Experimental music documentaries
List activity
1.3K views
• 4 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
62 titles
- DirectorUgis OlteMorten TraavikStarsLaibachBoris BenkoTomaz CubejALL ART IS PROPAGANDA. George Orwell ...AND ALL PROPAGANDA IS ART. Laibach
- DirectorMarie LosierStarsGenesis P-OrridgeLady Jaye Breyer P'OrridgeBig Boy Breyer P'OrridgeA documentary on artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and his wife and collaborator, Lady Jaye, centered around the transformations the pair underwent for their Pandrogyne project.
- DirectorCédric DupireGaspard KuentzStarsHiromichi SakamotoTomoko ShimazakiKen TakehisaFrom radical turntablism (Otomo Yoshihide) to laptop music innovation (Numb), via classic instrument hijacking (Sakamoto Hiromichi), Tokyo's avant-garde music scene is internationally known for its boldness.
- DirectorIara LeeStarsArthur BakerAfrika BambaataaCarl CoxThe evolution of electronic music and its many genres. How the wide range of styles and scenes formed through experimentations on sound formation.
- DirectorSteven M. MartinStarsLeon ThereminRobert MoogClara RockmoreA documentary about the inventor of the first electronic synthesiser instrument and his subsequent life after he was abducted by the KGB as well as a history of his instrument.
- DirectorSteve ElkinsStarsJohn Luther AdamsKronos QuartetMiya MasaokaMiya Masaoka uses music to interact with plants and insects; Jon Rose turns fences into musical instruments with a violin bow in conflict zones ranging from the Australian outback to Israel; John Luther Adams translates geophysical phenomena in Alaska into music; and Bob Ostertag explores socio-political issues through processes as diverse as transcribing riots into string quartets, and creating live cinema with garbage. By contrasting the creative paths of these artists, and a connection between them by the world renowned Kronos Quartet, the film explores music not as a form of entertainment, career, or even self-expression, but as a tool to develop more deeply meaningful relationships with people and the complexities of the world they live in.
- DirectorPatrick ShenStarsJohn CagePico IyerGarry MooreA film about our relationship with silence and the impact of noise on our lives.
- DirectorKristian PetriJan RöedJohan SöderbergStarsNobuyoshi ArakiMayuko HinoRyû MurakamiTokyo. A metropolis filled with sound, movement and culture. Through interviews with some of Tokyo's inhabitants, such as world-renowned photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, game designer Shono, musician Mayuko Hino and others.
- DirectorBenjamin WhalleyStarsAmon Düül IIDavid BowieCanBBC 4 documentary about 1970s German progressive music.
- DirectorZuzanna SolakiewiczStarsEugeniusz RudnikEugeniusz Rudnik revolutionized the idea of music itself with a pair of scissors and a magnetic tape. As part of the legendary Experimental Studio of Polish Radio, he revealed hidden value in rough and rejected sounds long before the rise of the DJs. In an era of electronic music created in a workshop resembling a scientific lab, he composed music to reach and to portray other human beings. '15 Corners of the World' is an attempt to hear the vision of his music. Following the rhythms of architecture, the human body, and the throbbing pulse of nature we discover a new reality. We touch the sound. Moving images reveal a miracle that emerged in the age of tape recorders and disappeared with the advent of computers. They express the wonder of the analogue era - the urge to experiment, to discover new territory, explore the borderlands, and constantly search for new means of expression.
- DirectorJérémie CarboniStarsJean-Michel JarreÉmilie SimonMoriartyA documentary about musique concrète and electronic music, from Luigi Russolo's manifesto "The art of noises" (1913) to the new generation. We discover a large history of electro-acoustic music. Some composers as François Bayle, Michel Chion, Christian Zanési, Emilie Simon, Kasper T. Toeplitz, Teho Teardo talk about how (and why) they create experimental pieces. It's a discovery of a new gender of music often considered as too elitist.
