Inclusive Differences
Inclusive Differences: Resisting Technological Mono-culture Through Diverse Instrument Design
The abundance of cheap technology and easily available knowledge means that designing and building your own instruments is more accessible than ever before. Yet, the majority of electronic musicians are using off-the-shelf instruments and musical tools with conventional interfaces, plastic materials and modes of interaction conventional to western musical traditions. Philosopher Yuk Hui’s concept of technodiversity is a call to reframe how we think about technology in a cultural context, and oppose the fragility and cultural flattening of music into a technological mono-culture. Inclusive design of instruments demands a diverse ecology of musical tools that encompasses cultural difference, accessibility, linguistic difference and diverse musical practices.
In her talk “It's Never Just A Slider” at Kilele 2024, Astrid Bin compared commercial music interfaces to ultra processed food - generic, functional and predictable. Last year she led the panel “Outside the Grid” discussing development and use of tools and instruments that can accommodate for cultural differences and diverse musical practices. This year Astrid will be joined by Angela Oduor Lungati, Adam Yawe and Mxshi Mo to discuss diversity in the tools we use to make music, open-source communities, inclusive design, and what they have to offer music makers everywhere.
