That is down to the influence of a single instrument: the Yamaha DX7 synthesiser. The DX7 can lay claim to being one of the most important advances in the history of modern popular music.

Music Tech Showcase 2021: The DX7 has claimed its rightful and prominent place in synthesizer history for a range of reasons, good and bad. On the one hand it harnessed a novel type of all-digital ...

For better or worse, this synthesizer was king in the 1980s music scene. Sure, there had been synthesizers before, but none acheived the sudden popularity of Yamaha’s DX7. “Take on Me?” ...

Musicians in the 1980s had a love-hate relationship with Yamaha’s DX7 synthesizer. Its digital sound engine was unlike the analog synths that came before it, and created a unique timbre ...

Huge thanks to Yamaha's synthesizer team for helping me put this video together. They gave me a ton of resources and helped me with my researches. This video wouldn't have happened without them.