Sisters With Transistors

Lisa Rovner’s superb documentary pays a deeply deserved, seldom-expressed tribute to the female composers, musicians and inventors from the brief history of electronic music. ★★★★★ ” The Guardian

The untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, remarkable composers who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to utterly transform how we produce and listen to music today.

The remarkable world of electronic music has been constantly evolving since its inception in the early 20th century. From the unlimited possibilities of digital synthesisers, to the recent analog recording revival; from the impossibly perfect pitch of AutoTune, to the democratisation of music-making for a generation of ‘bedroom’ producers – each of these extraordinary developments is directly connected to thework and artistry of the women featured in “Sisters with Transistors.”

Clara Rockmore, Daphne Oram, Bebe Barron, Delia Derbyshire, Maryanne Amacher, Pauline Oliveros, Wendy Carlos, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani, and Laurie Spiegel are among the greatest pioneers of modern sound and we continue to feel their influence yet most people have never heard of them. Until now.

Both screenings on Saturday, Nov 6th will be preceded by a very special 45 minute live set by
MESStriss – a super group if you like of women who all work at the ‘living synth museum’ Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio and team up for gigs in different guises. For Sisters With Transistors, Nicole Skeltys and Katherna Stathis will provide two back to back sets of bleepy goodness. Nicole is best known for her pioneering ‘90s/ early noughties Oz electro-femme outfits B(if)tek and Artificial. Her 25 year career includes 12 albums in unbelievably whacked out genres recorded across the USA, UK, and Australia. Kat is a music-therapist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. Katerina’s current soundscape practice unveils universal visceral themes conveying the gamut of emotions using a blend of analogue synthesisers, found sound and acoustic instruments.

Rating
PG
Duration
84 MINS

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