Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty
Synths are a vital part of emulating the 80s sounds, just like drum machines, rudimentary samplers, and wannabe-Bowie vocalists. If any single music genre defined the 1980s, it’d be synth pop. Synths were everywhere, with bands like OMD and Depeche Mode on the pop side; even Van Halen had their synth moment with Jump. Evolving from the behemoth systems of earlier years, synths were more portable, easier to use, and – sometimes – more affordable. Following the example set by Kraftwerk, bands might appear on stage with nothing but keyboards; pretty radical. This was synth ‘pop’ in the real sense, around singles and chart placings, instead of reflecting the more mature, technically complex music of the progressive scene. This more democratic era also squeezed out the virtuosi – the prog players of the world,