SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS
2020 | Dir Lisa Rovner | 84 mins | UK

Think of early electronic music and you’ll likely see men pushing buttons, knobs, and boundaries. While electronic music is often perceived as a boys club, the truth is from the very beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that would define the shape of sound for years to come.
The history of women has been a history of silence. Recent protests calling for greater recognition of women’s achievements have swept across politics, business, even Hollywood. The world of music is no exception.
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 Auto-Tune, to the democratisation of music-making for a generation of ‘bedroom’ producers – each of these extraordinary developments is directly connected to the work and artistry of the women featured in “Sisters with Transistors.”

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Distributor: Modern Films – no account required.

Edith Bowman chats to director Lisa Rovner here.
Anita Rani
interviews director Lisa Rovner and the musician Bishy on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio 4 here.
Anna Bogutskaya reviews the film on BBC 5Live’s Film Review programme.

“The unsung trailblazers behind electronic music are paid harmonic homage in Lisa Rovner’s enchanting documentary”. Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian.
This film contains a sequence of flashing lights which might affect customers who are susceptible to
photosensitive epilepsy.

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