Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. During the late 1970s bands such as the Human League, Kraftwerk, and later on Gary Numan, Soft Cell and John Foxx helped pioneer a new synth-pop style that drew more heavily from electronic music and emphasized primary usage of synthesizers. Developed in the late 1970s it has seen several revival periods up until now.

We picked out the best synthpop albums from the past 4 decades (!!!). Here’s our list.

The Human League – “Dare” (1981)

The Human League are ‘oldies’ when it comes to synthpop. Formed in Sheffield in 1977 and initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group attained widespread commercial success with their third album “Dare” in 1981. The album contained four hit singles, including the UK/US number one hit “Don’t You Want Me”. The band’s third studio album, it was recorded between March and September 1981 following the departure of founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, and saw the band shift direction from their prior avant-garde electronic style toward a more pop-friendly, commercial sound led by frontman Philip Oakey. A remix album based on “Dare”, “Love and Dancing”, was released in 1982.

Talk Talk – “It’s My Life” (1984)

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life”, and “Such a Shame” (both 1984) before moving towards a more experimental approach in the mid-1980s. Not surprisingly that our next pick is “It’s My Life”, the second studio album by Talk Talk, released in 1984. The album enjoyed an enormous succes thanks to the big international success of its singles (notably “Such a Shame”). We have a soft spot for the tracks “Dum Dum Girl”, “Such a Shame”, “Renée”, “It’s My Life” and “It’s You” although the entire album is just extremely enjoyable.

Alphaville – “Forever Young” (1984)

The German synth-pop band Alphaville, which formed in Münster in 1982, achieved chart success with the singles “Forever Young”, “Big in Japan”, “Sounds Like a Melody”. All these were taken from their 1984 debut album “Forever Young” which was produced by Colin Pearson, Wolfgang Loos and Andreas Budde. Despite the success of the album and its singles, the band did not tour as they felt more like ‘studio rats’. It remains the band’s best output to date.

a-ha – “Scoundrel Days” (1986)

The Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha was formed in Oslo in 1982 by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards and guitars), and Morten Harket (vocals). “Scoundrel Days” is the second studio album by the trio and offered a more mature sound compared to their debut “Hunting High and Low” (1985). “Scoundrel Days”, recorded in England in early 1986 and produced by Alan Tarney, sported such singles as “I’ve Been Losing You”, “Cry Wolf” and “Maybe, Maybe” which was released solely in Bolivia. “Manhattan Skyline” was the forth and final single released from the long-player.

Erasure – “Wonderland” (1986)

“Wonderland” is the debut studio album by the English synth-pop duo Erasure and was released in 1986. Although it was not an immediate success, the three singles released from it did become cult tracks overtime: “Who Needs Love Like That”, “Oh L’amour” and “Heavenly Action”. Although “Wonderland” was considered a failure, especially when comparing it to Clarke’s prior successes with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, the album became an all time favourite that laid the fundament of what was to follow in 1987 with the release of “The Circus”. The album was produced by Flood who would become a long-time collaborator.

Pet Shop Boys – “Actually” (1987)

Pet Shop Boys, the English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981, broke all records when they released “Actually”, their second studio album, in 1987. It was pushed forward by such great tracks as “One More Chance”, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (with Dusty Springfield), “Shopping”, “Rent”, “It Couldn’t Happen Here”, “It’s a Sin”, “Heart” and the majestic “King’s Cross”. In short an album filled with hits.

New Order – “Technique” (1989)

New Order was formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. The band formed after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis and were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. Their experience of the early 1980s New York club scene saw them increasingly incorporate dance rhythms and electronic instrumentation into their work which resulted in their 1983 hit “Blue Monday” becoming and absolute monster hit. However, we picked out “Technique”, their fifth studio album. Released in 1989 by Factory Records, the album incorporates Balearic beat and acid house influences into the group’s dance-rock sound. “Technique” was the first New Order album to reach the number one spot on the UK charts and had such excellent singles as “Fine Time”, “Round and Round” and “Run 2”.

Depeche Mode – “Violator” (1990)

“Violator” is the seventh studio album by England’s Depeche Mode. It was first released on 19 March 1990 through Mute Records internationally, and through Sire and Reprise Records in the United States. Preceded by the singles “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence” (a top-10 entry in both the United Kingdom and the United States), the album propelled the band into international stardom, and also yielded the singles “Policy of Truth” and “World in My Eyes”. The album is generally considered as their most accomplisched electropop album before they encorporated more rock elements in the next album, “Songs of Faith and Devotion”. The role of Alan Wilder was crucial in “Violator”, you only have to compare the first and final version of “Enjoy The Silence” to notice the huge difference.

Bel Canto – “Birds of Passage” (1990)

Bel Canto is a Norwegian music duo, originally a trio, fronted by vocalist Anneli Drecker and musically powered by Geir Jenssen and Nils Johansen. Signed originally to Crammed Discs, their second album “Birds of Passage” is considered as an absolute pearl holding an excellent production (aided by Giles Martin) and a long list of guest musicians who added acoustic elements to the cold nordic synths Jenssen and multi-instrumentalist Johansen. It was also the last album featuring Geir Jenssen. It holds the hits “Intravenous”, “Birds of Passage”, “A Shoulder to the Wheel”, “Time Without End”, “Continuum” and “The Suffering”. The band remains an often well-hidden pearl in electropopland.

