While there had previous been synthesizer hits like ‘Son Of My Father’, ‘Popcorn’ and ‘Autobahn’, they were considered novelty records at the time and it would be fair to say that the true Year Zero in electronic pop music was 1977.
THE SEX PISTOLS and ‘God Save The Queen’ may have been on everyone’s hushed lips in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee year but the most influential song to emerge from that period and that STILL sounds like the future is ‘I Feel Love’ by Donna Summer.
The producer of ‘I Feel Love’ was a German domiciled Italian named Giorgio Moroder. A solo artist in his own right within his adopted homeland, he had already been playing with synthesizer riffs on his first hit song ‘Son Of My Father’; a facsimile cover by Chicory Tip reached No1 in the UK at the start of 1972.
In the case of ‘I Feel Love’, Moroder later harnessed the hypnotic quality of an 8-step analogue sequencer plus a triplet delay to create the pulsing Moog lines to close the Donna Summer concept album ‘I Remember Yesterday’. The preceding tracks had themes of the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. ‘I Feel Love’ was designed to represent the sound of the future.
Despite already clocking in at nearly six minutes, it felt like it could go on forever. Again, Moroder had the foresight to extend the track to nearly twenty minutes on a 12 inch version for discos; the extended version was born. Alas, ‘I Feel Love’ was the only electronic track on ‘I Remember Yesterday’ but Moroder would fully exploit the potential of this new technology on the next Donna Summer albums as well as his solo records.
The first British artist to present electronic pop in its modern form at the start of 1977 was David Bowie with ‘Sound & Vision’ featuring an ARP Solina lead line and noise-gated futuristic sounding drums. With this, ‘Oxygène’, ‘Magic Fly’ and ‘I Feel Love’ all hitting the Top 3 in the UK singles chart within months of each other, this was the beginning of synths designing the future.
So here are 20 albums which ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK sees as contributing to the electronic legacy of 1977. While a number of these albums were not purely electronic, their inclusion of electronic based songs or suites proved to be highly influential in their experimental possibilities. They are listed in alphabetical order with a restriction of one album per artist moniker…
ASHRA New Age Of Earth
Guitarist Manuel Göttsching had been a member of ASH RA TEMPEL but looking to explore more progressive voxless territory on ‘New Age Of Earth’, he armed himself with an Eko Rhythm Computer, ARP Odyssey and his signature Farfisa Synthorchestra. An exponent of a more transient soloing style, he used the guitar for texture as much as for melody in this beautiful treasure trove of an album, as on the wonderful 20 minute ‘Nightdust’.
‘New Age Of Earth’ is still available via Virgin Records
TIM BLAKE Crystal Machine
Having been the synth player of GONG on their albums ‘Flying Teapot’, ‘Angel’s Egg’ and ‘You’, Francophile Tim Blake’s first solo long player was ‘Crystal Machine’. A combination of studio and live material, with a EMS Synthi A, Minimoog and Elka Rhapsody at his disposal, it was full of eccentric sci-fi soundscapes and cosmic otherworldliness in the GONG, PINK FLOYD and HAWKWIND vein; Blake would actually join the latter in 1979.
‘Crystal Machine’ is still available via Esoteric Recordings
DAVID BOWIE Low
“There’s New Wave, there’s Old Wave, and there’s David Bowie” said the advert for ‘Low’, recorded in Switzerland but mixed at Hansa Studios where the soldiers in the East Berlin watch towers could look into the windows of the building. It featured a whole side of instrumentals, the best two being ‘Warszawa’ and ‘Art Decade’ in collaboration with Brian Eno. Despite the artful experimentation, there was a hit single in ‘Sound & Vision’.
‘Low’ is still available via EMI Records
CLUSTER & ENO Cluster & Eno
Having first worked together in 1976, Brian Eno met up with Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius of CLUSTER on two fruitful recordings, the first of which was a glorious ambient instrumental affair. The front cover photo of a microphone up near the clouds summed up the approach with the album full of angelic atmospheres and gentle melodies. The closer ‘Für Luise’ was a tense cold war drama with stark piano and minimal synth.
