Not to be confused with nerdcore hiphop.

A portmanteau of "nerd" and "hardcore", nerdcore techno is a style of Electronic Dance Music often centered around the unauthorized sampling or remixing of 1980s and 1990s Japanese (and occasionally western) music, television shows, commercials, video games, anime, and other aspects of pop and/or nerd culture, calling direct attention to the original comedic or nostalgic value of the source material. Inspired by the eclecticism of 電気グルーヴ who helped introduce a number of electronic dance styles into the Japanese mainstream throughout the 1990s, nerdcore techno artists often work with a melting pot of influences and personal twists on the genre, mainly taking cues from Techno, Breakbeat and Jungle; despite its wide scope the overarching genre is still quite distinguishable by its heavy penchant for sampling and raw, DIY approach to production. In early years the use of the term often overlapped with J-core, but the two genres have since diverged greatly with the latter emphasizing sleeker, more contemporary Hardcore trends in lieu of niche interests and irreverent sampling.

The genre’s roots can be found in the 1990s with the works of サイケアウツ and DJ Sharpnel, who both focused on creating bootleg remixes and edits of existing recordings and having an almost Punk ethos to their small, but chaotic live events and limited musical distribution. Some nerdcore techno artists such as レオパルドン and Bubble-B carved a more distinct niche for the genre by centering their music around humorous audio references framed within unpredictably diverse production styles, and many of these artists banded together under similar aesthetic themes to form dedicated labels such as All Japan Records and Toy Label. Collectives like 日本國民 and Handaya Rave, on the other hand, took more directly after Sharpnel's otaku imagery and energetic Gabber influences, releasing sample-heavy hardcore music entirely dedicated to visual novels and anime; the term nerdcore techno was in fact first coined by subculture magazine Quick Japan in their coverage of early Handaya Rave events.

While copyright infringement and its more alternative appeals held it back from breaking out of the underground, nerdcore techno became a strong influence on doujin music circles and the parodic sampling of MAD videos on popular sites such as Nico Nico Douga, and despite being well past its peak it continues to exist at the fringes of Japan's music culture thanks to the dedication of new and veteran artists alike. Meanwhile, overseas nerdcore techno labels such as The Speed Freak’s NiTEFLARE and enthusiasts like DJ SpeedBeatz, with his book Ian’s Nerdcore Encyclopedia and netlabels Allkore and Stereo Records, have helped introduce the sound to newer audiences both within and outside of Japan.