Its was the 1st synthesizers creating the modern dancey over commercialized trend. Today its vocoders and analog filters and loop compression doing it. I'm already hearing software plugins in the latest music. The ultimate plugin, should be obvious, and it isn't here yet, is the surround plugin. Imagine being able to focus sound to different parts of the dance floor.
Lets keep it simple.
You want to hang by the congas, they are over on the left. Want to coast through the melody, well stay close to center. The drums in the back. Except for the kik, which while omnipresent, is most intense dead center. 3 dimensional space with a different vibe in every corner.