At the time, it sounded like an Aldous Huxley fantasy, especially since IBM's spanking-new "personal computer" cost the equivalent of $4,000 and didn't do much more than play "Pong."

But just as their vision of the high-tech future came true, so did their electronic "synthpop" - a genre of computer-generated music that incorporates synthesizers, drum machines and processed vocals - become the foundation for two decades of groundbreaking digital music.

Artists as varied as Basement Jaxx, Danger Mouse and Bjork have ushered the sound into a new century. But a growing number of musicians have begun looking all the way back to the early '80s, finding inspiration in the golden era of electronic music.

Tomorrow night, a tiny sample (pun intended) of the burgeoning scene will come together for "The New York Synthpop Festival" at the nightclub Rare. The concert comes on the heels of news that one of the genre's pioneers, the British duo Erasure, will soon play their first New York shows in seven years - a five-night stint at Irving Plaza that begins April 14.

Featuring a host of local talent, the festival runs a stylistic gamut, from the snark and sleaze of Brand New Idol's Soft Cell-influenced pop to the morose moans of Halovox, who clearly take cues from mid-period Depeche Mode. The night's headliner, Freezepop from Boston, is the most accomplished act, having garnered international acclaim with upbeat songs.

While some of the groups make an effort to slightly update classic synthpop, most are content to simply re-create the quirky blurps and squiggles of their long-ago forerunners. It's a recipe that made promoter Lee Sobel nostalgic for his youth and inspired him to organize the festival.

"I grew up on bands like Depeche Mode and Erasure," Sobel says. "And obviously there's been a big '80s revival in the past few years. It's nice to see some artists out there carrying on the tradition."

The local scene has largely been focused on the East Village's Korova Milk Bar, which has dedicated Monday-night bookings to synthpop. The growing number of artists is due to both changing technology and the usual cycle of reviving music trends, says Christian Engel of the industrial-edged group Eisdrive.

"Now we're able to create so much on computers, as opposed to the '80s where this kind of music required a lot of hardware and synthesizers," Engel says. "There's loads of software that's really powerful [and] allows you to do it with a high degree of quality."

While festivals in Germany and the Netherlands attract huge crowds, the music has yet to generate mass appeal in the U.S.

Freezepop, for example, gets the rock-star treatment in Sweden and has contributed tracks to four PlayStation games, says singer Liz E. But she's not convinced that the American mainstream will ever go crazy for synthpop the way they did when Gary Numan's "Cars" first hit the top 10.

"Well, it happened in the '80s," Liz says. "I guess it could happen again someday."

An update on original synth

The heyday of synthpop can probably be pinned down somewhere around 1982. But the genre's biggest stars have never quite gone away.

ARTIST: DEPECHE MODE

Legendary for: "Black Celebration," the 1986 album that inspired generations of mopey "goth" teens to don black clothes and eyeliner.
Still synthing?: Released "Exciter" in 2001 and mounted a world tour.

ARTIST: DEVO
Legendary for: Combining art rock, matching jumpsuits and peppy pop songs into a bizarre, anti-consumerist ethos known as "devolution." Scored a hit with 1980's "Whip It."
Still synthing?: No new music, but the original lineup played Central Park this summer.

ARTIST: ERASURE
Legendary for: Keyboardist Vince Clarke's disco-worthy grooves and Andy Bell's outrageously fey falsetto. "Chains of Love" was their only big U.S. hit in 1988.
Still synthing?:  New album, "Nightbird," comes out in two weeks. Tour to follow.

ARTIST: HUMAN LEAGUE
Legendary for: Making synthpop an international phenomenon. 1981's breakout single, "Don't You Want Me," made "working as a waitress in a cocktail bar" seem romantic.|
Still synthing?:  In 2001, the reformed League released "Secretes," their best work in 15 years.

ARTIST: KRAFTWERK
Legendary for: Playing synthpop a decade before anyone else. Cold, detached and utterly danceable, the revolutionary singles "Autobahn" and "Trans-Europe Express" earned them the label "robot pop."
Still synthing?:  Mounted a world tour following the release of 2003's "Tour de France Soundtracks."

ARTIST: SOFT CELL
Legendary for: "Sex Dwarf," "Tainted Love" and remaking the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go." Marc Almond's leering vocals made it all sound half-obscene.
Still synthing?: Eighteen years after the Cell divided in 1984, they reunited for the excellent "Cruelty Without Beauty."

Originally published on January 13, 2005