Sparks – When I’m With You
When I'm With You, from Sparks' Terminal Jive (1980), is the Munich Faltermeyer synth cut that became a French hit.
Songs from the Big Chair – Therapy scaled to MTV and US No. 1
In February 1985, Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair, taking the therapy themes of The Hurting to MTV and a US number one.
Talkie Walkie – Air strip back after the dense years
Talkie Walkie landed on 26 January 2004 via Source and Virgin as Air's third studio album.
Eurythmics – Circuitry with a human stare
In a London attic, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart rebuilt after The Tourists with drum machines and will; Sweet Dreams topped the US Hot 100 in 1983.
All The Best – Forty tracks from Being Boiled onward
In November 2012, Virgin issued All The Best: a 40-track, two-CD survey of The Human League from Being Boiled to the Dare hits and the later chart years.
Massive Attack – Teardrop
Massive Attack’s Teardrop (Mezzanine, 1998): Elizabeth Fraser, harpsichord tick, Neil Davidge, Bristol quiet hit.
Portishead – Glory Box
Portishead’s Glory Box (Dummy, 1994): Isaac Hayes loop, Beth Gibbons’s request, Utley guitar, Barrow machines.
Air – Soft machines from Versailles
In mid-90s Versailles, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel built electronic pop at slower tempos than the club records around them.
AI-generated music: creative assistant or threat to authors?
Models that write melodies force a new authorship argument.
DEVO – Energy domes and suburban satire
DEVO built their concept in Akron, Ohio, after the Kent State shootings of 1970: de-evolution as a theory of American regression, and a body of pop music stiff enough to demonstrate it. From Brian Eno's production on their debut to Giorgio Moroder's dancefloor, the method