STEVEN VASS - HOW R&B FELL IN LOVE WITH 80S SYNTHS

Let The Music Play by Steven Vass is a detailed look at how artists and producers used synths and other new music tech to reinvent R&B, concentrating on the period from 1978-86. Covering a wide range of artists, genres and scenes, including disco, LA/Solar Records, Minneapolis/Prince, boogie, New York electro/post-disco, Britfunk, Jam & Lewis, movie/promo influence and mid-80s pop. As well as covering big stars like Prince, Sade and Janet Jackson, it looks at many great artists who are often forgotten, such as Skyy, Loose Ends, Imagination, Colonel Abrams, Princess, Gwen Guthrie, Lillo Thomas, Zapp, Jonzun Crew and Yarbrough & Peoples.

“When anybody talks about 80s synth, they’re usually talking about British invaders like The Human League and Soft Cell, the beginnings of Detroit techno/Chicago house, or early hip-hop.”