i was wondering if anyone would like to weight in on what exactly this sound would be called , industrial hip hop, industrial pop ,? it was kinda catchy back then , please list all the info you can in as much detail as you can , like the exact type of hardware these tracks used system drum machines , where does the sound come from why was it so pop in that short time span , please cool ,

 

Checkout EastWest Dance Industrial sample cds.

 

Phil Collins was pretty notorious for those gated drum sounds.
I got a sound like that with a Nexus2 expansion called "Apres-Ski" and it was one of the drum kit. You can hear the song I used it in my thread called "My Orange Tree Samples Contest Submission (I got 3rd place!)"
On another note, it sounds like a Linn Drum kit. Or some gated drum kit. There are a ton of sample libraries out there that have those sounds you're looking for. Just look for anything to do with 80's drums/percussion. Lol
Also try the NI Maschine Expansion called "Raw Voltage" - it has a lot of nice vintage drum machine sounds from that exact same era. In fact, I'm pretty certain it has exactly what you're looking for.

This was an amazing use of those industrial sounds back in the 80's (not with maschine or nexus2, of course!!):

 

That 80's sound is called music. The 80's was the last time it ever made an extended appearance, and it has rarely been seen since

For the tracks you mentioned it's probably a combination of new toys like the Synclavia and Fairlight, the industrial influence of Depeche Mode, and a songwriting astetic that was still strong.

Then it all started going downhill from the 90's onwards

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2016

First, don't forget that back these days (the 'glorious' '80s' ! ), and with the emergence of such 'Samplers' and 'Workstations' as are the 'AKAI MPC2000XL', any other 'AKAI' Samplers ('S1000', 'S3000',... ), 'KORG' & 'Roland' Workstations, just to mention almost the most renowned, all these Drum sounds could have been 'raw' samples, 'sampled' first, then eventually 'processed' by such Hardware Units...

As a reference, but not necessarily in the case of the first Video ('Janet Jackson'), it could also have been the ultra renowned and mythical 'E-MU SP-1200' Drum Machine that was used for create the Drum Beat and all the other (Drums/Percs) elements included.


I say as a 'reference' because this 'gem' was responsible of one of the most renowned 'Drum Beat' of the 'Pop' history, you guess...

"Billie Jean", by the not less renowned 'King Of Pop' (and brother of 'Janet Jackson') : Yes... 'Michael Jackson' himself !!!

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In the case of the 'Fine Young Cannibals', I could only be agree with 'Impressive' :

even if it sounds (to me !) more like a sound of 'Gated Snare' but coming from a 'Drum Machine', rather than a 'real' sound of a Snare (even 'gated') played by a human...

For this, most of the 'Drum Machines' usually have at least one sound of 'Gated Snare' in their arsenal (e.g. some 'Alesis' Drum/Rhythm Machines,... ).

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2016

To the op: it was called R & B. Nothing to do with Phil Collins Genesis or Kate Bush

In the 1980s, a newer style of R&B developed, becoming known as "Contemporary R&B". It combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop,hip hop and dance.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues

 

jimmy jam and terry lewis were one of the producers, look em up may tell what they used

 

It's all based on the new technology that was coming out at that time, so I would say it is very similar

A typical person from the 80's would have had all of those songs in their collection and they were played back to back on the radio.

Back in the day, all the people cared about then was listening to good music, they weren't anal about sticking a label on everything.

80's pop music stole from everywhere, borrowing heavily from Motown, James Brown, Gospel and Disco was a given, as was Kraftwork and other electronic elements, 60's pop, Glam Rock and even Heavy Metal. The 80's were one huge melting pot of everything that had come before, fueled by new technology.

And the musicians from FYC came from a New Wave, Ska, 2-Tone, Post-punk background, there was nothing R&B about them.

 

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This. Janet Jackson stuff of that era was heavily colored by the Ensoniq Mirage.

Try 808s and Linn 9000 through Harrison consoles and AMS RMX16 reverb too. For synths, JX8P and occasional DX7 for bass, I think.

Probably the more affordable stuff of the early to mid '80s. I don't believe they had anything super high-end.

The "Minneapolis Sound" connected with Prince will also reveal the type of production you seem to be asking about.

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2016

Errm no.

Everyone were hugely sticking labels on stuff back then. New Romantics, Rockers, Skin Heads, Punk, Indie, Mods,

R & B back then was basically EDM and a backlash against Disco and Guitar based funk but more mainstream than Hip Hop & Rap

 

Totally agree with 'Rasputin' ...I forgot to mention the other 'mythical' Drum Machine of this era : 'Linn 9000' !!!

Agree too with the use of the 'Yamaha DX7' for Basses, and particularly with another 'Yamaha' gear of that period : the 'Yamaha TX81z', and above all, its 'so mythical' Factory Preset named : 'Lately Bass'. Certainly, the most used Preset of this 'glorious' Rack Unit. By the way, some users bought that Unit only for that sound !!!

 

You mean the marketing people from the record labels were doing it in an effort to sell more records. I know because I was there

EDM was what?

 

Your observations are right on the money. Personally, I grew up listening to just about any music genre out there. Including the music from my parent's era. If the sound was good to my ears, I ran with it. If (in my opinion) the sound sucked, I moved on to something to my tastes. I hate "labels". They tend to pigeon-hole and allows for limited versatility. Just go for it, if you're a "music-maker". Don't worry about what is the "thing" for the moment. "Styles" come and go as people get older and evolve. Oftentimes, what sounded good to our ears when we were youthful, will undoubtedly change as the grey [gray] hairs start to sprout.

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2016

You were where exactly?

Electronic Dance Music from the 80's

 

80's pop music stole from everywhere, including heavy metal. Borrowing from motown, James Brown, gospel and disco was a given, as was Kraftwork, and other electronic elements. The 80's were one giant melting pot of everything that had come before, fueled by new technology.

Pop music in general steals from everywhere and therefore it's not concentrated just in the 80's

 

I was there too. Radio DJ's were playing it all. The real MTV was in it's infancy and playing everything also. One big mish-mosh of different styles and influences. No classic rock stations, just an attempt by the radio jocks to play the biggest hits without preference to labeled styles. It was a time when all music became important, and everyone was listening.

 

For an artist like Janet Jackson, it's probably best to look to the producers if you're trying to figure out the techniques and instrumentation used on a given album. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had their hands in many, many things in the eighties and nineties, including pretty much every Janet Jackson track.

As for genre, you're going to have a hard time labeling a great deal of the music from the eighties. As another poster said, the influences were vast, and producers weren't afraid to get creative or slather on effects back then. My advice is to take a cue from the eighties zeitgeist and forget about genres altogether; it might clear the way to countless new avenues of creative inspiration.

 

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You've totally ignored the role of Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, Synth Pop, Hi-NRG and Italo Disco in the 70's & 80's, and songs like Blue Monday (1983) in the rise of the dance music we hear today in the clubs and festivals around the world, instead claiming it was all because of the influence of 80's Contempory RnB?

 

Last edited: Jul 19, 2016

Not at all, I was just referring to Electronic Dance Music literally, not as a genre. In the early 80's electronic instruments were more prevalent in that short lived period of R & B the OP refers to. It was dance music back then even if was labelled as R & B (rhythm & blues)