Sisters with Transistors: The pioneers of electronic music
French-American filmmaker and artist Lisa Rovner brings to the fore the women who pushed the boundaries of music in the 20th century.
Released in 2020, Sisters with Transistors delivers a fresh take on electronic music history: visionary women who redefined the boundaries of rave. A story that many did not know, since machismo hid it and made them not receive the recognition they deserved, until now.
The short film dates back to the 1920s. It begins with the prodigious classical violinist, Clara Reisenberg. The artist who opted for the Theremin -an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact- to demonstrate its surreal interpretation and the diverse possibilities of composition that it offers. One of the most difficult instruments to play, which today forms the basis of many of the songs that are danced.
As the film progresses, Rovner begins a journey through history accompanied by the voice of artist, composer, music and film director, Laurie Anderson. A narrative that moves forward through the 20th century to introduce 8 women - Daphne Oram, Bebe Barron, Pauline Oliveros, Delia Berbyshire, Maryanne Amacher, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani and Laurie Spiegel - and their little-known roles in the world of electronic music that thanks to them became a new genre. Composers, musicians and artists, who were guided by their instincts and let themselves be carried away by the instruments, completely transforming the way music is produced, heard and felt.
Sisters with Transistors tells a story in silence, which was overshadowed by machismo and by the social, political and cultural events of that time. An archive that restores the role of women in music ; that shows how the different techniques and instruments opened the fields of sound; and that it is a clear example of how the different ways of producing music have evolved.
