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Electropop is a form of electronic music that is made with synthesizers, and which first flourished from 1978 to 1983. Electropop is sometimes confused with synthpop (pop music made with synthesizers), and is generally regarded to be a particular style of synthpop that incorporates the more robotic elements and feel of electro music. Electropop laid the groundwork for a mass market in chart-oriented pop and dance music. Numerous bands have since carried on the electropop tradition into the 1990s and 2000s.

Electropop is characterized by an emphasized electronic sound — often described as cold and robotic — and by minimal arrangements. This was mainly due to the limitations of the analog synthesizers and recording techniques used at the time, but has since become a stylistic choice.

Electropop songs are pop songs at heart, often with simple, catchy hooks and dance beats, but differing from those of electronic dance music genres which electropop helped to inspire — techno, house, electroclash, etc. — in that songwriting is emphasized over simple danceability. They often feature alienated deadpan lyrics with a futuristic sci-fi edge.

[edit] 1970s and 1980s

Many early electropop artists were British and were inspired by David Bowie's "Berlin period" albums Heroes and Low,^[1] the German band Kraftwerk,^[2] late 70s Electronic Disco (Giorgio Moroder in particular) and the Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra.^[3] Some groups also took inspiration from the NYC synthpunk group Suicide,^[4] and the Krautrock groups Neu!, Cluster, and Can.

By the early 1980s there had been a long history of experimental avant-garde electronic music, notably in northern Europe that provided access to a bank of technical expertise built up over decades, via organisations such as the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, and the London Electronic Music Studios. These institutions were patronised by early rock synth pioneers such as Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Tangerine Dream, and Pink Floyd.

The first bands to be labeled as "Electro-Pop" by media were The Human League, Depeche Mode and Soft Cell in 1980-1981. The term became widely adopted in British media to set apart these bands from the previous post-punk, futurists and new wave acts which didn't use a fully electronic set-up or simply were not regarded as Pop.

Electropop's early steps ,and the Numan Futurist movement in particular, were strongly disparaged in the British music press of the late 1970s and early 1980s as the "Adolf Hitler Memorial Space Patrol" (Mick Farren).^[5]

Despite this Electropop flourished in the United States in black culture, particularly in Detroit. Musicians such as A Number of Names and Cybotron pursued a version of the style inflected by R&B and funk which eventually established the Detroit techno scene. Afrika Bambaata, from New York, also invented the electro style of hip-hop by sampling Kraftwerk.

[edit] 2000s

A number of electropop musicians came out of the electroclash scenes of the early 2000s, going on to make popular albums from 2002 to present, from London, New York, Berlin, and Ann Arbor. These have included Fischerspooner,^[6] Ladytron, Melnyk, Temposhark, Peaches, Gonzales, The Whip, Dragonette, Matthew Dear,^[7] T. Raumschmiere,^[8] Ellen Allien,^[9] Miss Kittin^[10] Owl City,^[11] and The Knife.^[12]. Norwegian singer Annie also came out during this period.^[13] Other artists including Goldfrapp, Sweden's BWO (Bodies Without Organs) and Terry Poison from Israel are sometimes included in this genre.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Influence on mainstream pop music

In recent years, the electropop sound and style have also arguably influenced many mainstream pop artists such as Christina Aguilera (evident in her 2008 song "Keeps Gettin' Better" and by the artist's collaboration with a number of electronic-oriented artists for her fourth studio album^[14]), Rihanna^[15], and Kylie Minogue^[16].

One Los Angeles Times reviewer describes The Black Eyed Peas' 2009 album The E.N.D. as "taking on electro, deep house, dancehall and dance-punk, to name just a few trends."^[17] In an interview with Billboard magazine, group member will.i.am summed up the album's music as "a lot of dance stuff, real melodic, electronic, soulful. We call it, like, electric static funk, something like that."^[18]

[edit] 2009 Wave of Female Electropop Artists

2009 saw a rise in popularity of female electropop artists, particularly in the UK, US, France, Italy, and Sweden.^[19] In the "Sound of 2009" poll of 130 music experts conducted for the BBC, 10 of the top 15 artists named were of the electropop genre.^[19] female electropop artists of note are Ladyhawke,^[20] Eleanor Jackson of La Roux^[20] and Perfume.^[21] A video by Little Boots, who topped the BBC poll, showed her using a Tenori-on.^[19] Other acts include Ladytron, The Knife and Goldfrapp.

In 2009 James Oldham, head of artists and repertoire at A&M Records (UK) was quoted as saying "All A&R departments have been saying to managers and lawyers: 'Don't give us any more bands because we're not going to sign them and they're not going to sell records.' So everything we've been put on to is electronic in nature."^[20][22]

[edit] See also

• Dance-pop
• Electro house
• Synthpop
• Wonky Pop

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Depeche Mode & The Story of Electro-Pop, Q/Mojo magazine collaboration, 2005.
• Electronic Music: The Instruments, the Music & The Musicians by Andy Mackay, of Roxy Music

[edit] External links

• Electro and Synthpop Timeline Canadian Broadcasting Company