EDM’s Secret Technologies

The appropriation of black creativity has long driven the development of electronic dance music. While the electronic aspect of EDM, its distinctive relation to audio and computer technology, may seem an exception, a coherent discourse based in Afro-futurism sees black appropriation of technologies usually coded ‘white’ as itself creative, a form of bricolage that repurposes obsolete or deprecated technologies through transformative misuse. Tracking the evolution of this ‘secret technology’ requires careful attention to both dance music’s black roots and its silicon-coloured offshoots. Focusing on the technological underpinnings of acid house, UK rave, and breakbeat hardcore, this survey uses historical sources, technical manuals, and first-hand accounts to explore in detail how micro-generations of EDM producers built upon each other’s mistakes, turning the weaknesses of obsolete devices like the Roland TB-303 bassline synth, the Akai S950 digital sampler, and the Commodore Amiga PC into spurs for sonic innovation.