VIBE
AUGUST 1998

MODULATIONS

electronica is king in 'modulations', an edgy documentary by film director iara lee. to chronicle what she considers to be today's most interesting music, lee dives ear and eye first into the futuristic electronica scene, hitting raves from detroit to japan. dizzyingly crammed with fluid, hypnagogic images and sounds, it gives a breathless history of this music sub-verse, skipping from ambient to jungle to drum 'n' bass to trip hop. besides a nonstop soundtrack, modulations features rapid-fire interviews with the likes of john cage, the godfather of nontraditional art music, british drum'in' bass

luminary photek, new york city's dj spooky, and moby, the best-selling member of the ravers' set. picking up where lee's previous technophile opus synthetic pleasures left off, modulations makes a persuasive case that today's music of the future is more than just a fad.