- DirectorDon HardyStarsGerald CasaleLes ClaypoolChris CombsTheory of Obscurity tells the story of the renegade sound and video collective known as The Residents. A story that spans 40 years and is clouded in mystery. Many details surrounding the group are secret, including the identities of its members. Our film takes viewers inside this incredibly private group with unprecedented access to their archives and their recent 40th anniversary tour. The Residents have released more than 60 albums, performed all over the world and inspired many people to be weird, take chances and find their own voice. Now, our film will introduce The Residents to a whole new generation.
- DirectorTravis CollinsAmélie RavalecStarsMark AlbrowStefan AltChris CarterIndustrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay traces the origins of Industrial music, taking you on a journey through the crumbling industrial cities of Europe to America's thriving avant-garde scene.
- DirectorDominik SpritzendorferElena TikhonovaStarsAlexey BorisovStanislav KreichiDmitriy MorozovElektro Moskva is an essayistic documentary about the Soviet electronic age and its legacy. The story begins with the inventor of the world's first electronic instrument, Leon Theremin, unveiling the KGB's huge pile of fascinating devices, some of which were musical. They all came into existence as a by-product of a rampant defense industry. Nowadays, those aged and abandoned 'musical coffins', as solidly made as a Kalashnikov, are being recycled and reinterpreted by the post-Soviet generations of musicians, sound collectors and circuit benders. The story of the Soviet synthesizers as an allegory to the everyday life under the Soviet system: nothing works, but you have to make the best out of it. An electronic fairy tale about the inventive spirit of the free mind inside the iron curtain- and beyond.
- DirectorRudi DolezalHannes RossacherStarsCanHolger CzukayMichael KaroliThe late-'60s avant garde rock band Can gets a feature-length tribute with this affectionate documentary chronicling its odd inception and subsequent career.
- DirectorThomas RiedelsheimerStarsEvelyn GlennieFred FrithRoxane ButterflyA documentary which explores the connections among sound, rhythm, time, and the body by following percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is nearly deaf.
- DirectorMichael BlackwoodStarsWerner BartschiWilliam ColvigDean DrummondAmerican composers have long struggled against the momentum of the Western European classical tradition and the prestige it has held in America's cultural life. Featuring Harry Partch, Lou Harrison and Terry Riley, Musical Outsiders: An American Legacy addresses the freedom desired by the musicians and their efforts to gain recognition and opportunities while existing outside of the mainstream. When asked about his creative process, Terry Riley offered the following thought, "There's always an endless frontier in music, because we're dealing here with a person's soul, you're dealing with something that's very basic, it's a spiritual element." (Terry Riley). Together the featured artists offer a deeper understanding of their alternative musical pursuits and how they have affected American culture.
- DirectorManfred WaffenderStarsSteve Reich
- DirectorMitch CorberStarsJohn CageMitch CorberDavid Antin
- DirectorRon MannStarsPaul BleyBill DixonArchie SheppAn examination, shown through both interviews and performances, of the avant-garde free jazz movement which reigned during the 1960s.
- DirectorRobert MuggeStarsSun RaRobert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
- DirectorFrank CassentiStarsMarshall AllenJohn GilmoreArchie SheppThis video documents performances and rehearsals in Paris, France, 1984. It includes the compositions "Love in Outer Space," "Nuclear War," and "1984" by Sun Ra and the standards "Tea for Two" and "Blue Lou," as well as interviews with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp.
- DirectorJörg A. HoppeHeiko LangeKlaus MaeckStarsAndiBela B.Blixa BargeldUnreleased footage captures West Berlin's underground scene in the 1980s, from punk to Love Parade, portraying the city's creative energy before the Berlin Wall fell.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsChris CarterPeter ChristophersonGenesis P-OrridgeExperimental film of the group 'Throbbing Gristle' in concert.
- DirectorMarcus Werner HedDan FoxStarsPaul BuckChris CarterPeter ChristophersonHistory of Coum Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle.
- DirectorAugusto ContentoStarsKen VandermarkDavid GrubbsSteve AlbiniChicago, from the 1990s on, has established itself as one of the most interesting cities on a musical level, despite its decentralized position in relation to the West/East Coast dichotomy. The merit goes to people like Steve Albini (journalist, critic and producer, as well as leader of the group Shellac), David Grubbs, Damon Locks, Ken Vandermark, and Ian Williams, who have given life to a type of sound connected to the architecture of this city where different styles of the underground music scene meet.
