Transatlantic Drift explores the emergence and evolution of nightclubs and electronic dance music from the 1950s onwards. It traces the rhythmic journey of dance music, following the pulse as it bounced between Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Music, dance styles and nightclub spaces are not created in isolation; they are shaped by collective influences and shared experiences. This book uncovers the interconnected story of dance music, taking in hotspots such as New York, Detroit, London, Manchester, Chicago, Düsseldorf and Ibiza. Transatlantic Drift offers an engaging exploration of how people have come together to share melodies and rhythms, forming a global conversation through electronic music.

‘Through its carefully considered form, authorial team and consciously drifting contents, Transatlantic Drift is dedicated to transatlantic musical interchange and, indeed, to the exchange of scholarly and critical ideas concerning music and the ways in which we remember and make meaningful. This excellent book unravels the oftentimes knotty and contested musical happenings, people and places through an approach that embraces an open understanding of music histories in the plural. And in sidestepping common pitfalls in popular music scholarship – by attesting to regions as well as capital cities, for example – Katie Milestone and Simon A. Morrison have created an essential resource for all those interested in transatlantic popular music and subcultural histories. ’ – Sarah Raine, Research Fellow, School of Music, UCD, and author of Authenticity and Belonging in the Northern Soul Scene

TRANSATLANTIC DRIFT The Ebb and Flow of Dance Music by Katie Milestone and Simon A. Morrison is available to purchase now via Reaktion Books.

Katie Milestone is an academic and co-lead of the Music and Sonic Studies Research Group at Manchester Metropolitan University, teaching and researching youth subcultures, music and identity. Her books include Gender and Popular Culture (2nd edn, 2020).

Simon A. Morrison is a writer, academic and Programme Leader for Music Journalism at the University of Chester. He has published widely on global music culture, and his books include Dancefloor-Driven Literature: The Rave Scene in Fiction (2020).