De/Vision – “Fairyland?” (1996)

De/Vision, a German synthpop act formed in 1988, was at the peak of its electropop stardom around the mid-nineties culiminating in the outstanding “Fairyland?” album which had such great tracks as “I Regret”, “Sweet Life”, “Today’s Life” or “Bleed Me White”. The band was fronting a new wave of electropop bands in Germany but was generally considered to be the most consistent one as far as quality and output. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Wolfsheim – “Spectators” (1999)

Wolfsheim was a synthpop duo from Hamburg, Germany, that consisted of Markus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner. Their fourth studio album was “Spectators” (1999) preceeded by two ‘pre-release’ singles from the album. “Once in a Lifetime” was released on October 16, 1998 and “It’s Hurting For The First Time” followed on November 30th. The LP was produced by Wolfsheim and José Alvarez-Brill and held 11 new songs. To this day, “Spectators” is the best-selling album by Wolfsheim with over 250,000 copies sold. The third single, “Künstliche Welten”, was released in 1999.

Iris – “Disconnect” (2000)

“Disconnect” is the debut album by the electropop group Iris. Released in 2000 via the US label A Different Drum, the synthpop label by excellence, its success was guaranteed by the now cult synthpop jewels “Annie, Would I Lie to You?”, “Lose In Wanting” and “Danger Is The Shame”. Originally formed by Reagan Jones and Mat Morris in 1993, after the release of their first album “Disconnect”, Matthew Morris was replaced with Andrew Sega, who pushed the band’s sound in a more experimental electronic direction. Sadly enough the release, and also the band’s earlier material, are no longer available on Spotify.

Elegant Machinery – “A Soft Exchange” (2008)

The Swedish synthpop band Elegant Machinery defined the Swedish synthpop movement along with such bands as Page, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen På Jorden and Kiethevez. Heavily influenced by acts like Yazoo, The Human League, Depeche Mode and Rational Youth, the trio Robert Enforsen, Richard Jomshof and Leslie Bayne started the band in 1988 under the name Pole Position. The band was very successful in Sweden, with a number of successful singles and various awards. But it is their 2008 album “A Soft Exchange” that earned them a place in our list. The album was extremely mature yet very melodic and features such pearls a “With Grace”, “Do You Know”, “Feel The Silence”, “Bleeding Words” and “Is This The Way”.

Electro Spectre – “Dangerous Game” (2012)

The Norwegian electronic music duo Electro Spectre fronts the 3rd electropop wave. Isak Rypdal (writer-producer) and Alexander Björneboe (writer-singer) debuted in 2009 with the album “Watch It All Turn” (which was later reproduced and re-released in 2010). The duo has secured us from a steady and consistent output ever since. In our list we picked the band’s 2012 release, which is their second studio album entitled “Dangerous Game”. Included are such pearls as “Love Thief”, “Dancing Girl”, “World Keeps Turning” and “Tokyo Shuffle”.

Mondträume – “Empty” (2014)

Mondträume is the creative outlet of 2 Spanish talented artists Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys. In only a few years, the duo rapidly caught the attention of concert organizers, released several songs on compilations, and secured a label contract with Belgium’s electronic label Alfa Matrix where they debuted with the album “Empty”. The hits “Life Is Short”, “Parasite” and especially the synth pop pearl “Far From Pain” showcase why this band became one of the strongholders in the 3rd electropop wave together with such bands as Electro Spectre, and more.

Eldrina Mich

As Eldrina Mich I work as a go-between and a devil’s advocate when it comes to Side-Line. If our own staff needs to be interviewed then ask the questions no one else dares to ask.

www.side-line.com

Out now via Bandcamp only is the Mortiis release “The Shadow Of The Tower”, also known as being a ‘lost’ recording. This is a 32:51 long recording from 1997 and was originally used as background atmospheres for the rare and fairly far in-between live shows Mortiis was doing back then. Mortiis discovered this recording on a tape in the attic, some 23+ years after it was initially recorded.

Mortiis: “I thought it would be an interesting piece of sonic history to get out there. Around 1997, I was getting increasingly interested in industrial/ritualistic and experimental music (I also recorded VOND´s 3rd and last album “Green Eyed Demon” around this time, which has a lot of similar vibes, and dark, repeating, loop-based experimentation all over it), and this recording clearly reflects that.”

Expect drony, ritualistic and repetitive atmospheric music.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Electro-pop, future-pop.

Background/Info: The Spanish Mondträume duo strikes back with their second full length, which comes five years after the promising debut “Empty”. In the meantime front man Damasius Venys also started with a solo side-project Mental exile, which released its debut-EP in 2018.Notice by the way this new album was preceded by the singles “Still Beating” (2014) and “Free” (2016).

