Artists
representative of Synthpop (often also referred to as "New Wave" -
indicative of the changing style of British music in the early 80's)
include: The Human League, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Pet Shop Boys,
Alphaville, Erasure, and Duran Duran, among many others. Synthpop's
style usually encompasses a strong lyrical and melodic / harmonic bent -
the focus often falls on the singer and the image he/she presents for
the band, as well as the mood / content of the lyrics, which is usually
light in tone and not often very deep, although it can be highly
emotional and serious, even dark and political at times.
Techno is typically founded in purely instrumental music, sometimes
involving spoken word samples drawn from a variety of sources: film,
television, radio, and even other artists' works. Generally it is driven
by its beat, although melodic and harmonic lines still figure heavily in
its definition. Artists such as 808 State, Fluke, Orbital, Crystal
Method, and Chemical Brothers, typically fall under the Techno category.
Additionally, Synthpop and Techno are thought to be largely European
innovations, blooming from their roots in one of the first all-electronic
bands - Germany's Kraftwerk - and developing simultaneously with the
early vestiges of Hip-Hop and Rap in America under the guidance of
artists such as Parliament Funkadelic, Inner City, and Grandmaster Flash.
From the fusion of Hip-Hop and Rap with European Techno comes American
House music. House is based largely on the 70's "spirit of community"
and so, draws also from the influences of 70's Rock and Disco, as well
as a touch of Jazz and Rhythm & Blues which can be found in its heavy
reliance on piano chords. For this reason, Fusion and Acid Jazz (with
additional saxophone melodies) are often categorized as sub-genres of
House. Some famous House artists include: Towa Tei, Dee-Lite, and The
Chemical Brothers.
Again, there are often many groups which cross-over and fuse the
boundaries of one or more genres of Electronica, such as The Chemical
Brothers who, on their latest album, represent a mixture of House and
Techno, and who previously represented a combination of Trance and Drum
and Bass. The Prodigy are an example of a cross between Drum and Bass
and Techno with a little bit of Jungle influence in their earlier works.
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