"To celebrate the August VOD/DVD release of I DREAM OF WIRES, the definitive and acclaimed electronic music documentary about the rise, fall and rebirth of the modular synthesizer, MONODUO FILMS presents a very special screening and electronic music event in Berlin.
On Tuesday July 28, I DREAM OF WIRES will celebrate it’s release premiere in Berlin, followed by a live performance by the legendary Morton Subotnick. Taking place at Babylon Kino Berlin, Morton Subotnick, accompanied by his frequent collaborator, video artist Lillevan, presents FROM SILVER APPLES OF THE MOON TO A SKY OF CLOUDLESS SULFUR REVISITED: VI, marking Subotnick’s first live appearance in Germany since 2011.
Morton Subotnick’s contributions to electronic music cannot be overstated; as a founding member of the seminal San Francisco Tape Music Center, Subotnick played a key role in the conception and development of the influential Buchla modular synthesizer. Armed with his Buchla, Subotnick composed and recorded the landmark 1967 LP, SILVER APPLES OF THE MOON, widely regarded as a modern classic, and the first all-electronic music album to connect with popular music audiences. In 2010 SILVER APPLES was selected for the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Long considered one of the essential milestones in electronic music, it continues to have great effect on later generations of artists.
The film will be introduced by I DREAM OF WIRES' director Robert Fantinatto, who will also join Morton Subotnick for a post-screening Q&A. This July 28 event is more than just a celebration of the modular synthesizer; it’s a rare opportunity to learn and experience the historical roots of electronic music.
I Dream Of Wires is an independent documentary about the history, demise and resurgence of the modular synthesizer - exploring the dreams and obsessions of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this fascinating, esoteric electronic music machine. Over 100 inventors, musicians and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer - for many, it’s an all-consuming passion.
Through tracing the history of the modular synthesizer, I Dream Of Wires also outlines the history of electronic music as a whole, from its very beginnings at the dawn of the electric age. The film provides a fascinating look at how technology has shaped the electronic music landscape. Today, the modular synthesizer is no longer an esoteric curiosity or even a mere music instrument - it is an essential tool for radical new sounds and a bona fide subculture.
Interviews include:
- Legendary electronic musicians: Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Morton Subotnick, Gary Numan, Vince Clarke (Erasure).
- Contemporary dance & electronica artists: Carl Craig, James Holden, Legowelt.
- Synthesizer manufacturers: Doepfer, Modcan, Make Noise.
Event Details
Babylon Kino
Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 30,
10178 Berlin
28.07.2015 | 8PM
20€ Presales
25€ At the Door
+10€ w/DVD
Tickets Available:
Yapsody: https://wires.yapsody.com
Babylon Kino: http://www.babylonberlin.de
RELEASE INFORMATION
VOD and DVD Release of I Dream of Wires in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America will start as follows:
* DVD available July 31 through Cargo Distribution / Amazon
* VOD available August 10 through ITunes and Vimeo on Demand
I Dream Of Wires is a documentary about the rise, fall and rebirth of a machine that shaped electronic music: the modular synthesizer. Over 100 inventors, musicians and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer - for many, it’s an all-consuming passion.
Beginning with an historical primer, I Dream Of Wires explores the early development of modular synthesizers in the 1960s, from pioneering companies Moog and Buchla. We speak to early adopters of the modular synthesizer, forward-thinking musicians like Morton Subotnick and Herb Deutsch, offering insight into the modular synthesizer's conception.
Electronic pioneers like Gary Numan and Daniel Miller discuss the modular synthesizer's 1970s heyday, through to its near-extinction in the 1980s, while established musicians including Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) and Vince Clarke (Erasure) talk about their ongoing passion for the modular synthesizer, and how it influences their music. Meanwhile, a new generation of dance and electronica artists like Carl Craig and James Holden explain why they’ve stepped away from laptops to embrace the sound and physicality of modular synthesizers. Innovative companies Modcan and Doepfer reveal how they planted the seeds that have now grown into a major cottage industry.
Through tracing the history of the modular synthesizer, I Dream Of Wires also outlines the history of electronic music as a whole, from its very beginnings at the dawn of the electric age. The film provides a fascinating look at how technology has shaped the electronic music landscape. Today, the modular synthesizer is no longer an esoteric curiosity or even a mere music instrument - it is an essential tool for radical new sounds and a bona fide subculture.
