Welcome To Asheville Synthpop

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Welcome To Asheville Synthpop

  • From Left Field

    From Left Field will expound upon the diverse music, arts, people, and culinary culture of Asheville and how those things intersect. Anything we find interesting, disturbing, unusual, or exciting is...
As Stereospread, we have been working to consolidate a listenership for synthpop and electropop in the Asheville area. Synthpop, made famous in the 1980’s and 1990’s by the likes of Depeche Mode, Erasure, Gary Nuemann, etc. is sonically driven by the sounds of the synthesizer. Modern synthpop is as likely to incorporate computer-based, software synthesizers as traditional hardware synthesizers and includes artists such as m83, Owl City, Little Dragon, Cut Copy, Ratatat, La Roux, and The Postal Service. We want to espouse a broad definition of synthpop, with the sole prerequisites for inclusion being the predominant sound of synthesizers and a general adherence to pop song structures and aesthetics.    With the goal of creating a community around synthpop and the support of Tony Kiss (of the Citizen-Times) and Michelle Moog (of the Bob Moog Foundation), we created the “Asheville Synthpop” monthly concert series to showcase both local and visiting synthpop acts. The first two were held at Asheville’s Millroom and the next one will be May 23rd at The Emerald Lounge, where artists will ring in Bob Moog’s birthday and donate a portion of profits to the Bob Moog Foundation.     We also support the electronic dance music community, and recently hosted Mode:fest at the Emerald Lounge. The all-day mini-festival featured a plethora of the area’s best DJs and was intended to raise money and awareness for Emerald Lounge’s financial struggles. A major tweaking of the sound system the day of the event unbridled a massive bass never felt before at the venue. We anticipate many electronic artists will seek out the lounge’s stage in the near future. The event was a resounding success and will be followed by more concerts there in the near feature under the “Mode:fest” name.    Sara + James of Stereospread