Acting
Quite simply the finest theremin player who has ever lived, Clara Rockmore began her performing life as a violin prodigy at the age of 5 years old, still the youngest person ever admitted to the prestigious Imperial Conservatory of Saint Petersburg where she studied under the great Leopold Auer. Due to childhood malnutrition causing bone problems in her teen years, she was forced to give up the violin and moved to New York City in the mid 1920's where she met and became involved with Russian electronics genius Leon Theremin and helped him to refine and perfect his new instrument, giving advice from the standpoint of a musical performer to make the theremin more playable and developing her own hand techniques and exercises for playing the instrument.
After escaping Russia's communist revolution, LĂ©on Theremin travels to New York, where he pioneers the field of electronic music with his synthesizer. But at the height of his popularity, Soviet agents kidnap and force him to develop spy technology.
This documentary film focuses on the rapidly growing modular synthesis movement, the diverse artists creating soundscapes of emotionally charged content, and the developers pushing the boundaries of sonic invention with their community driven creations. Capturing this immediate creative vision and personal process from patch to pulse will be the journey we share.
The story of the Cacophony Society. This documentary follows their evolution from the San Francisco Suicide Club - 1977, the exploits of SF Cacophony, their nexus creating the Burning Man Festival, to the irreverent Los Angeles Cacophony and beyond. This is the history of the most significant American underground cultural movement of our time! 'The Cacophony Society is, 'a randomly gathered network of free spirits engaged in the pursuit of experiences beyond the mainstream.' The credo is 'You May Already be a Member!' It's a non-religious, non-political, non-commercial disorganization of Dada klowns rewiring the neuro-circuits of humanity. The heart of Cacophony is deeply routed in kitsch, weird and nihilism.. It's subversion by way of absurdist pranks and fire!
"Mastering the Theremin" covers basic theremin techniques in 6 lessons - and includes exercises designed by Clara Rockmore. Lydia Kavina also performs three of her original compositions for theremin. This is the main resource you need for learning to play theremin or for improving your technique.
Less a documentary than a primer on all electronic music. Featuring interviews with nearly every major player past and present, as well as a few energetic live clips, Modulations delves into one of electronica's forgotten facets: the human element. Lee travels the globe from the American Midwest to Europe to Japan to try to express the appeal of music often dismissed as soulless. Modulations shows that behind even the most foreign or alien electronic composition lies a real human being, and Lee lets many of these Frankenstein-like creators express and expound upon their personal philosophies and tech-heavy theories. Lee understands that a cultural movement as massive and diverse as dance music can't be contained.
A look through the synthesizer museum and its old, rare, and often famous pieces.
Best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer, Robert Moog was an American pioneer of electronic music, and shaped musical culture with some of the most inspiring electronic instruments ever created. This "compelling documentary portrait of a provocative, thoughtful and deeply sympathetic figure" (New York Times) peeks into the inventor's mind and the worldwide phenomenon he fomented.
Drawing on rare performances, interviews, animations, and experimental film, this documentary surveys the formative years of electronic music from 1948 to 1980. Featuring pioneering composers and inventors—including Milton Babbitt and Leon Theremin—the film explores the experimental technologies, academic laboratories, and creative struggles that shaped the early evolution of electronic sound.
