Serge Blenner

La Vogue stands as the debut statement from Serge Blenner, a classically trained French synthesist who left Alsace for Hamburg at the turn of the 1980s and, almost inadvertently, composed one of the most quietly apocalyptic electronic albums of its era. Originally issued by Sky Records in 1980 and later reissued by Bureau B, the record has come to be described as “music for the apocalyptic eighties Deutschland state of mind,” an electronic soundtrack to Cold War unease rendered in sparse, Berlin‑school structures and dark, monotone timbres.

Blenner studied composition and harmony at the Conservatoire de Mulhouse before relocating to West Germany, where he began working intensively with synthesizers, sequencers and studio electronics. On La Vogue, he is credited with composition, production, synthesizer, sequencer, rhythm programming and electronics, making the album a true auteur project. Recorded in Hamburg and released on Sky as sky 042, the LP comprises eight pieces titled simply “Phrase I” through “Phrase VIII,” underscoring the sense of a modular, almost linguistic exploration of pattern and texture.