Synthpop

Synthpop is a style of popular music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with an era between the end of the

Synthpop is a style of popular music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It is most closely associated with an era between the end of the 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s when the synthesizer first became a practical and affordable instrument. The style developed as musicians such as Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Ultravox, and Devo embraced the synthesizer as a lead instrument, taking advantage of its unique sound and capabilities.

While most current popular music in the industrialized world is realized via electronic instruments, synthpop has its own stylistic tendencies which differentiate it from other music produced by the same means. These include the exploitation of artificiality (the synthesizers are not used to imitate acoustic instruments), the use of mechanical rhythms and "feel", the use of vocal arrangements as a counterpoint to the artificiality of the instruments, and the use of ostinato patterns as an effect. Synthpop song structures are generally the same as in "regular" pop music.