DEVO

Formed in the early 1970s in Akron, Ohio, Devo was built around Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale, Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale, who developed the concept of “de-evolution” as the group’s guiding idea. The band belongs to the American new wave and art rock currents, blending angular guitars, repetitive synthesizers, machine-like rhythms and detached vocals, with a satirical edge aimed at social behavior and consumer culture. Devo first emerged on the independent scene before releasing Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! in 1978, produced by Brian Eno, then followed with Duty Now for the Future (1979), Freedom of Choice (1980) and New Traditionalists (1981), where the balance between rock and synth-pop crystallized, notably with the track “Whip It,” which greatly broadened their international profile. Devo’s performances rely on a highly codified aesthetic — industrial uniforms, rigid choreography and videos conceived as short films — that found particular resonance with the rise of early music television channels. After a more sporadic phase from the late 1980s, interspersed with tours and members’ side projects, Devo returned to the studio with Something for Everybody in 2010, extending their critical themes and visual universe into a more contemporary electronic register.