ABSTRACT

The robotic rhythms, contrasting vocal timbres and ambiguous narrative of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' are imbued with the presence of technology; the record, produced entirely with analogue audio equipment, both revels in the disco aesthetic of the time and plays with a sense of nostalgia and loss. 'Buffalo Gals' combines several disparate musical elements in a sonic collage largely made possible through scratching and sampling techniques; it introduced hip hop, an important and lasting influence on pop music, to the UK and celebrates the old and the new both musically, lyrically and technologically. The lengthy period of gestation for 'Relax' illustrates both the challenges of new and complex technology, and a determination to work to high artistic standards; the influence of digital sequencing is evident not only in the virtually omnipresent, machine-driven backbeat but also in the almost organic musical structure.