1980: Electronic (Patreon)

The first of four brackets spotlighting a particular 1980 scene (with a few interesting contrasts and additions thrown in). This one speaks for itself - it’s the music that was about to become synth-pop, but for the most part it wasn’t entirely overground yet.

A lot of this stuff is pretty gnarly - the sound of exposed wires. The Human League are a great example - in a year’s time they’ll conquer pop, but in 1980 they’re writing oddball stuff like “The Black Hit Of Space”, a grinding synth banger about a record that turns out to be a black hole. And that’s one of the most accessible things in the bracket!

Quite a few of the people in these groups weren’t really thinking about “the future” at all - they were working in a tradition of electronic experimentation going back to 60s arts labs. That’s especially true of the Germans - and there are quite a few Germans - who have the very synth-friendly sounds of krautrock to draw on. Two of the grand old men of krautrock are here in person - Conrad Schnitzler, ex of Tangerine Dream, and Can’s Holger Czukay as half of horrorcore synth act Les Vampyrettes.

But elsewhere the acts are a good deal less heavy and more pop friendly. Spargo’s bouncy italo-disco, for instance, or Telex’ bubbly synth-pop, or Yellow Magic Orchestra with the ultra-hooky “NICE AGE”. Grauzone’s wonderful “Eisbar” splits the difference - an Arctic bop about wanting to be a polar bear with an amazing clanking riff.

And rounding off the group there’s some more ambient tracks - Monoton’s melancholy “Ein Wort”, Eno and Jon Hassell experimenting with ‘fourth world’ music, romantic balladry from Japan and from Vangelis. If I had to pick, I might choose this as my favourite bracket of them all.

POTENTIAL WINNER: Uh, no. But there is one proper smash hit here, ushering in the wave of synth hits to come - Visage’s magnificent “Fade To Grey”, which is likely to sail through this bracket and into Round 1.

DARK HORSE: Telex have a bit of name recognition, and “Realite” is actually catchy - an asset in this somewhat forbidding company. It could make a few friends here.

FAVOURITE TRACK: This bracket has my nomination, the wonderful “The Black Hit Of Space”, which is an extraordinary concept for a song and hilariously executed. Plus the synth sounds on it are absolutely savage.

DISCOVERY: Rheingold’s “Dreiklangsdimension” is very open about its krautrock debt, but that’s fine - this is a bridge between Neu! and Neue Deutsche Welle and one of half a dozen great discoveries in this grouping.

DON’T MISS: Holger Czukay and Conny Plank having blood-curdling fun on the chain-rattling krautgoth one-off “Biomutanten”.