKSON on the ‘Control’ album.

Iconic example of use: SKINNY PUPPY ‘Jackhammer’

KORG DW8000 (1985)

The heart of the KORG DW8000’s sound was digitally generated from its DWGS (Digital Waveform Generator System). The DW8000 was a bit of a hybrid, half-way between a DX7 and an analogue synthesizer in that its waveforms were digital and its filter analogue. The synth gained a lot of fans because of its in-built arpeggiator and FX and although not as successful as the M1, it was still used by artists such as DEPECHE MODE and KEITH EMERSON.

Iconic example of use: EMERSON, LAKE & POWELL ‘Love Blind’

YAMAHA DX100 (1985)

The DX100 along with the FB01 sound module were the entry level points for those wishing to explore FM synthesis. Whilst not possessing the same amount of operators as its bigger DX brothers, the DX100 became popular with Detroit Techno producers like Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins because of its distinctive bass sound. If you also check out an equipment list from the ‘Electric Café’ era of KRAFTWERK, you will see that one surprisingly also found its way into the German electronic maestros synth armoury too.

Iconic example of use: RHYTHIM IS RHYTHIM ‘Nude Photo’

SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS PROPHET VS (1986)

After their success with the Prophet 5, Prophet 10 and Pro One, the Prophet VS was a departure for Sequential Circuits and featured an innovative joystick which allowed the user to mix/program sounds. The VS was used on the soundtrack to ‘Tron’ and John Carpenter’s ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ with synthesist Alan Howarth using some of the synth’s more ‘eastern’ sounding presets to evoke the atmosphere needed for the film. This was another favourite synth for Vince Clarke and featured extensively on both ‘The Circus’ and ‘The Innocents’ albums.

Iconic example of use: ERASURE ‘It Doesn’t Have to Be’

BUCHLA 700 (1987)

Although generally known as Robert Moog’s competitor in the analogue modular synth stakes, Don Buchla actually produced a digital synth in the shape of the 700. Used by Alessandro Cortini of NINE INCH NAILS fame, it used a mixture of synthesis techniques (FM/Wavetable/Subtractive/Additive) and in true esoteric Buchla fashion, let the user create their own tunings with as many or as little notes per octave as wanted. Only six were made, but BENGE went on to create a mini-album using the 700 called ‘Chimeror’ produced as a result an hour’s improvisation with the machine.

Iconic example of use: BENGE ‘Chimeror’

ROLAND D50 (1987)

Utilising a combination of Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) and Linear Arithmetic (LA) synthesis, the D50 was another omnipresent synth. Its many famous users included ENYA, VANGELIS, JEAN-MICHEL JARRE and Nick Rhodes from DURAN DURAN. For some reason there was a bitter rivalry between M1 and D50 owners as to who had the ‘best’ synth, and to this day, debates still rage on in synth forums! Arguments aside, the D50 was certainly one of the ‘big three’ digital synths that transformed the sound libraries of most synth players in the period.

Iconic example of use: JEAN-MICHEL JARRE ‘Computer Weekend’

AKAI S1000 (1988)

Despite being a royal pain in the ar*e to program due to its small LED screen, the S1000 was THE digital sampler which found its way into the equipment list of every decent studio of the period. Bringing sampling to the masses it also featured a timestretch function which let samples be warped and became the de rigueur vocal effect on tracks such as JOSH WINK’s seminal acid track ‘Higher State of Consciousness’ and DOUBLE 99’s Speed Garage anthem ‘Ripgroove’.

Iconic example of use: PORTISHEAD ‘Dummy’ album

KORG M1 (1988)

Alongside the D50 and the DX7, the M1 was THE synth that was most likely to appear on ‘Top Of The Pops’ when a band featured a keyboard player. With a range of sounds from arguably the first decent ‘real’ piano sound through to some complex/atmospheric patches, the M1 was adopted by everybody from house producers using the organ bass like on ‘Show Me Love’ by ROBIN S through to your typical functions band of the day. OMD’s 1991 ‘Sugar Tax’ album is almost entirely Korg M1!

Iconic example of use: GARY NUMAN ‘Sacrifice’ album

ROLAND W30 (1989)

The W30 deserves its place if only for the way that Liam Howlett from THE PRODIGY was so devoted to it for nigh on 20 years. Despite being Roland’s 1st workstation synthesizer and featuring sampling technology, Howlett used the W30 primarily as a sequencer to drive sounds/loops from his Akai Sampler and would go onto use up until 2008. Howlett’s live use of the W30 was so extensive that he bought up the remaining keys from Roland Japan as he used to break them every other show…

Iconic example of use: THE PRODIGY ‘Everybody In The Place’

ROLAND JD800 (1991)

The JD800 signalled a return to the analogue-style design philosophy of its older machines with plenty of real-time control and sliders, but at the time wasn’t a terribly successful selling machine. The machine featured a keyboard with aftertouch which allowed extra control of its sounds, but if you manage to find a JD800 on the s/h market now, this was one of the things to fail on the machine as the glue used had a habit of melting. Famous users of the JD800 include: FAITHLESS, UNDERWORLD and DEPECHE MODE.

Iconic example of use: JEAN-MICHEL JARRE ‘Chronologie 4’

WALDORF WAVE (1993)

Although a digital synth (it was Wavetable based), the Wave had analogue filters which helped give it its warmth. Its users included HANS ZIMMER, LEFTFIELD, ANTHONY ROTHER, KLAUS SCHULZE and ULRICH SCHNAUSS who still has an orange model – it was also unusual in being expandable from 16 voices up to 48 voices. With only roughly 200 sold, the Wave pretty much put Waldorf out of business, losing money on each unit shipped. Due to its scarcity, the Wave is highly collectable with a price tag close to $10,000 for one.

Iconic example of use: BJÖRK ‘Violently Happy (Live Version)’

CLAVIA NORD LEAD (1994)

The original Clavia Nord Lead helped coin the term “virtual analog synthesis”. It was followed by a series of other machines all in a distinctive red livery and was adopted by many artists including NINE INCH NAILS, UNDERWORLD and FLUKE. The addition of several real-time controls plus the ability to mimic several retro analogue synths meant that the Lead became an extremely popular synth with a range that still endures today.

Iconic example of use: THE PRODIGY ‘Funky Sh*t’

KORG PROPHECY (1995)

The Prophecy was unusual in that it was a monophonic synth that used virtual modelling to emulate everything from blown and plucked sounds, through to thicker, more analogue textures. Probably most famous for providing one of the lead sounds on THE PRODIGY’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’, the Prophecy was also blessed with aftertouch and ribbon control on what was often affectionately referred to as a ‘sausage roll’ on the left hand edge of the synthesizer.

Iconic example of use: THE PRODIGY ‘Smack My Bitch Up’

KURZWEIL K2500 (1996)

The K2500 in its keyboard and rack version was popular as a workstation synth, featuring a synth engine, sequencer and sampling with the additional ability to load in Akai samples. It found favour as live machine for several years with PINK FLOYD and in the studio with NINE INCH NAILS. The rack version wasn’t the most user friendly machine to use due its over-reliance on its editing screen, but the machine had a lush warm sound to them and many users continue to swear by them.

Iconic example of use: PLASTIKMAN ‘Plasticine’

WALDORF MICROWAVE XT (1998)

With the rise of melodic trance, synths like the brightly coloured (or some might say ‘lairy’) Microwave XT from the Waldorf range help artists such as FERRY CORSTEN re-introduce some welcome digital-based analogue sounds back into the musical marketplace. The Microwave XT, although a baby brother to the HUGE Wave synth, was still an extremely fat sounding synth and coloured its most prominent control (the filter cut-off) in a fetching shade of red to differentiate it from the other controls on its orange front panel. NINE INCH NAILS also count amongst one its famous users.

Iconic example of use: THE ART OF NOISE ‘The Seduction of Claude Debussy’ album

Text by Paul Boddy
4th March 2017

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