The 52-minute doc that'll make your synth-loving soul ascend to Berlin club heaven.
The amazing story of electronic music: its epic journey from its origins in Europe, at the hands of the great artists of the post-war classical avant-garde, to the great post-industrial cities of the USA, where this genre of genres took over music stores, shady clubs and, eventually, the big stages.
Direction
Von Steinaecker weaves archival gold into a propulsive narrative.
Production
Rare footage of early synthesizers that'll make gearheads weep.
Writing
Narrator treats Pierre Schaeffer like the rock star he absolutely was.
Director
Thomas von Steinaecker
Jean-Michel Jarre
Self - Musician
Éliane Radigue
Self - Composer
Peter Baumann
Self - Musician
Emil Schult
Self - Artist
Charles de Gaulle
Self - Politician (archive footage)
Pierre Schaeffer
Self - Composer (archive footage)
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Self - Composer (archive footage)
Ralf Hütter
Self - Musician (archive footage)
Joseph Beuys
Self - Artist (archive footage)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The ARP 2500 shown was the same model used in Close Encounters of the Third Kind—Steven Spielberg's alien communication device was literally a synthesizer.
Pierre Schaeffer's musique concrète was initially rejected by French classical institutions; within decades, his techniques became the foundation of all modern music production. The documentary captures this irony without fully exploring it.
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