Mars by 1980: The Story of Electronic Music

Description

In Mars By 1980, David Stubbs charts the evolution of electronic music from the earliest mechanical experiments in the late nineteenth century, through to the ubiquitous, familiar sounds of electronica, house and techno that we know today. It's a tale of mavericks and future dreamers overcoming Luddite resistance, malfunctioning devices, and sonic mayhem. The beginnings may be in the world of avant-classical composition, but it continues on through the sonic funk of Stevie Wonder and Giorgio Moroder, via the astonishing sounds of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, through unforgettable eighties electropop by the likes of Depeche Mode, the Pet Shop Boys and Laurie Anderson, and right up to present-day innovators on the underground scene.

David Stubbs is a British author and music journalist. Alongside Simon Reynolds, he was one of the co-founders of the Oxford magazine Monitor before going on to join the staff at Melody Maker. He later worked for NME, Uncut and Vox, as well as the Wire. His work has appeared in The Times, Sunday Times, Spin, Guardian, Quietus and GQ. He has written a number of books, including a song-by-song profile of Jimi Hendrix and Fear Of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don't Get Stockhausen, a comparative study of twentieth-century avant-garde music and art. He lives in London.