Sisters with Transistors

Sep 1, 2021

1h 26m

★ 6.8

Electronic music's unsung heroines

Overview

Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys' club, the truth is that from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come.

Genres

Documentary

History

Music

Production Companies

Anna Lena Films

Willow Glen Films

Metrograph Pictures

Aspect Ratio Film

Showtime

Sisters with Transistors Trailers

Cast

Narrator (voice)

Laurie Anderson

Self (archive footage)

Delia Derbyshire

Self

Suzanne Ciani

Self (archive footage)

Bebe Barron

Self

Laurie Spiegel

Self

Éliane Radigue

Self

Wendy Carlos

Self (archive footage)

Pauline Oliveros

Self

Clara Rockmore

Self (archive footage)

Daphne Oram

Self

Maryanne Amacher

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.

9.0

The Rumba Kings

May 6, 2021

In the fifties, when the future Democratic Republic of Congo was still a Belgian colony, an entire generation of musicians fused traditional African tunes with Afro-Cuban music to create the electrifying Congolese rumba, a style that conquered the entire continent thanks to an infectious rhythm, captivating guitar sounds and smooth vocals.

7.4

Avicii - My Last Show

Dec 30, 2024

On Aug. 28, 2016, Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii, graced the stage of the Ushuaïa nightclub in Ibiza for what would be his final performance.

6.0

Rytíři Bastlíři

Nov 27, 2019

No overview available.

10.0

Avicii Tribute Concert - In Loving Memory of Tim Bergling

Dec 5, 2019

A number of different DJs who are all close friends until Tim will play during the evening: David Guetta, Kygo, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. During the live concert, the singers who participated in Avicii's biggest songs - artists such as Aloe Blacc, Rita Ora, Adam Lambert and Sandro Cavazza, and others - will perform Avicii's origins simultaneously with a 30-man band.

5.5

Never Stop: A Music That Resists

Jan 22, 2017

Featuring the pioneers of techno music Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Carl Craig, and Jeff Mills, Never Stop takes us into the fascinating universe of techno labels in Detroit. This film highlights the deep roots of the creation, more than thirty years ago, by each of the African-American pioneers of techno music, of their own record labels.

6.0

In Memory of Rock

Jan 1, 1963

The rock-wild youth of the 1960s during the apparitions of their idols.

7.5

Woodstock

Mar 26, 1970

An intimate look at the Woodstock Music & Art Festival held in Bethel, NY in 1969, from preparation through cleanup, with historic access to insiders, blistering concert footage, and portraits of the concertgoers; negative and positive aspects are shown, from drug use by performers to naked fans sliding in the mud, from the collapse of the fences by the unexpected hordes to the surreal arrival of National Guard helicopters with food and medical assistance for the impromptu city of 500,000.

7.3

Trolls World Tour

Mar 11, 2020

Queen Poppy and Branch make a surprising discovery — there are other Troll worlds beyond their own, and their distinct differences create big clashes between these various tribes. When a mysterious threat puts all of the Trolls across the land in danger, Poppy, Branch, and their band of friends must embark on an epic quest to create harmony among the feuding Trolls to unite them against certain doom.

0.0

Music Inn

May 3, 2007

During a decade rife with paranoia, in the middle of the McCarthy era, Music Inn was a bold experiment. Halfway between the Second World War and The Civil Rights Movement, Phil and Stephanie Barber created an oasis in the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts where aspiring musicians came to learn from the very best. Students and faculty, young and old, rich and poor, white, black, and brown convened together and learned from each other. Defying the surrounding environment, Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony where music was all that mattered.

6.3

Revolution of Sound - Tangerine Dream

Feb 14, 2017

‘Tangerine Dream is science fiction!’ declares band leader Edgar Froese who died in January, 2015 aged 70. For almost fifty years he and his band ‘Tangerine Dream’ explored sound and its effect on our emotions. This film about one of Germany’s first electronic bands kicks off with the young Berlin musicians who were as inspired by the space age of the 1960s, with its rocket launchings and visions of the future, as they were by their own heartbeat, on which Froese also based compositions. Aided by the Moog and other synthesisers Froese (and various band members) revolutionised popular music. His explorations took him into the worlds of classical, new and film music. He preferred to visualise moods rather than create clearly structured songs. A blend of amateur footage, interviews with band members, relatives, friends and colleagues such as Jean-Michel Jarre that creates a comprehensive portrait of an artistic pioneer.

0.0

Tall Poppy: A Skater's Story

Jun 28, 2021

A child who just loved to skate from the age of eight, Poppy Starr Olsen became the number one female bowl skater in Australia at 14 and went on to take out bronze at the XGames at 17 - the ultimate competition in the world of skateboarding. The same year, skateboarding was announced as an official additional sport category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Now faced with the opportunity to represent Australia on the world stage Poppy grapples with the transition from skater to athlete and the pressure of competition mounts in a way it has never done before.

4.9

Moog

Sep 17, 2004

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.

0.0

Modulo: The Analog Synth Documentary

Jan 1, 2014

A musical documentary and tribute to Hugh Le Caine. The story of early electronic instruments, and the nearly forgotten Canadian music pioneer who created the first synthesizers. As told through interviews with three modern-day modular synth musicians.

6.9

Lady Sings the Blues

Oct 12, 1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

8.0

André 3000 - New Blue Sun (Listening)

Nov 16, 2023

"I swear, I wanted to make a “visual album” but this is literally the way the wind blew me this time."

7.4

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk

May 31, 2017

Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk spans over 30 years of the California Bay Area’s punk music history with a central focus on the emergence of the inspiring 924 Gilman Street collective. This diverse group of artists, writers, organizers and musicians created a do-it-yourself petri dish that changed the punk scene... and the world at large.

0.0

Signature Sounds: The Music of WWE

Mar 18, 2014

Music has been integral in WWE history, especially anthems for all the greatest WWE Superstars. Since Sgt. Slaughter first made his entrance to the Marine Corp hymn in the early 80's music themes have become synonymous with the Superstars themselves. Just hearing the first few notes brings the crowd to their feet. They are the songs that let the WWE Universe know that business is about to pick up. Now, get behind the music and learn the inside story behind the timeless anthems of WWE and the superstars.