dankrsta

Analog synths, drum machines, distant vocals, bare stripped down aesthetic, hypnotically catchy...that's pretty much Minimal Synth. It was the underground cousin of synth-pop, but without all the embellishments of commercialism. Instead, minimal synth had a raw DIY attitude, more like a synthy, electronic version of punk and post-punk. Beside this outwardly differences, there was one internal, the most important difference. Both, mainstream synth-pop and minimal synth shared common influences, the most obvious being Kraftwerk and their futuristic vision of Man Machines. The mainstream synth hysteria embraced it optimistically, creating a kind of futuristic utopia. At the same time, I would rather describe many minimal synth music as a rather dystopian Man vs Machine. This tension can be felt in the often bleak sound, desperate almost relentless repetition and other times in deep seeded melancholy, although it might seem cheery on the outside. Hey, I just described Joy Division

This compilation is pretty big. It has 35 songs, all by different artists. (I actually had to cut it a bit). The opening track belongs to none other than Suicide, the most celebrated band on this comp and with a good reason. They were one of the first to apply this bare, minimal electronic sound on punk aesthetic. Many bands here have been long forgotten, but some of them have managed to gain a cult status (like The Screamers). A lot of them were short lived with only one album, or just an EP, but all are equally interesting. This whole minimal synth phenomenon lasted from the late 70s to the early 80s, dying down by the mid 80s, so none of this new synth revival can be found on this compilation. Beside USA and UK, minimal synth was especially flourishing in Europe (France, Germany and especially in Belgium and Netherlands). I tried to cover all this.

Variety was important for this big compilation to be enjoyable all the way through. That's why I spiced it up with different synth sounds, be it synth-punk at the start of the comp, then more general minimal synth sound in the middle, then a broader sound which can be called "minimal wave", some experimental tendencies (close to industrial), and minimal electronic in the end.

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