electropop

Here’s the second part of the crash course with more electro pop and vocal stuff this time. You’re most likely to remember and own most of the songs in here, but how could i omit Sunglasses at Night or Frank Sinatra from this list. All of the songs have stood the test of time for me, sorry that I couldn’t put any Air Liquide, Japanese Telecom, Arpanet, Skanform and others maybe later for another post!

[youtube 5yrA-BpWECI]
Cylob - Rewind. This is one of the alltime best music videos, I watched this once not knowing who the artist was, then a year or two later I stumbled upon it once more and found out it was Cylob. Amazing video.

Carl A. Finlow - Anomaly : A melancholic electro song with deep synth melodies and moody atmosphere. Carl A. Finlow has been in many successful projects like Il.ek.tro, Silicon Scally, Wolf ‘n’ Flow and Random Factor.

Cylob - Living in the 1980s : This song always brings tears to my eyes because I don’t want the 80s futurism dream to end. Where are the robots, and the old mainframe computers, the dystopian future, the mechanical music. It’s an era that’s gone and will never come back again. At least I can listen to this song. Cylob is from the Rephlex crew and he’s not as famous as SP and AFX but his older stuff are really genredefiners IMHO.

Miss Kittin and The Hacker - Frank Sinatra : Miss Kittin and The Hacker’s first album was truly a hit. Although I’m not too happy with Kittin’s newer things, she WAS the queen for some time. This is the infamous song about F.S that goes “Sniffing in the V.I.P area/we talk about Frank Sinatra/you know Frank Sinatra/He’s dead”

Sascha Funke - When will I be famous : You’re already famous man. This song has very raw synths and beats, the beginning and the instruments has always reminded me of the theme song of Silk Worm an old videogame, and the song should be a cover of an old song but I just can’t put my finger on it.

Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Kitten and The Hacker remix) : This is one of the best tribute songs I’ve ever listened to in my life. It really gives you the “we are a family” feeling. Props to all important electro artists, labels and places including Drexciya, i-F, DMX Krew, Gigolo, DJ Hell, Good Life, Mental Groove etc. are given on top of one the most well-known songs in techno history.

Tiga and Zyntherius - Sunglasses at Night : Corey Hart’s 1983 hit Sunglasses at Night was turned into a worldwide hit by Tiga and Jori Hulkkonen aka Zyntherius in the early 2000’s. I remember hearing this live in a club and I was totally overwhelmed by the song. Classic.

[youtube pezKFk6kmHo]

Add N to (X) - Plug me in. Sick electro peace by Add N to (X), this was also an influential video.

Mr. Velcro Fastener - The Trooper : These two songs are not very significant for the electro history, but they’re off a tribute album to Iron Maiden (which is a huge influence on my musical tastes). This is a 2/4 shuffle version of the infamous Trooper, and with a lot of soul in it. It also has a whistle solo at the end, what more can you want?

Pat Benedict Orchestra - Powerslave : It’s the only song I have from the artist, which is surely a reference to Pat Benatar. Powerslave was about an Egyptian God/King who was doomed to die. Now the sad computer is singing the king, instead of Bruce Dickinson, which as I told you is a turn on for me.

Bergheim 34 - Take my Soul : Bergheim 34’s Take my Soul is not electro, but it has a great vocoded vocal line, and minimal beats, and the lo-fi electro feeling, so I guess it suits.

Elektrissimo - Bajazzo Digital : This is the saddest rendition of the lonely robot thing. The music is not electro, It’s some kind of electronic beats mixed with guitars and percussion, but the computer speaks “Hello, can anybody hear me, is anybody out there, oh no, I was hoping they send someone out to rescue me. This nightmare is going on for 759 years now. There is just darkness all around me.” Well this IS sad listen to the rest of his story.

Carl A. Finlow - Anomaly
Cylob - Living in the 1980s
Miss Kittin and The Hacker - Frank Sinatra
Sascha Funke - When will I be famous
Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Kitten and The Hacker remix)
Tiga and Zyntherius - Sunglasses at Night
Mr. Velcro Fastener - The Trooper
Pat Benedict Orchestra - Powerslave
Bergheim 34 - Take my Soul
Elektrissimo - Bajazzo Digital

I’m sure some of the die hard electroheads will find some songs on this list to be watered down electro, or electro-pop, but I’m pretty much proud of this post guys, this is probably my most dedicated post ever which I took time to remember tunes that cover most of the different electro schools. I was going to put a few electro classics online inspired by Der Zyklus, but then I pretty much delved into history and I couldn’t leave out any.