Synth-pop solo artists: 15 names
From Giorgio Moroder and Gary Numan to Anne Clark, Sandra and Philip Oakey: fifteen individual catalogues that reveal different forms of synth-pop, from minimalism to club pop.
Sixth track already - save favourites and download without limits
Sign upArticles
Notes on music, craft, and the era
332 articles newest first
Celso Valli: a producer of Italian disco
Celso Valli - Italian arranger and producer who worked with Azoto, Raf, Matia Bazar and at Fonoprint studio. From "San Salvador" to "Self Control": how his classical training shaped the Italo Disco sound.
1 view
AMS RMX16: the reverb of the 80s
AMS RMX16 - the first microprocessor-controlled digital reverb; the NonLin preset became the sonic signature of the 1980s. How it worked, who used it and why it matters for Italo Disco and retro electronics.
1 view
PPG Wave 2.3: a wavetable synthesizer
PPG Wave 2.3 - Wolfgang Palm's hybrid wavetable synthesizer: digital oscillators + analogue filters, 8-part multitimbrality, Waveterm. How Depeche Mode, Tangerine Dream and Alphaville used it, and why it matters for modern synthesis.
Synth and drum machine: working together
MIDI, Roland TR-808/909, Yamaha DX7, Roland Juno: how synthesizers and drum machines became a single orchestra and defined the sound of Italo Disco, synth-pop, house and techno.
Italo Disco vs Hi-NRG: the difference
Both genres grew from Giorgio Moroder's electronic disco, use octave bass and synthesizers, but Hi-NRG is American-British energy and theatre while Italo Disco is European melody and robots. Technical, vocal and cultural differences.
1 view
French synth-pop: history and traits
French synth-pop is not a copy of Depeche Mode or OMD but a parallel branch: chanson, cinematic atmosphere and electronics from Étienne Daho, Indochine and Les Rita Mitsouko to Air, Daft Punk and Kavinsky. How it differs from British synth-pop.
1 view
Senator's "Девчонки" by Disco Magic
In 2003 Senator released the album "Посмотри в глаза" on Beilix; the opening track "Девчонки" became source material for a Disco Magic & valex77 cover. How Russian Europop of the 2000s is refitted into Italo disco: tempo, bass, rhythm and vocals.
1 view
Eurodance vs techno: the difference
1990: Snap! releases "The Power" - rap, female chorus, 140 BPM. Meanwhile Berlin techno matures: loops, minimal vocals, dance-floor focus. Both grew from house, but Eurodance kept the song while techno abandoned it. Five differences through Snap!, 2 Unlimited, Joey Beltram and Plastikman.
K.B. Caps: "Do You Really Need Me"
1986: K.B. Caps releases "Do You Really Need Me" on ZYX 5516. Cay Hume, Christoph Leis-Bendorff and Karsten Pohle created German Euro-Disco with a British vocal. Recording credits, single chronology and why "Change Your Mind" remains a lesser-known K.B. Caps track.
Album or compilation? Italo discography
1983: ZYX releases “The Best of Italo Disco”. Discomagic presses thousands of singles but only a handful of albums. Italo Disco lived on 12-inch maxi-singles and compilations. The “Italo Boot Mix”, “Italo Maxi-Hits”, “I Love ZYX” series. How to tell an album from a compilation.
1 view
Italo Disco in Germany: ZYX and Fancy
Germany was not a substitute Italy. It licensed singles, packaged compilations and developed its own Eurodisco. This guide separates imports, local production and later playlist labels.
1 view
Martinelli's “Cenerentola”: Italo benchmark
Aldo Martinelli - a composer with a diploma from the Alessandria Conservatory. Simona Zanini - lyricist and vocalist. Projects: Martinelli, Moon Ray, Doctor's Cat, Topo and Roby. “Cenerentola” - a genre benchmark. Return in 2011.
1 view
Ivana Spagna before “Call Me”
16 December 1954: Ivana Spagna is born. In 1971 - “Mamy Blue”. In the early 80s - vocals and songs for Fun Fun, where she was the ghost voice. In 1986 - “Easy Lady”, in 1987 - “Call Me”, UK #2. 10 million sold over a 46-year career.
4 views
Double tracking vocals in the 80s
1966: Ken Townsend invents ADT at Abbey Road for John Lennon. From tape delay to the Eventide H910 (1975) and H3000 (1986, Voc Doubler preset #423). Manual double, ADT, split harmonizer - three methods. Five typical doubling mistakes.
1 view
Ensoniq Mirage: a $1,695 sampler
The Mirage made keyboard sampling attainable through a $1,695 price and strict limits: 128 KB, two banks, a two-character display and a physical disk library for working musicians.
1 view
Sampler vs drum machine: the difference
1980: the Linn LM-1 - the first drum machine with samples. That same year the Roland TR-808 - analog drum synthesis. Fairlight CMI, Emulator II, Akai S900 and MPC - four instruments, four relationships between sound and rhythm. A difference table and practice in Italo Disco, hip-hop and synth-pop.
1 view