What factors are responsible for the current synthpop revolution (and possible revival)?
The seminal place for the current Synthpop renaissance is probably Scandinavia. The band S.P.O.C.K. began in the early 90’s, doing blippy synthpop in the style of the early 80’s. The songs were kitschy, mainly about science fiction, Star Trek, Klingons, etc., but it was so unique that it took Scandinavia by storm and touched off a revolution. This was only the beginning … Germany is another locale where synthpop has refused to die. Even while the genre was pushed out of the mainstream in other locales, German bands such as Camouflage, Alphaville, Celebrate the Nun, and De/Vision have kept on in the tradition. The synthpop movement has become so popular in Europe that a number of industrial/EBM bands such as Apotygma Berzerk, And One, VNV Nation, and Evil’s Toy have begun incorporating synthpop elements into their music. Evil’s Toy even went so far as to rename themselves T.O.Y., dropping the “evil’s” from their name, in recognition of this new musical influence. Meanwhile in America,