- DirectorEve WoodStarsABCPaul BowerJarvis CockerA look at the music of Sheffield, England in the 1970s and early 1980s, when bands such as Caberet Voltaire, The Human League, ABC, Def Leppard, Heaven 17, Pulp, I'm So Hollow, Artery, The Extras, 2.3, Clock DVA, The Comsat Angels and many others are integral parts of a scene that exploited electronic music and other instrumentation not otherwise present in British music at the time. Includes interviews by members of The Extras, Pulp, The Human League and others.
- DirectorAdam Cornelius'People Who Do Noise' is a film about the experimental music of Portland, Oregon. Extensive interviews and intimate performance footage provide an intense portrait of the motivations, emotions, and methods that go into this uncompromising, sometimes brutal musical form. Unwavering in its focus, the film brings to light an art form unfathomable to many, with only the words of the musicians themselves providing any explanation for the pulsating sonic chaos they create. The unflinching cinematic style defies any trend-setting or commercial representation, opting instead for a stark portrayal of a musical underground at its most genuine and vital.
- DirectorCraig BaldwinStarsLloyd DunnChris GriggMark HoslerWithin days after the release of Negativland's clever parody of U2 and Casey Kasem, recording industry giant Island Records descended upon the band with a battery of lawyers intent on erasing the piece from the history of rock music. Craig Baldwin follows this and other intellectual property controversies across the contemporary arts scene. Playful and ironic, his cut-and-paste collage-essay surveys the prospects for an "electronic folk culture" in the midst of an increasingly commodified corporate media landscape.
- DirectorEphraim AsiliStarsMarshall AllenOffers rare insight of the Arkestra and examines their current work (in the physical absence of Sun Ra) under the direction of Marshall Allen (now age 86).
- DirectorLucía PalaciosDietmar PostStarsHans Joachim IrmlerArnulf MeifertSteven W. LobdellPortrait of the Klangbad Music Festival, which is curated by legendary Hans Joachim Irmler (founding member of Faust).
- DirectorTom SurgalStarsRashied AliAlbert AylerCarla BleyA look at the history and evolution of the free jazz movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
- DirectorPhil HopkinsStarsJohn ButcherWerner DafeldeckerChristian FenneszA documentary introduction to freely improvised music featuring absorbing interviews with some of the scene's pioneers and protagonists, as well as music excerpts from David Sylvian's groundbreaking album, Manafon.
- DirectorChad FreidrichsStarsByron ColeyCalvin JohnsonBarry Hansen"The longest-running, weirdest, loneliest enigma in popular music is a guy from Texas who calls himself Jandek." Jandek on Corwood is the 89-minute documentary that explores this man, his world and his music.
- DirectorStephen KijakStarsSara KestelmanArnie PottsJarvis CockerA documentary on the influential musician Scott Walker.
- DirectorAdythia UtamaRiar RizaldiIndonesian noise, the largest scene of extreme and independent music scene is the biggest in South-East Asia. This documentary gives an extensive overview with numerous bands, artists and speakers, all from Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, Yogyakarta, and Tokyo, who freely talk about their own definitions and approaches to noise music.
- DirectorLuke FowlerJuxtaposing first-person interviews, recent and archive footage, still photographs, short animated sequences and predominantly unreleased music, Fowler has created an appropriately unconventional and compelling film-work, which highlights the issues raised by and the synergies between Cornelius Cardew's and his own creative practice.
- DirectorChikara IwaiStarsNaruyoshi KikuchiDJ SpookyJan Svankmajer
- DirectorJohana OzvoldStarsSteve GoodmanJohn RichardsFrançois BonnetElectronic music is a playground. And your toy can be an instrument, a machine, an object.
- DirectorLuke FowlerA portrait of a British-Canadian experimental electronic musician who built his own instruments and was helpful in bringing the study of the music of Indonesia to Canada,and who died of AIDS in 1993.
