WITH the 1980s enjoying something of a revival, synth duo Electronix are among those riding the wave of nostalgia.

Ellie Hudson speaks to lead vocalist Barry Walton ahead of their Wharf gig on Friday, August 11 to find out more about them.

Who are Electronix and where are you from?

‘Electronix is a husband and wife duo dedicated to faithfully recreating the original sound and feel of the classic 80s synth pop hits — from the early pioneers such as Kraftwerk, The Human League, Gary Numan and Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark, on to the flamboyance of Erasure, Pet Shop Boys and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

‘Not only do we strive to sound as close to the original songs as we can, we have also had bespoke stage-wear made in the style of the time to help give the whole performance an authentic 80s feel.

‘We are very lucky to be based on almost the very top of Bodmin Moor. This provides us with a unique and wonderful atmosphere within which we are always discussing ways and ideas to develop our act.

‘Our living room doubles up as a fully equipped rehearsal room and recording studio — so you can see we are truly 100% committed to what we do!’

So what do you and your wife do within the duo?

‘Well, Sarah-Leigh is the engine room behind the stage performance, providing the drums and percussion sounds for most of our songs.

‘Her naturally bouncy personality is very much reflected in the way she plays. As well as drums, she adds synthesiser to some songs too as well as providing backing and some lead vocals.

‘Being a graphic designer, her other responsibilities include looking after all of our promotional material, website and social media development and maintenance along with keeping me organised!

‘I meticulously create and program all of the sounds and songs you hear on stage from scratch. We never use any commercially available backing tracks, which is important to us as we are proud to be able to say that everything you hear on stage has been made and played by us.

‘I am the lead vocalist and also provide live bass guitar as well as keyboard. I’m also responsible for the technical side of things, like sound and lighting. My other duties include the general managing and marketing of Electronix, along with making Sarah-Leigh numerous cups of tea whilst she works at her other job as a children’s book illustrator.’

You’re a synth band, what inspired the idea of forming?

‘Both of us have a genuine love of all genres of music from the 50s to present day .

‘It was music that brought us together in the first place – but in particular we are both passionate about the creativity, excitement and exuberance of the late 70s and early 80s electronic music scene.

‘Having played in other bands and acts for many years we wanted to form something that would be completely different from the ‘norm’, hence around two years ago we started the creative process of bringing Electronix to life.’

The synth era is very much immersed in the 80s, were you fans of that genre and era then?

‘Absolutely! Well, I most certainly was because Sarah-Leigh, being the slightly younger of the two of us, sadly wasn’t around at the time to experience it first-hand.

‘During the 1970s, I had been playing in the usual pub/club guitar based bands, but was fascinated by the whole new world of sounds the synthesiser could offer.

‘In 1982 I went on to jointly form a relatively successful band for its time called Fair Exchange, where a synthesiser was one of the main instruments used.’

You’re playing The Wharf, is this the biggest venue you’ve played?

‘The Wharf is certainly among the largest and most prestigious venues we’ve played but I guess the biggest in size would have to be when we appeared as part of a three day 80’s festival earlier this year.

‘With it having such a fantastic reputation, we have often in the past discussed the possibility of playing at The Wharf, so for us this is a little bit of a dream come true.‘

Ticket details can be found on the advert on the Arts at Tavistock Wharf page in this week’s edition of the Times.