‘Cluster & Eno’ is still available via Bureau B
ELECTRONIC SYSTEM Disco Machine
A year before TELEX formed, Dan Lacksman released his sixth album under the ELECTRONIC SYSTEM moniker. With the sequencer driven Moog sounds of Giorgio Moroder being the main influence, ‘Flight to Tokyo’, ‘Cosmic Trip’ and ‘Flight To Venus’ was a fine segue of instrumental variations on the throbbing electronic disco theme, the latter of which was sampled in 2002 by THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS for ‘Star Guitar’.
‘Disco Machine’ is still available via The Wack Attack Barrack
BRIAN ENO Before & After Science
As with David Bowie’s ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes’ which Eno had also worked on, ‘Before & After Science’ presented its material as pop and experimental sides. The first side included the quirky ‘Blackwater’ with its fabulous stabs of synth and the metallic romp of ‘Kings Lead Hat’. But the best tracks were on side two were the synth ballads ‘By This River’ assisted by CLUSTER and the sumptuous nautical folk of ‘Spider & I’.
‘Before & After Science’ is still available via Virgin Records
BERNARD FEVRE Cosmos 2043
The French were on a roll with their vision for an electronic future with SPACE, DROIDS and Jean-Michel Jarre, but Bernard Favre actually composed and recorded the science fiction-themed ‘Cosmos 2043’ in 1975. While not as immediate as his fellow countrymen, this record was another sampled by THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS with ‘Earth Message’ forming the basis of 1999’s ‘Got Glint?’ for which Favre got a co-writing credit.
‘Cosmos 2043’ is still available via Anthology Records
https://www.facebook.com/blackdevildiscoclub
GIORGIO From Here To Eternity
On a roll from his pioneering work with Donna Summer, the sixth Giorgio Moroder solo album for centred around throbbing electronic disco. Featuring vocodered and conventional voices, the title track was effectively stretched out over one side of the album. Often mistaken for being KRAFTWERK, it actually prompted the Kling Klang quartet to move towards a more computerised sound for their 1978 album ‘The Man Machine’.
‘From Here To Eternity’ is still available via Repertoire Records
https://www.giorgiomoroder.com/
JEAN MICHEL JARRE Oxygène
Although released in France at the end of 1976, ‘Oxygène’ was not available worldwide until 1977 with ‘Oxygène IV’ becoming a huge hit single. The parent album was a glorious six part work and ‘Oxygène IV’ something of a centrepiece as a perfectly progressive spacey romp with pulsing sequences, Eminent strings, Mellotron choir and AKS waves while ‘Oxygene V’ chanelled Terry Riley’s ‘A Rainbow In Curved Air’.
‘Oxygène’ is still available via Sony Music
https://www.jeanmicheljarre.com/
KRAFTWERK Trans Europe Express
‘Trans Europe Express’ was the first KRAFTWERK album released in standalone English and German versions. Perhaps the most lyrical of all their imperial phase long players, ‘Europe Endless’ was despite its nostalgic romanticism, aspiring to a continent without borders while the punchy ‘Showroom Dummies’ responded to criticism their static live performance. Then there was the mighty title track and its ‘Metal On Metal’ interlude…
‘Trans Europe Express’ is still available via EMI Music
MICHAEL ROTHER Flammende Herzen
Relocating to build his own Random Studio in Forst, ‘Flammenden Herzen’ was Michael Rother’s first solo album after leaving NEU! Co-produced by Conny Plank with Jaki Liebezeit from CAN providing the percolating percussion, although Rother had utilised synthesizers to great effect before, they took a greater role in his solo work. ‘Karussell’ had a distinctly European flavour with its strong symphonic melodies.
‘Flammende Herzen’ is still available via Grönland Records
KLAUS SCHULZE Mirage
After success of ‘Timewind’ and then ‘Moondawn’ featuring Harald Grosskopf on drums, Klaus Schulze was by now well into what many consider his imperial phase and adding PPG modules to his synth set-up, operated alone on ‘Mirage’. Subtitled “an electronic winter landscape”, the wintery 29 minute ‘Crystal Lake’ planted the seed for New Age while promotion was supported by two lavish concerts at the London Planetarium.
