URB | AUGUST 1998

BY TAMARA PALMER

MODULATIONS, THE CINEMA FOR YOUR EARS

while many documentaries on the subject of electronic music have gone into productions, few have emerged completed. even fewer have the cohesiveness of iara lee's modulations . much more passionate and well-researched than her previous outing synthetic pleasures (which described artificial realities such as plastic surgery, cryogenics and regulated indoor beaches). modulations takes an ambitious bite at trying to demystify the giant umbrella of electronic musics, traveling the globe to speak to sources as disparate as giorgio moroder, karlheinz stockhausen, panacea, derrick carter, marshall jefferson, ken ishii and the invisibl skratch piklz (who are just priceless here, as usual).

such a huge sweep will inevitably leave holes (females and west coast artists in particular could havehad more attention), but lee nonetheless hands in a stimulating, wide-ranging gumbo of musical notions. she also manages to keep structure to this hubbub, building drama as well as comic relief (predictably provided by mixmaster morris and future sound of london, respectively). particularly satisfying are the creative, cinematic bits interspersed throughout to help illustrate music's potential visually. and the sequence which contrasts the different sorts of techno that emanate from new york , tokyo and london with their respective urban environments is brilliant. don't miss.

modulations: directred by iara lee, consultant writer peter shapiro, produced by george gund.