What differentiates synthpop from other forms of “Electronica” (I use the term loosely and grudgingly)?
MN: That’s a good question. The short answer is: nothing. Nothing differentiates Prodigy and Miss Kitten from Synthpop. If you use synthesizers and it’s pop music, you can probably get away with calling it Synthpop. But the thing is, the “synthpop scene” does have specific hang-ups in the hearts and minds of many people. It’s long been a problem that when people hear the term “synthpop”, they automatically think “light and fluffy”. And there’s this existing Synthpop scene where so many of the bands have fallen into a certain groove. Not a bad groove, but it makes it all start to sound the same. I don’t mean any offense to the bands. There’s really nothing wrong with writing music that fits within the boundaries of a certain style. In fact, that may end up being a very good thing for all of them. If one band hits the mainstream, they’ll all easily follow in those footsteps. But for me, the music I’ve been hearing that I think is really outstanding is outside of this small scene. And tha