‘Mirage’ is still available via MIG Music GmbH
SPACE Magic Fly
SPACE was the brainchild of Didier Marouani who went under the pseudonym of Ecama and formed the collective with Roland Romanelli and Jannick Top. The space disco of the iconic ‘Magic Fly’ with its catchy melody and lush accessible futurism rode the wave of a new European electronic disco sound. But the album wasn’t just about the title hit as ‘Fasten Seatbelt, ‘Tango In Space’ and ‘Flying Nightmare’ proved.
‘Magic Fly’ is still available via Virgin France
SUICIDE Suicide
An album of unsettling futuristic rockabilly, SUICIDE rocked the boat by Martin Rev using a Seeburg Rhythm Prince and Farfisa keyboard instead of drums and guitars while Alan Vega warbled and snarled like the ghost of a demented Elvis Presley. Highlights included ‘Ghost Rider’ and ‘Cheree’ which later soundtracked a Marc Jacobs perfume advert. The duo were to be a big influence on SOFT CELL and SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK.
‘Suicide’ is still available via Mute Records
https://www.facebook.com/SUICIDEBANDOFFICIAL/
DONNA SUMMER Once Upon A Time
‘Once Upon A Time’ was an ambitious double album consisting of four distinct approaches. An all-electronic three song segued suite entitled ‘Act2’ was headed by ‘Working The Midnight Shift’ which took ‘I Feel Love’ to the next level with Summer’s wispy falsetto now in a grander setting. ‘Now I Need You’ captured a gothic eeriness while ‘Queen For A Day’ was a forerunner of ‘Our Love’ that halfway mutated back into disco pop.
‘Once Upon A Time’ is still available via Casablanca / Universal Records
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialDonnaSummer/
TANGERINE DREAM Sorcerer
The final studio album by the classic TANGERINE DREAM line-up of Edgar Froese, Chris Franke and Peter Baumann, after the long compositions of previous releases, ‘Sorcerer’ was characterised by shorter pieces in the band’s first commission for a Hollywood movie. Although this meant tracks like ‘The Mountain Road’ faded before they really got going, ‘Betrayal’ showed what could be done within time restrictions.
‘Sorcerer’ is still available via Esoteric Recordings
https://www.tangerinedreammusic.com/
TOMITA Space Fantasy
Released first in Europe as ‘Space Fantasy’ but retitled ‘Kosmos’ for international consumption in 1978, Isao Tomita acquired a Polymoog to supplement his Moog modular system. The ‘Star Wars: Main Title’ was reimagined with his signature synthetic whistle while a Strauss / Wagner medley provided a ‘Space Fantasy’. But the classic Rodrigo guitar concerto ‘Aranjuez’ was cosmically synthesized in a manner that only Tomita could.
‘Space Fantasy’ is still available as ‘Kosmos’ via RCA
ULTRAVOX! Ha! Ha! Ha!
While primarily a fierce art rock album, ‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’ was however notable for the inclusion of two opposingly poled synth-dominated songs that pointed to the future direction of ULTRAVOX! The star of ‘The Man Who Dies Everyday’ was Billy Currie’s screaming ARP Odyssey while Warren Cann’s modified Roland TR77 rhythm machine acted as the backbone to the elegiac ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’ which also featured an Elka Rhapsody.
‘Ha! Ha! Ha!’ is still available via Island Records
VANGELIS Spiral
The ‘Spiral’ album was best known for the beautifully emotive ‘To The Unknown Man’ where Vangelis first fully exploited the possibilities of the Yamaha CS80. He proved he could also do lively electronic pop with ‘Dervish D’ where over a spinning Roland System 100 sequencer, a slice of robotic funk grooved with a brilliantly played jazz-inflected CS80 solo using all the manual control features it had at his disposal.
‘Spiral’ is still available via Esoteric Recordings
https://www.facebook.com/VangelisOfficial/
ZANOV Moebius 256 301
The work of Pierre Salkazanov, the Frenchman had the ARP 2600 and its sequencer, along with the EMS VCS 3 and RMI Harmonic Synthesizer. Comprising of three short pieces and two much longer progressively spacey tracks ‘Plénitude’ and ‘An Zéro’, ‘Moebius 256 301’ had much more of a Berlin School template and echoes of TANGERINE DREAM in particular when compared with his French contemporaries.
‘Moebius 256 301’ is still available via Wah Wah Records
Text by Chi Ming Lai
30th August 2025
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