Minimal Synth is a genre of music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument.
Minimal Synth releases were mostly put out from late '70s to middle '80s and is characterised by dark and moody tones. It has a bleak stripped down sound, with instrumentation consisting generally of raw analog synths, a pulsating drum beat, and cold vocals. This same sort of music without the vocals is also referred to as Minimal Electronics.
Minimal Synth records tend to show a DIY quality, and are experimental when compared to other forms of pop music. The overarching genre of most early '80s synth pop is New Wave, the same applies for minimal synth, the umbrella genre is New Wave in its minimal form: Minimal Wave. The Minimal Synth features explained in this description are often favoured by dark wavers and the avant-garde pop and electronic music fans.
Loads of Minimal Synth records are perceived as cult by music researchers/collectors, they were released in very limited quantities at the time, and are considered far superior and unique when compared to other more commercial Synth Pop of the '80s era. Minimal Synth 7"s can go for several hundred dollars at online auction sites. Even more recent examples of the genre by bands like The Phone, Jonni Mogul and labels such as Attractive and Anna Logue are increasingly sought after.
Some examples of artists that have been influential to Miminal Synth artists are John Foxx, Kraftwerk, Visage, Brian Eno, YMO, The Human League, David Bowie, and Soft Cell. Some noteworthy minimal synth artists include: Nini Raviolette, Jeff & Jane Hudson, ADN' Ckrystall, Guyer's Connection, The Short Wave Mystery, Oviformia-SCI and Napalm Babies.