IDM and political ideology . . .
I recently stumbled upon a YouTube channel for Gabriel Sprach, a FAR right philosophical & political creator. In many of his videos he uses music from Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada, among a few others, and it got me thinking about the default political leanings of IDM listeners and if this has been prevalent in IDM's history or if this a new occurrence with newer generations being far removed from the culture from which IDM sprung.
I know that, for instance, Autechre made the Anti EP against a UK law prohibiting dancing to repetitious music so they made a track that eschews that definition (and arguably started a new era of songwriting for them). That's a pretty antiestablishment move, so I always thought they were left-leaning, as well. The whole electronic music scene of the 1990s and beyond, from what I remember, was predominantly left-leaning. I could be dead wrong.
I got into IDM in 1994 with SAWII and quickly followed with Tri Repetae and have been steeped, if even tertiarily, since that time. I've honestly never met a right-winger who's liked or even known about these artists (I'm from the US, so maybe that's why--less exposure). Me & my friends have always been left-leaning, if not full-on leftists, but that's the rub; it's me and my friends. We naturally coalesce due to our similar ideologies and music is a natural part of that bond.
Sorry for the long post and I'm not looking for a political debate, I'm just curious if this a new phenomenon due to the age and reputation of IDM or something that's always been. It's especially prevalent now because I don't wanna be shot by some hick in a mask who's blaring fucking Milk Man from their SUV.
Posted Feb 15, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC