Pop/Rock » Alternative/Indie Rock » Sophisti-Pop

Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-'80s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound, but the synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the '80s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became a wildly popular trend, and by the beginning of the '90s, it had largely faded away. Some of sophisti-pop's most notable artists include Simply Red, Sade, the Style Council, the pre-electronica Everything But the Girl, Basia, Swing Out Sister, and Prefab Sprout.