Electro

We have computers to thank for many things — the calculator, the lap-top, those funny little robot dogs that waggle their ears sympathetically — but the greatest of all silicon-chip by-products has got to be the synthesizer. Equipped with these fabulous machines, musicians can now conjure sounds worthy of a disco at the far side of the cosmos, whether it's the electronically supplemented squelch funk of Justice ("D.A.N.C.E."), the galactic synth-rock of MGMT ("Kids"), the sassy-sweet electropop of Little Boots ("New In Town"), and La Roux ("In for the Kill"). From Peaches to We Smoke Fags, it's all going hardcore in Next Steps.

The great thing about electro is that you can be soft as sundaes or hard as nails — and most of the tracks here fall into the latter category. We Smoke Fags wield their synths like switchblades on "Eastenders", lacing the tune with essence of punk, and there's a similar intensity to Shitdisco's "Reactor Party". With "F**k the Pain Away", Peaches takes us deep into the dungeon of high-class electrosleaze where she's joined by Does It Offend You, Yeah? ("We Are Rockstars"). Midnight Juggernats, meanwhile, hark back to ELO's "Here Is the News" with the brilliant "Into the Galaxy". Electro's international scope takes in South Africa, Germany, and the U.S.A. in Deep Cuts.

Like an endlessly mutating fractal, electro has proved itself capable of constant reinvention, thanks to the fact that the range of tones, bleeps and squelches created by synths is practically infinite — add in the many permutations of creativity, and it becomes clear that the genre is set to hold sway over the 21st century like no other. Here, you'll find the beguiling percussive flourishes of South Africa's DJ Mujava ("Township Funk" — Matias Aguayo's Cómeme Mix), the gothic-electro house of Germany's Boys Noize ("& Down"), and the experimentally jangling noise-rock of cult L.A. band, No Age ("Eraser").

The first electric synthesizer was, apparently, invented in 1874 by Elisha Gray (who demonstrated single-note oscillators in a church long before the invention of the electric guitar) but the electro sound has certainly come a long way since then. Once the exclusive province of very clever prog rockers (like Pink Floyd's Moog-using Richard Wright), the synth is now remarkable for its punk-like ease of use and ubiquity — pick up a few basic skills, and you too could sound like you've been scouring the far reaches of the universe for new and exciting noises. Our contemporary electro Essentials list makes a great case for the contention that synths rule the pop world — Simian Mobile Disco, Hot Chip, the Ting Tings, Peaches, Wiley, CSS, M.I.A. . . . these are artists whose soundscapes represent the here and the now. And the tomorrow.