Porous Instruments: Synthesizers and the Circulation of Cultural Values

Electronic sound pervades our experiences: A sci-fi thriller opens with electronic whirrs, clicks, and hums; teenagers lose themselves in the trance-inducing loops of DJ-produced electronic dance music; hip hop producers create sick beats from the mechanical thumps of drum machines. How did electronic sound become so ubiquitous? Culturally speaking, why does electronic music matter? The presenter investigates the cultural flow of electronic sound through musical technologies—synthesizers, studios, turntables—which enable the circulation of raced, gendered, and classed sounds, as well as the production of social capital. Though synthesizers might appear to be black boxes, electronic music instruments are porous in both their design and their use. Heterogeneity is the structure of electronic music production and distribution. The presenter explores liminal moments, exposing complex stories of appropriation, off-label use, and misuse. Porous instruments, and their ubiquitous sounds, mediate the social formation of race, gender, class, prestige, and value.