- DirectorJasmina WojcikWith sounds and body memory, the ex-workers of the Ursus Factory re-enact one day of work in a plant that no longer exists. The resulting symphony consists of the choreographed movements of the workers as well as of the technical, administrative and managerial staff, accompanied by the recreated phonosphere of the heavy industry.
- DirectorTom HovinbøleNor Noise is a documentary - or rather an interview film - about Noise music. Which is not music nor mere noise but something in between. 12 interviews with 12 highly diverse artists give answers to What is Noise? Where does it come from?
- DirectorBrett WhitcombStarsPeter BaumannDon BuchlaDorit ChryslerAn exploration of the life and innovations of composer and electronic-music pioneer Suzanne Ciani.
- StarsDavid BehrmanEarle BrownJohn CageIn 1971, in association with West German Television, we produced a documentation on New York's musical avant-garde that was broadcast only in Germany at the time of its release. In 2010, nearly 40 years after the film's original production, it felt desirable to recycle the performances and interviews with the featured composers in order to create a revealing look back to those years for an English-speaking audience. Featuring notable contributors to the musical avant-garde such as John Cage, Philip Glass and Ben Patterson, this portrait explores experimental sound and the rise of electronic composition. "New Music: Sounds and Voices from the Avant-Garde, New York 1971" offers valuable insights into the nature and issues of advanced composition at the beginning of the 1970s.
- StarsCharles HazlewoodPhilip GlassSteve ReichMusician, composer and orchestra conductor Charles Hazlewood goes in search of minimalism by exploring the work of four great American composers who rebooted classical music in the 20th century.
- 1974–7.1 (9)TV Mini Series
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsRobert AshleyJohn CageMeredith MonkThis is a 4-part documentary that follows four different contemporary composers performing/creating/building their shows. Peter Greenaway leads us, with a great sense of balance between the performances and the interviews, through the creative process of 4 very different composers in style (sound and noise, repetition and discipline, vocal experimentation, poetry and musical freedom) who are all framed under the same musical genre - contemporary music. A Great way to get introduced to this music and to understand how much of it is intellectual or playful.
- DirectorDarren ChesworthStarsHarry PartchBetty FreemanPhillip GlassA documentary about avant-garde composer Harry Partch. Broadcast on the BBC.
- DirectorPeter LiechtiStarsCarole ForsterAndy GuhlBea HadornKICK THAT HABIT is a film created in the bleak eastern region of Switzerland. At first, a group plays a game of mini-golf, then the Swiss musicians Voice Crack (Norbert Möslang and Andy Guhl) rehearse in the studio, afterward heading up to Alpstein, at which point you are right in the middle of a concert, next stepping away to the blue south, taken back to a table laid for dinner, then relocating down by the lake for the next concert, which fades away into romanticized Russian Super-8 landscapes, until before long you find yourself groping in the dark, when, underneath the water, you return back to the studio, where the movie writes its own soundtrack.
- DirectorEllen ZweigStarsZ'EvA portrait of the artist and musician Z'EV, known for his punk era scrap metal music - how his music changed and grew and how his personal journey led him to the margins of art and the depths of heart.
- DirectorEduardo Morais
- DirectorReto CaduffStephan PlankStarsGianna NanniniEurythmicsScorpionsIn the 70s and 80s, artists such as Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Brian Eno, Gianna Nannini, Ultravox and the Eurythmics queued to record in Conny Plank's studio, a farmhouse near Cologne.
- DirectorKoray KayaStarsIlhan ErsahinAydin EsenAlper MaralAnarchic Harmony leaves an open field to investigate and wander with musicians that follow John Cage's principle of the same name.
- DirectorAllan MillerPaul SmacznyStarsJohn CageIrvine ArdittiToshio HosokawaA documentary that explores John Cage's philosophy on experiencing sound and life.
- DirectorMitch CorberStarsJohn CageMitch CorberDavid Antin
- DirectorKlaus WildenhahnStarsJohn CageMerce CunninghamJoan Miró
- DirectorAndrew CulverFrank SchefferStarsJohn Cage