BIO MORTON SUBOTNICK
200 WORDS
Morton Subotnick is one of the pioneers in the development of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments and other media, including interactive computer music systems. The work which brought Subotnick celebrity was Silver Apples of the moon [1966-7], was commissioned by Nonesuch Records, marking the first time an original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc medium – a conscious acknowledgment that the home stereo system constituted a present-day form of chamber music. It has become a modern classic and was recently entered into the National Register of Recorded Works at the Library of Congress. Only 300 recordings throughout the entire history of recorded music have been chosen.
He is also pioneering works to offer musical creative tools to young children. He is the author of a series of CD-RoMs for children, a children’s website [www.creatingmusic.com] and developing a program for classroom and afgter school programs that will soon become available internationally.
He tours extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe as a lecturer and composer/performer.
600 WORDS
Morton Subotnick is one of the pioneers in the development of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments andother media, including interactive computer music systems. The workwhich brought Subotnick celebrity wasSilver Apples of theMoon[1966-7], commissioned by Nonesuch Records, marking thefirst time an original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc medium – a conscious acknowledgment that the home stereo system constituted a present-day form of chambermusic. It has become a modern classic and was recently entered into the National Register of Recorded Works at the Library of Congress. Only 300 recordings throughout the entire history of recorded music have been chosen.
In the early 60s, Subotnick taught at Mills College and with Ramon Sender, co-founded the San Francisco Tape Music Center. During this period he collaborated with Anna Halprin in two works (the legged stool and Parades and Changes) and was music director of the Actors Workshop. It was also during this period that Subotnick worked with Don Buchla on what may have been the first analog synthesizer (now at the Library of Congress).
In 1966 Subotnick was instrumental in getting a Rockefeller Grant to join the Tape Center with the Mills Chamber Players (at Mills College with performers Nate Rubin, violin; Bonnie Hampton, cello; Naomi Sparrow, piano and Subotnick, clarinet). The grant required that the Tape Center relocate to a host institution that became Mills College. Subotnick, however, did not stay with the move, but went to NY with the Actor’s Workshop to become the first music director of the Lincoln Center Rep Company in the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. He became an artist in residence at the newly formed Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. The School of the Arts provided him with a studio and a Buchla Synthesizer. During this period he helped develop and became artistic director of the Electric Circus and theElectric Ear. This was also the time of the creation of Silver Apples of the Moon, The Wild Bulland Touch.
In 1969 Subotnick was invited to be part of a team of artists to move to Los Angeles to plan a new school of the arts. With Mel Powell as Dean, and Subotnick as Associate Dean, and a team of four other pairs of artists, he carved out a new path of music education and created the now famous California Institute of the Arts. Subotnick remained Associate Dean of the music school for four years and then, resigning as Associate Dean, became the head of the composition program where, a few years later, he created a new media program that introduced interactive technology and multimedia into the curriculum.
Subotnick is now pioneering works to offer musical creative tools to young children. He is the author of a series of CD-RoMs for children, a children’s website [www.creatingmusic.com], and is developing a program for classroom and after school programs that will soon become available internationally.
Among Subotnick’s awards are a Guggenheim Fellowship, Rockefeller Grants (3), Meet the Composer (2), American Academy of Arts and Letters Composer Award, Brandies Award, Deutcher Akademisher Austauschdienst Kunstlerprogramm (DAAD), Composer in Residence in Berlin, Lifetime Achievement Award (SEAMUS at Dartmouth), ASCAP: John Cage Award, ACO: Lifetime Achievement, Honorary Doctorate from the California Institute of the Arts.
Full bio: http://mortonsubotnick.com/bio.html
BIO DIRECTOR ROBERT FANTINATTO
After studying astrophysics at the University of Toronto, Robert Fantinatto made a drastic change in career paths, receiving a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Film Production from York University. But his early interest in science has influenced the projects he’s been involved with throughout the rest of his professional career. For a number of years he was a freelance film editor. Then in the mid 2000s he made Echoes of Forgotten Places , a documentary film exploring the urban exploration subculture. Distributed by Micro cinema International, it was broadcast in both the U.S and Canada and released on DVD.
In early 2011 he began to notice an explosion of interest in the world of modular synthesizers. Having been involved in electronic music during the 1980s, he was intrigued by how computers and digital keyboards were in the process of being replaced by equipment long thought to be obsolete. He bought his own modular system and was drawn into the ever expanding group of musicians who have shunned modern technology for these reborn instruments. I Dream of Wires is the natural combination of his musical and film background and talents. Robert is currently producing and directing a new television series exploring pop culture called 'Where Cool Came From'."
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