Weekend Rewind: Kiwi synth-pop classics

Shona Laing. Photo / NZOS

Opinion

As NZ Music Month winds to a close, NZ On Screen’s Nicky Harrop pays tribute to some local heroes from a genre time forgot.

Dawning in the late 70s, and invading the charts through a good chunk of the 80s, sadly synth-pop is a musical style that hasn't aged particularly well. Born of an era of limited technology (and questionable fashion) many of the genre's hits sound pretty thin these days. The following local examples, however, still maintain a certain charm.

A last-minute addition to their 1979 album Graffiti Crimes, Computer Games was a huge hit for Mi-Sex, charting highly in New Zealand, Australia and Canada, and eliciting spontaneous sing-alongs of "Com-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu-pu, Computer Games!" to this day. The song's synth-driven hooks were a perfect match for its (then) cutting edge lyrical content - computers and arcade games. Viewed now, the video represents a vintage hardware lover's dream, with room-sized machines, giant processors, endless printers, old-school graphics and more. Sadly Kevin Stanton - Mi-Sex guitarist and songwriter of Computer Games - passed away earlier this month.

See the video for Mi-Sex Computer Games here:

Pioneers of local dance electronica, Wellington's The Body Electric delivered a classic slice of synth-pop in 1982, with their debut single Pulsing. Featuring the "rhythmic feedback noise from electrodes (Electrodes!)", the track clocked up an impressive 27 weeks in the NZ Top 40. Band member Alan Jansson would go on to become one of our most noted music producers, scoring a global smash with OMC's How Bizarre. Coming across like a mash-up between a Kraftwerk gig and an early episode of Dr Who, the Pulsing video remains a must-watch.

See the video for The Body Electric Pulsing here:

Pop Mechanix singer Andrew McLennan and Blam Blam Blam guitarist Mark Bell formed Coconut Rough in 1983, shining briefly but brightly with their top five single Sierra Leone. With exotic lyrics, (including a geographically incongruous reference to a desert), set to a background of driving keyboard stabs, this is Kiwi synth-pop at its finest. Attempting to capture a similarly avant-garde feel, the accompanying video was one of the first in New Zealand to include special effects.

See the video for Coconut Rough Sierra Leone here:

In 1985, Christchurch pop-rockers The Narcs took something of a stylistic step to the left, veering dangerously into the territory of Norwegian synth-pop gods A-ha with single Diamonds on China. Don't be fooled by the shots of saxophones in the video, save for the occasional guitar riff, there's very little that's non keyboard-generated going on here...

See the video for The Narcs Diamonds on China here:

Shona Laing's biggest international single was also her finest synth-pop hour. Remixed from her original recording, (Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy briefly opened the door to the US for the singer, impacting on the modern rock charts there, despite some confusion as to the intention behind the lyrics. Try not to be too distracted by Shona's hairstyle when you watch the video; among the fashion crimes lies a notable chapter in New Zealand music history.

See the video for Shona Laing (Glad I'm) Not a Kennedy here: