“The new compact synths resembled an orchestra in a box; you didn’t need to have a whole band of instrumentalists. Suddenly pop was packed with duos who divided labour neatly between the composer-operator, and the singer-lyricist: Eurythmics, Yazoo, Tears For Fears, Blancmange, Pet Shop Boys. The shape of a synth-pop outfit was subversive, or at least enough to make rockists uneasy: the rock band’s gang-like structure replaced by same-sex ‘couples’ plus the occasional female diva plus male boffin partnership.”

Simon Reynolds, “One Nation Under a Moog”

A concise survey/leadup to the forthcoming BBC doc Synth Britannia, which sounds awesome, and not just for the title alone. Reynolds also makes note that Pink Floyd’s “On the Run” is something of a precursor to synthpop (using an EMS)–at least putting synths on a really big stage. I’d always considered it an interstitial between “Breathe” and “Time”, but listening to it all by itself is something different altogether: