Most late 20th century western musical movements and the cultural changes that came with them was down to manufacturers of instruments. It was usually a box, synthesizer or effects unit. Surely the R&D for new sounds is what music depends on?
Some people have a certain fluency with sound and music. It's not about training, although training will bring it out if someone has it. But it seems pretty innate. And it cuts through in a way that the work of people without the fluency doesn't.
Roland used to be masters of this. Their rhythm and bass boxes seemed like stupid failed toys, but they had a magic that wasn't obvious until they were handed to people who didn't try to use them in the "proper" way.
That's fluency from two sources - something the original designers somehow had (until Roland stopped being that kind of company) mixed with the feel the pioneering users had.
This story is another example of that.
Compare with - say - Yamaha's attempts to sell physical modelling synthesis. There was much money spent, a good selection of instruments produced, but it failed to cut through. Possibly because it ended up being a system of presets and directed constraints that limited imagination instead of opening it up. (Or possibly not. It's a mysterious process.)
> ... the box was largely written off as a failure after just 18 months of production. It was released alongside the TR-606 drum machine as an accompaniment for guitarists, but with unrealistic sounds and a difficult interface the box got little traction upon release. [1]
It became the source of a signature sound in dance music, which remains extensively used today and can be heard in tracks with mainstream chart success. It's terrible interface is somehow part of its charm and it has been cloned in many formats.
This is probably the best way to experience it in a browser [2]
[1] https://djtechtools.com/2015/12/02/history-tb-303-rolands-ac...
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/10/16/roman_mars_99_...
I think the Roland TB-303 is the best example of what is being talked about here.
It was made by Roland to simulate bass guitars but spawned entire genres of dance music because of its unique sound.
Today however, synthesizers can create any sound imaginable so we probably reached the end of the cycle. Who knows what will guide the future of music.