Pop

Pop is the ninth studio album by Irish rock band U2, released in March 1997. For some fans it is the “last great U2 album”; the subsequent albums not being as daring or as artistically different than Pop or previous albums and more commercial. It is notable for combining elements of popular techno and electronica influences with traditional alternative rock. On it the band continued their experimental phase and worked with Howie B, a DJ and artist who introduced the band to the underground club scene by going to clubs and gigs and turning them on to new and old electronic music that he felt would be inspirational.

For Pop, U2 continued the sonic experimentation they explored with Achtung Baby and Zooropa. Pop prominently features tape loops, programming, some sequencing and sampling, along with heavy, funky dance rhythms. The album is much more dark and experimental than, as the title would imply, light and mainstream. The band also continued their usual practice of having a few producers working with them on the record so that they could “bounce off each other’s and other people’s ideas.”

The main producer on Pop was Flood who had worked with U2 since The Joshua Tree which he engineered and then Achtung Baby which he engineered and mixed and Zooropa which he co-produced with Brian Eno and The Edge. On Pop most of the engineering was left to Mark ‘Spike’ Stent (known for his work with Massive Attack) and Howie B, who also has production credit along with Steve Osborne on some tracks.