Launching the BFI’s Rip It Up season, which celebrates youth culture, we’re exploring music, nightlife, DJing, and clubbing.
Before the superstar DJ era and the glow of a thousand iPhones, there was the underground. Iara Lee’s kinetic documentary is a high-octane travelogue through the evolution of electronic music, tracing the jagged line from the avant-garde experiments of Karlheinz Stockhausen to the warehouse raves of Detroit and the synthesizers of Kraftwerk.
Modulations isn't just a history lesson; it’s a rhythmic, visual collage that treats the screen like a mixing desk. Featuring a heavy-hitting cast of sonic pioneers—including Robert Moog, Giorgio Moroder, Juan Atkins, and Sasha—the film captures a moment when technology and creativity collided to rewire our DNA.
Whether you’re a gear-head obsessed with analog circuitry or just here for the beat, Lee’s film remains the definitive "cinema for the ear," proving that the most revolutionary sounds often start in the smallest rooms.
