Sophisti-pop is a
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...
subgenre that developed during the mid-1980s out of the British
new wave era.
It originated with acts who blended elements of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
, and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
with lavish
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
.
The term "sophisti-pop" was coined only after the genre's peak in the mid-late 1980s.
Characteristics
Sophisti-pop is characterized by its extensive use of
electronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument based on keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio work ...
s,
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s, and polished arrangements.
Artists also utilized cutting-edge studio technology and perfectionist recording methods.
The genre has been described as mellow, romantic, and atmospheric,
with artists often adopting a sharp, well-dressed and well-groomed visual presentation.
History
''
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
'' suggested that acts had been influenced by the work of
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
(such as 1982's ''
Avalon
Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...
'', often cited as the first sophisti-pop album),
and
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. He became known as the frontman of the band Roxy Music and also launched a solo career. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established ...
's ''
Boys and Girls'' (1985) and ''
Bête Noire'' (1987).
''Sweetwater'' named major artists in the genre as including
the Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river in Ethiopia and Sudan.
Blue Nile may also refer to:
* Blue Nile (state)
Blue Nile State ( ') is one of the eighteen States of Sudan, states of the Republic of the Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 i ...
,
Prefab Sprout
Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, t ...
,
the Style Council
The Style Council were an English pop band formed in Woking in 1982 by Paul Weller, the former lead vocalist, principal songwriter and guitarist with the rock band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...
,
Scritti Politti
Scritti Politti are a British band formed in 1977 in Leeds by singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band.
Initially formed as a punk culture, punk-aligned underground act influenced by leftist poli ...
,
Everything but the Girl
Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and sing ...
, and
Danny Wilson.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
added
Simply Red
Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...
,
Sade
Sade may refer to:
People
* Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine; namesake of the word ''sadism''
* Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band
* ...
,
Basia
Barbara Stanisława "Basia" Trzetrzelewska (; born 30 September 1954), better known mononymously as Basia, is a Polish singer-songwriter and recording artist noted for her Latin-inspired jazz-pop music.
She began singing professionally in vari ...
, and
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister are a British pop band, best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include " Surrender", " You On My Mind", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the ...
.
Writer Iain Munn added to the list
Level 42
Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...
,
the Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys are a British pop band formed in 1981. Their first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow", was released in 1982. They subsequently enjoyed a successful career with several hit singles and albums throughout the 1980s before split ...
, and
Joe Jackson's 1984 album ''
Body and Soul''.
Its popularity declined in the 1990s along with other synth-pop sub-genres.
See also
*
List of sophisti-pop artists
This is a list of artists retrospectively classified under the genre sophisti-pop. The term has been applied to pop music that emerged during the mid-1980s in the UK which incorporated elements of new wave, jazz, soul, and pop. Music so classified ...
*
Progressive soul
Progressive soul (often shortened to prog-soul; also called black prog, black rock, and progressive R&B) is a type of African-American music that uses a progressive music, progressive approach, particularly in the context of the soul music, soul ...
*
Plastic soul
Plastic soul is described as soul music that is believed to lack authenticity.
Usages
Paul McCartney referenced the phrase as the name of the Beatles 1965 album ''Rubber Soul'', which was inspired by the term "plastic soul". In a studio convers ...
*
Progressive pop
Progressive pop is pop music that attempts to break with the genre's standard formula, or an offshoot of the progressive rock genre that was commonly heard on AM radio in the 1970s and 1980s. It was originally termed for the early progressive ...
*
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album '' A Quiet Storm''.
The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Li ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Hue and Cry noting AllMusic's usage of the term
{{Soul music
Pop music genres
1980s in music
British styles of music
New wave music