Blue Plate Special: Electronic
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Electronic was less a band and more a moment in time—when two of Britain’s most revered guitarists plugged into the pulse of the dancefloor and produced a sound both cinematic and synthetic. Formed by Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Electronic fused jangly guitar textures with shimmering synths and sampled beats, landing somewhere between Madchester’s glowsticks and London’s art-pop precision. Their signature tracks, like “Getting Away With It” and “Get the Message,” feel like emotional dispatches from a future that still believed in melody.
Their aesthetic was minimalist but sleek, favoring clean lines and cool palettes over flash or flamboyance. That restraint—the blue neon of Factory Records rather than the glitter of glam—was core to their identity. There was always a feeling of distance in their work, but never detachment. Instead, they crafted a sound and image that balanced technology and humanity, echoing Kraftwerk’s control with Pet Shop Boys’ irony and New Order’s yearning.
Influences from Detroit techno, Italo house, and post-punk guitar work formed a hybrid that would become a prototype for intelligent dance music—years before the term IDM took hold. As a supergroup, Electronic never tried to be larger than life; they tried to be exactly what the future sounded like if you gave it a soul. Their brief run wasn’t a retreat from their roots—it was an evolution with a drum machine heartbeat and a guitar-shaped grin.
Some of my favorites from their catalog:
Getting Away With It – from the album Electronic (1991)
Disappointed – from the compilation Get The Message (2006)
Forbidden City – from the album Raise the Pressure (1996)
Lucky Bag (Miami Edit) – from the EP for Getting Away With It (1990)
Tighten Up – from the album Electronic (1991)
Get the Message – from the album Electronic (1991)
For You – from the album Raise the Pressure (1996)
