According to BBC Six Music it's the 25th anniversary of electronic music.
Now, I realise this is completely factually wrong. Synths were around in the 60s after all and Kraftwerk and Cabaret Voltaire were blazing a trail in the mid 70s.
I think what they actually mean is they fancy having a theme week and it's 25 years since the main wave of synth-pop bands really hit it big. 1981 of course, being the year of Human League, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and many more.
But it does mean that I'm in my element, being a classic electronica and synthpop lover.
Currently I'm listening to a history of synth documentary on 6 Music. Great stuff.They've started with Wendy Carlos (Hooked on Bach etc), through to ELP & Pink Floyd,& Stevie Wonder integrating the synth into their work, and then onto Kraftwerk and the true electronic music.
Next week it's synth pop. Looking forward to it already.
Not forgetting Jean Michel Jarre; not everyone's cup of tea, but he has sold vast amounts of albums and pushed electronic instruments and recording tech. And if they are talking electronic (as opposed to just synths) as they say then we can go right back to early electronic amplification for guitars (the early Blues) and that staple of 50s SF movies, the Theremin, so you're right, it does seem a bit arbitrary of them.
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