Content: Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys remain faithful to their electro/future-pop style they introduced on “Empty”. The influences remain identically the same, but the global writing- and production process have been seriously improved. The songs are featuring danceable beats and melancholic, but melodic leads and choruses. I however noticed a fewer ‘happy’-like passages (cf. “Nothing”) and even a simply beautiful song (cf. “Let Me Go”), which has something sensible and poignant.

The limited edition features a bonus disc with remixes by Crytek, Massive Ego, Kant Kino, X-O-Planet, Avarice In Audio, Headzor, Evo-Lution, Octolab, Any second and Elektrostaub. Both previously released single-songs are the main songs exposed to the remix skills of other artists.

+ + + : I already talked about the impressive evolution in sound and composition. If Mondträume was announced by their label as a ‘hot’ newcomer in 2013, they for sure confirm this potential with this great work. The album brings a perfect twist between danceable songs and softer, deeply melancholic pieces. Most of the choruses have an elevating sensation, and I especially want to mention the title song, the already known “Free”, “Nothing” and the beautiful “Le Me Go”. A good ‘pop’ band needs a talented singer and here again Damasius Venys confirms to be the right man in the right place. I think it’s not a coincidence he has already been asked by numerous bands to do some guest vocals. Among the remixes I’ll mention the great contribution by X-O-Planet (featuring male-female duo vocals), Octolab for the groovy approach and Crytek for their punching remix.

– – – : This album also features a cover version of The Cure’s “Lament”, which is not my favorite song from the tracklist.

Conclusion: This album sounds as an invitation to dance to melancholia and it’s weird to say, but it will make you feel good!

Best songs: “Lovers, Sinners & Liars”, “Free”, “Nothing”, “Let Me Go”, “The Center Of Your World” + “Still Beating – X-O-Planet”.

Rate: (8½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/Mondtraeume

Label: www.alfa–matrix.com / www.facebook.com/Alfa.Matrix

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, a German politician serving as Minister of Defence since 2013, was nominated to the position of President of the European Commission by the European Council yesterday. She served continuously in Angela Merkel’s cabinet since she took office in 2005, first as Minister of Family Affairs and Youth from 2005 to 2009, then as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2009 to 2013, before becoming Minister of Defence in 2013.

But what we mostly know about vond der Leyen aka ‘Zensursula’ is that she was in charge of the request to ban the Rammstein album “Liebe ist für alle da” on November 11, 2009. This because of the SM nature of the lyrics. On May 31 2010 the German Justice apparently noticed this was really a bridge too far and removed it again from the index.

Not everything is negative about von der Leyen of course. She for instance caused another controversy in 2016 after she refused to wear a hijab while visiting Saudi Arabia. She said: “It annoys me when women are pushed into wearing the abaya.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

“Lovers, sinners & liars” is the title of the brand new album by the excellent Spanish electropop act Mondträume. With their previous and highly successful “Empty” album, the Spanish duo established themselves on the top of the dark electro pop scene next to other acclaimed acts in the likes of De/Vision, Melotron, Mesh and other bands in the same league of excellence.

On “Lovers, Sinners & Liars” Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys continue to offer dark melodic electropop hovering between slower intimate synth pop songs and more dynamic upbeat club tracks. You get 12 tracks including the singles “Still Beating” and “Free” next to a cover version of “Lament” (The Cure).

Attention: There is also a limited 2CD edition (available here from the label) which comes with a 10-track bonus disc offering a variety of remixes by Massive Ego, Kant Kino, Crytek, Avarice In Audio and many more!

For now, enjoy these 2 tracks.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

Now this is good news. All Vond albums are now available on digital platforms worldwide. The release happens in collaboration with Plastic Head Media, which has made all 4 Vond albums available.

Vond was a side project of Håvard Ellefsen of Mortiis and is considered to be the ‘dark side’ of Mortiis, so to speak. On the debut album, “Selvmord”, the musical styles of Vond were quite similar to the music found on early Era 1 Mortiis. On “The Dark River” album however samplers were added together with a different melody structure. The final album “Green Eyed Demon” features an abundance of samples from movies such as “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and “Deranged”, accompanied by a droning music line.

Next to these 3 full albums, a “AIDS to the people” will also be released as a download. The record was supposed to be released in 1996, however it took 21 years before the LP would see a release.

Below are the albums on Spotify:

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com

The Spanish dark electropop act Mondträume return with a brand new EP, “Free”, on November 4. Today Side-Line offers you a preview of the complete 5-track EP (which you can download right here on Bandcamp)! The material is the first new work from the band now that they are working on a new album, “Lovers, Liars & Sinners”.

Note that the Mondträume duo (Pikotto Vond Mond and Damasius Venys) have also decided to make this EP available as a (very limited!) physical release (available here). The CD version comes with a rather excellent bonus, the previously released digital EP “Still Beating” which will be available on CD for the very first time. That digital EP featured collaborations with Rotersand, Avarice In Audio, Aesthetische and Nordika.

But here’s already the exclusive preview of the digital version of the “Free” EP. The EP is out on November 4.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

side-line.com