The term synth-pop, also called techno-pop, became popular within the new wave movement as an identifier for pop music that featured the synthesizer as its dominant instrument. Among the pioneering artists in the use of these instruments are Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Giorgio Moroder, and Brian Eno.
However, it was in the 1980s, with names like The Human League, Ultravox, Soft Cell, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, and New Order, that the genre gained strong popular appeal and became one of the definitive sonic trademarks of that decade. Over the years, several emerging bands continued to flirt with the style, notably Ladytron, Chromatics, Future Islands, Goldfrapp, Hot Chip, Grimes, and Chvrches.
