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Sign upSynthesizers, BPM, vocoders, mixing, choruses - how the sound works under the hood.
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1983: Italo disco relies on the TR-808, LinnDrum, Oberheim DMX and TR-707. 16 steps, kick on every beat, clap on 2 and 4. We break down eight rhythmic patterns from space disco (110 BPM) to Eurodance (140 BPM) with step grids and reference tracks.
September 1979: Tubeway Army Are Friends Electric - the first synth hit #1 in the UK. From Kraftwerk The Man-Machine (1978) to Human League Dare (1981) - a chronology of the transition and a map of transitional albums where the synthesiser went from supplementary to main instrument.
2026: Disco Magic & valex77 release a cover of Ostansya by X-trim Project. 4:03, Electro House. The original vocal is preserved, tempo and rhythm section taken into a modern pop format. A breakdown of vocal lift technique, arrangement and similar tracks from the catalogue.
February 1984. The Roland Juno-106 with three chorus modes - the machine's most recognisable feature. Chorus in synthesisers, guitar, studio and vocals - four applications.
1980. The Oberheim DMX - the second digital drum machine after the Linn LM-1. $2,895, 24 sounds on EPROM chips, swing - the feature that connected new wave and hip-hop. Twelve known recordings.
1980. Two drum machines launch simultaneously. The TR-808 at $1,195 generates sound through analog. The LM-1 at $5,500 plays samples. Why the 808 does not sound like the LM-1 - broken down at the physics of sound.
1983. Clan of Xymox, Wolfsheim, Deine Lakaien - three genres born in the same post-punk environment but diverging by rhythm, vocals and synthesiser. Fifteen verifiable examples.
1979-1984. Five years in which synth-pop and new wave travelled from a common root to two distinct genres. Comparison table, ten borderline tracks, a listener's test.
January 1980: Hugh Padgham accidentally opens a talkback mic above Phil Collins's drums. Reverb is chopped by a gate after half a second. Gated reverb - the effect that defined the sound of the 80s. Processing scheme, AMS RMX16 and five imitation mistakes.
1978: the Prophet-5 at $3,950. 1983: the Yamaha DX7 at $1,995 - 200,000 sold. 1988: the Korg M1 at $1,800. In ten years the price dropped threefold while polyphony doubled. Three waves of 80s synthesizers - analog, digital and workstations.
1978: the Roland CR-78 - the first drum machine with a microprocessor. By 1980 two approaches: analog synthesis (TR-808, $1,195) and samples (Linn LM-1, $4,995). How 16 buttons in a row rewrote the rhythm of pop music - in plain words.
How to distinguish synth-pop from any song with keyboards: twelve signs across arrangement, rhythm, voice and form, a 1977-1986 timeline and a test for borderline tracks.
3 August 1987: M|A|R|R|S on 4AD release the first UK #1 built from 30+ samples. Eric B. & Rakim, James Brown, Public Enemy, Chris Montez. Main sampler - Akai S900 at Powerhouse Studios. A Pete Waterman lawsuit over a Mel & Kim sample settled at $70K; in 1988 the UK passed the Copyright Act.
13 June 1983: “Rockit” takes #71 Billboard but Dance Club #1. Five 1984 Grammys - a record for an electronic track. Scratching by 22-year-old Grandmixer DST at 1 TON Records. Godley & Creme's video with Jim Whiting kinetic mannequins opened MTV to only the second Black artist after MJ.
14 January 1985: the first No Jacket Required single. #1 Billboard, UK #12. The nonsense word came from a drum improv; Collins tried “Julie” and “Susan” - sounded worse. Four days at The Townhouse with Hugh Padgham. The 3+3+2 syncopation lifted from Prince's “1999” - Collins admitted in 2016. Album 25M copies.
February 1986: Prince wrote “Kiss” for Mazarati then took it back. #1 Billboard for 2 weeks, blocking The Bangles' “Manic Monday”. Sunset Sound, one night. Three elements: a Hohner G3T acoustic, LinnDrum and Prince's falsetto. No bass, no synths. 1987 Grammy for Best R&B Performance.
May 1984: Prince releases a song WITHOUT a bassline. Warner Bros. refused to put it out; Prince insisted. #1 Billboard for 5 weeks - the best-selling US single of 1984. Sunset Sound, one day, Prince plays everything himself: LinnDrum + OB-Xa + Stratocaster. The lyric is autobiographical - about his parents' 1968 divorce.
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