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June 5, 1998

MODULATIONS: A FILM BY IARA LEE

By Judas

Late last month, the San Francisco International Film festival was in full swing. I had been fortunate enough to have a friend land me a coveted ticket to a film titled 'Modulations.' It is an insightful documentary that traces the evolution of electronic music as one of the most profound artistic developments of the 20th century. Film reviews are not my forte. And I was prepared to blow off the film, preferring to spend the rest of the evening tucked away in the studio, drawn to my samplers. I had envisioned another amateur attempt to delve into a world far deeper than the average fan or DJ can fathom. To my suprise and delight I found Modulations inspirational and informative.

Few people have the background to appreciate all the complexity and nuance of hi-tech music or how much effort and passion the composer must invest in the work. Iara Lee knows. Her research led her into a slew of night clubs and warehouses around the globe where this fast tempo phenomenon has taken root. The list of artists she interviewed runs on and on: The Prodigy, Orbital, Holger Czukay, Meat Beat Manifesto, Bill Laswell, Photek, Brian Eno and many many more electronic pioneers had a role in the evolution of synthetic music. Similiar to other historic figure lists, unfortunately there are no female representatives. Lee also efficiently covers the complex world of hi-tech musical equipment and devices. She displays a clear understanding about the relationship between the artist, the machine and the music.

The film itself is composed rather than edited. The sound mix and blend of techno music and ambient textures blends seemlessly over fragmented and fractal-like collages. She adopts the fundamental aesthetic of machine 'impurity' and 'imperfection' as an organic quality. The result is a wonderfully textured sensory experience; an artistic expression born in the digital domain. Out of financial nescesity and creative execution Lee uses several different mediums: digital and regular video, hi-8mm,16mm, and 35mm. She took all that the had learned and broke rules to put together a masterfull visual representation of the aesthetic of techno music and it's composers.

More importantly though is the message the film delivers -- that the possiblities for sound are limitless. The evolutionary line starts in 1913, the year Italian Composer Luigi Russolo wrote a piece titled "The Art of Noise." The piece was arranged with noises, (industrial and natural sounds blended together) to create a literal symphony of sound. During that time Russolo reflected, " we must break out of this limited circle of sounds and conquer the infinite variety of noise sounds."

Lee and the arists she interviewed all work and live by Russolo's philosphy. Today we have the capability to create sounds which are new to the human ear. The tools are limitless, extremely powerful and just think, this is the begining of the cusp of a new era. From Kraftwerk in Berlin to the Future Sound of London to the gritty streets of Detroit where producer Derrick May spun early forms of what we all know as dance music, these artists shared a common vision and determination to explore their sounds through experimentation.

It is vital to understand the orgins and evolution of a movement to have a deeper appreciation for it.. This film is the first attempt I've seen that examines where synthetic music has come from. Lee has opened up new horizons for film making and acknowledges a movement that will, and has, revolutionized the way composers will forever work and think.ack to MODULATIONS CONTENTS ]