Edited by Peter Shapiro
Modulations: A History of Electronic Music - Throbbing Words on SoundIn 1998 a documentary feature film was released by a small production company in New York that quickly became the most essential viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in dance music and the culture that has grown up around it. Modulations, directed by Lara Lee of Caipirinha Productions was, and is superb. No film, documentary or otherwise has managed to capture the spirit of dance music so successfully. And certainly, no film has explored the genesis of dance music and how it is fundamentally a child of our technological times. So, how does the book rate in comparison?
The theme of the film, the effect electronic music has had on popular culture is explored in the book through a series of essays. Editor Peter Shapiro, (freelance journalist with Spin and The Wire amongst others) has a huge input in this book. He was also 'the film's encyclopedia' according to Lee, so in many ways this is his chance to shine.
An excellent team of writers such as Simon Reynolds and Kodwo Eshun (who were interviewed in the film) get to grips with themes and genres: Musique Concrete, Krautrock, disco, post punk, house, hip hop, techno, jungle, ambient, downtempo and finish up with an essay on technology with a subheading Analog Fetishes and Digital Futures. As if that didn't have us all terribly excited, there are numerous sidebars on the likes of afro-futurism, gabba and dub. There are also many transcribed interviews from the film, the most interesting of which are with Can, Teo Macero (Miles Davis's producer) and Alvin Toffler (futurist writer who had a big influence on Juan Atkins). If anyone got left out of this, they're probably pretty upset.
The book's thread is formed around the idea that the avant garde has trickled down (or trickled up), influencing dance music and popular culture. Sometimes they can take themselves a little too seriously, but generally their idealism and humour are convincing. Their strength, however, lies in their ancillary exploration of how technological and electronic advances facilitated much dance music production. As Irmin Schmidt of Can commented in the transcribed interview: 'In actuality, the most inventive way to use a synthesizer is to misuse it. That's what we've done. That's what a lot of techno musicians do now. The French call it deconstruction.' The weakness of the book seems to be that it should have been published two years ago. Some of the essays that attempt to bring the music up to date on a contemporary level such as Kodwo Eshun's The Reinvention of House fall short simply because they seem to have been written quite a while ago. Certainly this book was a long time in gestation. But it's not the worst complaint, particularly because the focus is on what the music has already achieved and how it has already been revolutionary in so many aspects. It also leaves the future open to suggestions. While parts of the book such as the panels might leave you feeling slightly unfulfilled, overall the book is not weakened by its comprehensiveness and a distinct love and understanding of the subject in hand emanates. Dance music may be all grown up but it's still a lot of fun.
The theme of the film, the effect electronic music has had on popular culture is explored in the book through a series of essays. Editor Peter Shapiro, (freelance journalist with Spin and The Wire amongst others) has a huge input in this book. He was also 'the film's encyclopedia' according to Lee, so in many ways this is his chance to shine.
An excellent team of writers such as Simon Reynolds and Kodwo Eshun (who were interviewed in the film) get to grips with themes and genres: Musique Concrete, Krautrock, disco, post punk, house, hip hop, techno, jungle, ambient, downtempo and finish up with an essay on technology with a subheading Analog Fetishes and Digital Futures. As if that didn't have us all terribly excited, there are numerous sidebars on the likes of afro-futurism, gabba and dub. There are also many transcribed interviews from the film, the most interesting of which are with Can, Teo Macero (Miles Davis's producer) and Alvin Toffler (futurist writer who had a big influence on Juan Atkins). If anyone got left out of this, they're probably pretty upset.
The book's thread is formed around the idea that the avant garde has trickled down (or trickled up), influencing dance music and popular culture. Sometimes they can take themselves a little too seriously, but generally their idealism and humour are convincing. Their strength, however, lies in their ancillary exploration of how technological and electronic advances facilitated much dance music production. As Irmin Schmidt of Can commented in the transcribed interview: 'In actuality, the most inventive way to use a synthesizer is to misuse it. That's what we've done. That's what a lot of techno musicians do now. The French call it deconstruction.' The weakness of the book seems to be that it should have been published two years ago. Some of the essays that attempt to bring the music up to date on a contemporary level such as Kodwo Eshun's The Reinvention of House fall short simply because they seem to have been written quite a while ago. Certainly this book was a long time in gestation. But it's not the worst complaint, particularly because the focus is on what the music has already achieved and how it has already been revolutionary in so many aspects. It also leaves the future open to suggestions. While parts of the book such as the panels might leave you feeling slightly unfulfilled, overall the book is not weakened by its comprehensiveness and a distinct love and understanding of the subject in hand emanates. Dance music may be all grown up but it's still a lot of fun.
