Soft Cell
Soft Cell — Marc Almond and Dave Ball — turned bleak Northern English electronic pop into international success with 1981's 'Tainted Love,' pairing stark synthesizer arrangements with Almond's theatrical, emotionally raw delivery. Their album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret fused synth-pop minimalism with seedy cabaret drama and a queer subcultural sensibility. Their moody, melodramatic take on electronic pop shaped the darker corners of '80s synth-pop and beyond.
the sound in question
1981
Tainted LoveSoft Cell
we haven’t charted Soft Cell yet
this stretch of the river isn’t mapped. we trace the watershed one artist at a time — and we’re always heading further upstream.