neurodiversity and electronic music
On a different frequency: neurodivergence and electronic music
According to a survey by the AFEM (Association For Electronic Music), 58% of electronic music professionals identify as neurodivergent. Meanwhile, Nor- thwestern Medicine estimates that neurodivergent people make up between 15 and 20% of the global population. These are large numbers, but when read correctly, they trace the coordinates of a map that gives us the right directions to understand something more about the connection between electronic music and neurodivergence.
Stepping away from what increasingly seems like a trend, let’s approach the topic with a fascinated and curious gaze – one that tries to investigate what lies within an obsessive kick drum, a modular synth that demands hours of hyperfocus, or the darkness of a club where the body can move freely without having to speak.
My interest in this subject sparked in recent years because more and more friends or acquaintances I met in clubs and in the electronic music world started te-
lling me about their experiences after receiving a neurodivergence diagnosis. Today, it’s not hard to find investi- gations and articles discussing this connection, trying to answer one question: why do so many neuroa- typical brains feel at home here, and not elsewhere? It doesn’t seem like a coincidence, but rather chemistry and sensory architecture, expressed as a kind of creative survival.
“Neurodivergent” is not a diagnosis, but an umbrella term: it includes ADHD, autism, dyslexia, Tourette’s, sensory processing disorders, and others. In this piece, we’ll focus on ADHD and autism – not because they’re the only ones, but because they appear most often in interviews and data about the electronic scene.
ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivi- ty Disorder) involves altered dopamine regulation, which leads to difficulty sustaining attention on under-stimu- lating tasks, but also incredibly power- ful hyperfocus on things that are ge- nuinely interesting. Autism is defined as a spectrum and involves atypical sensory processing (hypersensitivity
or hyposensitivity to sounds, lights, touch), monotropic thinking (a single focus of attention at a time), and a strong need for predictability and routine.
They are neither “superpowers” nor “tragedies” – rather, they are different ways of functioning. And electronic music, for reasons we’ll explore, aligns with them in a truly fascinating way. So instead of asking “why are neuro- divergents overrepresented?”, let’s flip the question: what does electronic music have that other genres and environments don’t?
Let’s start with rhythmic predictability as an anchor. Think of a 4/4 kick drum, a repeating loop, a house or techno structure. For an autistic or ADHD brain, this constant repetition is like an elastic carpet. By reducing the sensory load, it creates a kind of sound cage within which one can relax or move without being constantly surprised. Many people describe the feeling as a world that is finally not chaotic.
047
AUTOR ALESSANDRA SOLA PHOTORAPHY ARTIST COURTESY
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82
