Tom Jolliffe takes a look at the return to popularity of the 80’s style synthesizer score…
Cinema and the orchestra have had a long-standing relationship. Over the years the big screen has been almost as much about the accompanying music as the film. When someone like John Williams creates iconic, rousing, emotional, bombastic and beautifully crafted scores like Star Wars, Superman and Indiana Jones, it enraptures an audience.
In the late 60’s, through the 70’s, people began toying with synthesizers more and more to create sound scapes and scores. Other wordly, and more ambient and enveloping than emotionally manipulative. They lacked a certain refined quality that the Orchestral score would give you but that sound in its own way (and in the right film) worked. Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells as a companion piece to The Exorcist is supremely effective and iconic. Or Wendy Carlos and the score for The Shining. What it lacked in harmonious melody it made up for in atmospheric dread and discord.
Through the 80’s the synth score really took off. Composer Vangelis was particularly popular through that period and scores for Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire were iconic (and Oscar-winning in the case of the latter). Through this period the likes of Tangerine Dream, Mark Isham, Brad Fiedel and Harold Faltermeyer were prominent. The synth score itself was somewhat contentious among traditionalists. There was a definite love/hate sentiment at the time, but synths weren’t just becoming more noticeable in film, they were permeating pop music too. Even looking at a Metal band like Iron Maiden, renowned for the stripped down simplicity of bass, drums and duel guitars (later triple guitars). There came a point when they introduced synthesizers into their sound. It wasn’t at the expense of their classic sound, more an extra layering. Never anything elaborate either. However some fans never took to it. Unfortunately for them, Maiden would make those synths a consistent part of their sound going forward.
For me growing up, it was that 80’s synth that I most remember and always loved. Growing up listening to Vince DiCola creating great sounds for Rocky 4 and Transformers: the Movie. These wonderfully harmonious yet industrial sounds. They were something completely different from your atypical blockbuster. They would compliment a film in a different way. You watch Risky Business. On the surface a teen comedy. It’s an odd film. A sort of week in the life story of a teen whose life spirals out of control when he hires a prostitute. What would become the atypical teen film, more akin to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, or even lower brow like Porky’s, was nothing like Risky Business. One major element that gave it this engrossing and almost dream like quality was the score, by Tangerine Dream, which also complimented the additional soundtrack brilliantly.
There was a significant drop through the 90’s, moving into the 00’s. However there now seems to be a rise in not just synth scores, but a re-emergence of that distinct 80’s sound. It’s not just the deep droning basses or swells of atmospheric pads, but composers aren’t afraid to layer on the arpeggiated keys. Of course in many cases those elements pay homage whilst developing and refining the sound to be more modern. It helps that modern pop has become more synth friendly again. It’s all about studio refinement these days. Every modern pop song sounds like it has spent months being layered and tweaked in the studio. There had been a period in the 90’s with the rise of grunge etc, where overt synth sounds seemed reserved for “naff” pop. Not so much now.
There have been some memorable cult films of late which have used synth scores very effectively. Nicolas Winding Refn appears to be a fan with Drive, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon all featuring great synth scores by Cliff Martinez. The Guest had a great score by Steve Moore which leaned even more into retro. Nostalgia has always influenced popular culture. Now more than ever though, we’re seeing a nod back to things that kids in the 80’s in particular, grew up with. You can look at any number of Marvel films, in anything from their tone, to direct irreverent references. This may well be because many of the stars or filmmakers of many modern blockbusters are of that era. Born in the late 60’s through to early 80’s. They grew up in a period of cheesy synth and wildly imaginative fantasy films. If Spider-Man: Homecoming was a love letter to John Hughes (particular Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), then Thor: Ragnarok was more than a passing ode(n) to Terry Gilliam’s 80’s fantasy films, Masters of the Universe and more. There was a knowing, loving nod to the daftness so inherent in an 80’s fantasy film. On top of that the score beautifully mixed the orchestral with the synth. Alternating between the two seamlessly or melding both together.
Perhaps more than anything else, one TV show has really managed to make the synth score popular again. More so than any other too, it directly draws from the 80’s style without giving it as much 21st century styling as a few others. That show of course is the phenomenon, Stranger Things. Loaded with nostalgia, what it never did was rest on that nostalgia. It’s a great show. Exciting, well written with engaging characters. The music never becomes a gimmick. It works. It adds a layer of atmosphere beautifully and compliments the film, whilst offering effective emotional layers.
I am someone who will often look back with rose-tinted fondness at the 80’s synth score. To some it grates, to others it sounds cheesy, naff, or a bit lame. To me though, I loved it and still love that sound. Whether it’s more subtle, or whether it’s totally unrestrained (Vince DiCola’s Transformers score being an epic example of unrestrained synthing). How long it will be back in fashion remains to be seen but interestingly there has been a drop in the classic style of Orchestral score. That perfect unison of classical and modern movie scoring that John Williams was instrumental in perfecting for example. The “Williams style” score isn’t as common place anymore, somewhat overtaken by someone like Hans Zimmer who often leans heavily on the industrial. He incorporates not only synths within an orchestral score, but will also often make his orchestra create unfamiliar sounds. Almost like they’re recreating synth sounds through live instrument.
As with all things, tastes change, but for now I am enjoying the re-emergence of the 80’s style synthesizer score.
Tom Jolliffe
