A close friend of mine works at a radio station. He is sent hundreds of demos, albums and samplers each year. Most of those are summarily retired, but he still listens to a large percentage, if only for a few seconds.
While catching up over Thanksgiving, he commented to me that everything he’s been getting recently is “80s electro-pop.” The horror!
Musical tastes rise and fall, but if that description is accurate, we’re in a serious trough right now. Of all the musical styles to emulate, why choose 80s electro-pop? Anyone?
My guess: It’s easy to make. Flip on a simple beat, run a synthy arpeggiator, filter the likely shoddy vocals…voila! A ready-made knockoff of a genre that’s always been more valuable as an object of mockery than as music. This is symptomatic of the non-existent barriers of entry of our modern age, where anyone and everyone can become a producer
I, for one, will stick with reboots of early 90’s soul funk, like this tasty offering courtesy of Jensen Sportag, the always excellent producer outfit out of Nashville. They remix Madi Diaz, an artist deserving of attention if you haven’t yet tuned in.
Put away the coke. Bust out the scented oil. Press play.