Customer Reviews

Modulations: Cinema for the Ear

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This video isn't perfect but it's the best so far in covering the entire spectrum of electronic dance music. It goes so far as to actually showing the Roland keyboard factory! There's multiple interviews with legendary pioneers from decades ago along with today's new artists. There's coverage of Love Parade in Berlin and various other raves. Just about every style of dance music is represented. Drum and Bass and House probably got the most attention. It breaks down to the smallest components of electronic music and how artists get and arrange samples. It's a great introduction to electronic music for those who don't quite understand it yet and a great history lesson to those of use who already love it.

"Modulations" is a very fast-paced documentary about the past, present, and future of electronic music. Because it is so condensed, lacks narrative voice-over, and features so many people, you'll be able to watch this one again and again and always discover something new.

Please do look past the very cheesy cover--it doesn't do justice to what's on the DVD. While rave and commerical acts like Fatboy Slim do get covered, you'll also find great footage of Pierre Henry, Genesis P. Orridge, and Giorgio Moroder (how often do you get to put those three names in a single sentence?).

anyone who is interested in electronic music needs to see this movie! even if your not into electronic music, after seeing this movie you will be! its got everyone : john cage, stockhausen, juan atkins, roni size, spooky, derrick may, panacea, prodigy, moby, mix master mike the list goes on and on and on

As a self-proclaimed electronica freak I must recommend this one to not only those interested in electronic music, but also to anyone interested in opening their mind to the possibilities of NOISE. However, this film left me wanting more background on the use of music (specifically electronic) in its relationships to manipulating the senses.....and its correlations to design, be it spatial, physical or virtual......however, this is a must see.

I saw this movie (or documentary or whatever you want to call it) in the theater when it first came out and enjoyed it thoroughly. Not only did I learn some new things about the history and origins of electronic music, but laughed my ass off at some of the intervies with the drugged out derelicts that pepper the electronica landscape. Some of the more notable interviews with FSOL (who hardly ever appear in anything anymore) and some of the German jungle musicians were absolutely hysterical. There were also really good interviews with many of the origional Detroit hardhouse gurus. I'm not even mentioning DJ Spooky, Joey Beltram and a host of other great musicians - there were quite a few - too many to remember. My only complaint about the film is that it was rather short - I think just over one hour. Nonetheless, it was worth buying in my humble opinion.

(Sorry about that header.) Ambitious and mostly successful overview of the roots and branches in the modern electronic music scene. The film covers quite a bit in just over an hour. The use of "sound bite"-length artist interviews seems to irk some reviewers; I think they are failing to savor the irony that this is just the cinematic equivalent of "sampling", after all. As in any similar collection of interviews, artist comments range from the banal to the revelatory, but the director gets credit for not allowing any concept to become too redundant. This film edges out the very similar documentary "Better Living Through Circuitry", by thankfully not inserting so many tiresome, epileptic seizure-inducing scenes of people "raving". Highly recommended for genre fans.

Think you might enjoy Iara Lee's slick look at this modern culture?Quick edits dominates this movie to show the fast rise of electronic music.

Hence the increase difficulty for the listener to catch up with some portions...Therefore the work does not contain enough detail to be educationnal.The sound bites are so small that nothing really sinks in.(Check out the Orbital sequence where Lee foolishly cuts«Chime»as the loop ain't finished!!)Why isn't there any chronological order?Sometimes we are too confused, Lee tries to tell us too many things at once; why is there an Autechre track on the D N'b segment??

A few too many headz are missing:Richard D James,Wendy Carlos(after all she is a pioneer of the Moog),Jeff Mills,Richie Hawtin,Brian Eno and Alex Patterson(aka The Orb).There a way too many house headz:DJ Funk and Paul Johnson?They could've been replaced by IDM's M-Ziq and Speedy J or Industrial types like Front 242 or Richard H Kirk.

But there are some real strenghts too.For instance,the whole historical research is quite diverse and knowledgeable.Pierre Henry,Karlheinz Stockhausen are pertinent.Especially two segments are astonishing;the jungle and ambient ones,where the images embodies the music well.The clips are quick and exciting.Other strong parts includes:FSOL,Can,Scanner,Squarepusher and GenessisPOrridge who is a fun character.Track listing is great too.

Regardless of few weaknesses,this movie goes full throttle all the way.It is going to be taken as a whole as the clear milestone in documenting electronic music.

MODULATIONS is a great look at the history of electronic based music and techno and is the perfect companion to BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY a film about rave culture currently making the festival rounds. Between these two films anyone can get a complete understanding of this exciting and evolving music and lifestyle.

"Modulations" is truly the most complete electronic music DVD documentary released as of 2007. Any fan of electronic music will recognize at least some (if not all) of the artists featured.
I can't think of any other film (with the exception of the rave oriented "Better Living Through Circuitry") that features such a compendium of electronic music pioneers, including instrument makers, composers, DJs, producers.. Autechre, Robert Moog, Moby, Q-bert, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, Squarepusher, Derrick May, Carl Craig, Carl Cox, O Yuki Conjugate, Scanner, Oval, Genesis P Orridge, George Moroder, DJ Spooky, Bill Laswell and many others are all here.

Notably missing from the film are Aphex Twin, Brian Eno and Kraftwerk, although Eno and Kraftwerk are quoted and mentioned throughout the film.

I am sure that the quantity of interview footage posed a problem for the producers and editors of this film, so everything is tightly edited to keep this movie from becoming another boring academic documentary with voice overs, (which i am sure it was something the producers and director wanted to avoid)

I wish this movie would have been made a lot longer, or more extra footage made available on the DVD, maybe a more structured editing approach would have made this movie a little less chaotic, but this still doesn't detract from the breadth and scope of this truly remarkable film.

This DVD is a must for anyone interested in electronic music, rave and DJ culture.

I am a big fan of this movie. Many reviewers are knocking the Dj's and people in the film, 'for trying to be philisophical'. If you are a fan of Electronic Music, and know that it is not all TECHNO, then you will enjoy this film. It is a nice way of helping people to understand where this form of music comes from.

For me it was nice to see the origins of some type of music, because while I am not a fan of Techno, I am a fan of Breakbeat and House Music. I do like Drum and Bass, but I am not a fan of 'Drill and Bass" or Hard House. It's all preferences.

Anyway, I believe that owning this movie is like owning an abbreviated encyclopedia of Electronic Music. It's a necessary addition to your electronic music collection. If you have any music intrest.. it will help you to appreciate this form of it, that much more.