Experimental music documentaries
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- DirectorUgis OlteMorten TraavikStarsLaibachBoris BenkoTomaz CubejALL ART IS PROPAGANDA. George Orwell ...AND ALL PROPAGANDA IS ART. Laibach
- DirectorMarie LosierStarsGenesis P-OrridgeLady Jaye Breyer P'OrridgeBig Boy Breyer P'OrridgeA documentary on artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and his wife and collaborator, Lady Jaye, centered around the transformations the pair underwent for their Pandrogyne project.
- DirectorCédric DupireGaspard KuentzStarsHiromichi SakamotoTomoko ShimazakiKen TakehisaFrom radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classic instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo's avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness.
- DirectorIara LeeStarsArthur BakerAfrika BambaataaCarl CoxThe evolution of electronic music and its many genres. How the wide range of styles and scenes formed through experimentations on sound formation.
- DirectorSteven M. MartinStarsLeon ThereminRobert MoogClara RockmoreA documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the KGB as well as a history of his instrument.
- DirectorSteve ElkinsStarsJohn Luther AdamsKronos QuartetMiya MasaokaMiya Masaoka uses music to interact with plants and insects; Jon Rose turns fences into musical instruments with a violin bow in conflict zones ranging from the Australian outback to Israel; John Luther Adams translates geophysical phenomena in Alaska into music; and Bob Ostertag explores socio-political issues through processes as diverse as transcribing riots into string quartets, and creating live cinema with garbage. By contrasting the creative paths of these artists, and a connection between them by the world renowned Kronos Quartet, the film explores music not as a form of entertainment, career, or even self-expression, but as a tool to develop more deeply meaningful relationships with people and the complexities of the world they live in.
- DirectorPatrick ShenStarsJohn CagePico IyerGarry MooreA film about our relationship with silence and the impact of noise on our lives.
- DirectorKristian PetriJan RöedJohan SöderbergStarsNobuyoshi ArakiMayuko HinoRyû MurakamiTokyo. A metropolis filled with sound, movement and culture. Through interviews with some of Tokyo's inhabitants, such as world-renowned photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, game designer Shono, musician Mayuko Hino and others.
- DirectorBenjamin WhalleyStarsAmon Düül IIDavid BowieCanBBC 4 documentary about 1970s German progressive music.
- DirectorZuzanna SolakiewiczStarsEugeniusz RudnikEugeniusz Rudnik revolutionized the idea of music itself with a pair of scissors and a magnetic tape. As part of the legendary Experimental Studio of Polish Radio, he revealed hidden value in rough and rejected sounds long before the rise of the DJs. In an era of electronic music created in a workshop resembling a scientific lab, he composed music to reach and to portray other human beings. '15 Corners of the World' is an attempt to hear the vision of his music. Following the rhythms of architecture, the human body, and the throbbing pulse of nature we discover a new reality. We touch the sound. Moving images reveal a miracle that emerged in the age of tape recorders and disappeared with the advent of computers. They express the wonder of the analogue era - the urge to experiment, to discover new territory, explore the borderlands, and constantly search for new means of expression.
- DirectorJérémie CarboniStarsJean-Michel JarreÉmilie SimonMoriartyA documentary about musique concrète and electronic music, from Luigi Russolo's manifesto "The art of noises" (1913) to the new generation. We discover a large history of electro-acoustic music. Some composers as François Bayle, Michel Chion, Christian Zanési, Emilie Simon, Kasper T. Toeplitz, Teho Teardo talk about how (and why) they create experimental pieces. It's a discovery of a new gender of music often considered as too elitist.
- DirectorDon HardyStarsGerald CasaleLes ClaypoolChris CombsTheory of Obscurity tells the story of the renegade sound and video collective known as The Residents. A story that spans 40 years and is clouded in mystery. Many details surrounding the group are secret, including the identities of its members. Our film takes viewers inside this incredibly private group with unprecedented access to their archives and their recent 40th anniversary tour. The Residents have released more than 60 albums, performed all over the world and inspired many people to be weird, take chances and find their own voice. Now, our film will introduce The Residents to a whole new generation.
- DirectorTravis CollinsAmélie RavalecStarsMark AlbrowStefan AltChris CarterIndustrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay traces the origins of Industrial music, taking you on a journey through the crumbling industrial cities of Europe to America's thriving avant-garde scene.
- DirectorDominik SpritzendorferElena TikhonovaStarsAlexey BorisovStanislav KreichiDmitriy MorozovElektro Moskva is an essayistic documentary about the Soviet electronic age and its legacy. The story begins with the inventor of the world's first electronic instrument, Leon Theremin, unveiling the KGB's huge pile of fascinating devices, some of which were musical. They all came into existence as a by-product of a rampant defense industry. Nowadays, those aged and abandoned 'musical coffins', as solidly made as a Kalashnikov, are being recycled and reinterpreted by the post-Soviet generations of musicians, sound collectors and circuit benders. The story of the Soviet synthesizers as an allegory to the everyday life under the Soviet system: nothing works, but you have to make the best out of it. An electronic fairy tale about the inventive spirit of the free mind inside the iron curtain- and beyond.
- DirectorRudi DolezalHannes RossacherStarsCanHolger CzukayMichael KaroliThe late-'60s avant garde rock band Can gets a feature-length tribute with this affectionate documentary chronicling its odd inception and subsequent career.
- DirectorThomas RiedelsheimerStarsEvelyn GlennieFred FrithRoxane ButterflyA documentary which explores the connections among sound, rhythm, time, and the body by following percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is nearly deaf.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsWerner BartschiWilliam ColvigDean DrummondAmerican composers have long struggled against the momentum of the Western European classical tradition and the prestige it has held in America's cultural life. Featuring Harry Partch, Lou Harrison and Terry Riley, Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy addresses the freedom desired by the musicians and their efforts to gain recognition and opportunities while existing outside of the mainstream. When asked about his creative process, Terry Riley offered the following thought, "There's always an endless frontier in music, because we're dealing here with a person's soul, you're dealing with something that's very basic, it's a spiritual element." (Terry Riley). Together the featured artists offer a deeper understanding of their alternative musical pursuits and how they have affected American culture.
- DirectorManfred WaffenderStarsSteve Reich
- DirectorMitch CorberStarsJohn CageMitch CorberDavid Antin
- DirectorRon MannStarsPaul BleyBill DixonArchie SheppAn examination, shown through both interviews and performances, of the avant-garde free jazz movement which reigned during the 1960s.
- DirectorRobert MuggeStarsSun RaRobert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
- DirectorFrank CassentiStarsMarshall AllenJohn GilmoreArchie SheppThis video documents performances and rehearsals in Paris, France, 1984. It includes the compositions "Love in Outer Space," "Nuclear War," and "1984" by Sun Ra and the standards "Tea for Two" and "Blue Lou," as well as interviews with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp.
- DirectorJörg A. HoppeHeiko LangeKlaus MaeckStarsAndiBela B.Blixa BargeldUnreleased footage captures West Berlin's underground scene in the 1980s, from punk to Love Parade, portraying the city's creative energy before the Berlin Wall fell.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsChris CarterPeter ChristophersonGenesis P-OrridgeExperimental film of the group 'Throbbing Gristle' in concert.
- DirectorMarcus Werner HedDan FoxStarsPaul BuckChris CarterPeter ChristophersonHistory of Coum Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle.