Sisters with Transistors
The remarkable and barely known story of the female pioneers of electronic music.
While electronic music is often perceived as a boy’s club, the truth is from the beginning women have been integral in inventing the devices, techniques and tropes that have defined the shape of modern sound. SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS maps a new history of electronic music through the visionary women whose radical experimentations with machines redefined the boundaries of music: Clara Rockmore, Daphne Oram, Bebe Barron, Delia Derbyshire, Maryanne Amacher, Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, Suzanne Ciani, and Laurie Spiegel.
With the wider social, political, and cultural context of the 20th century as our backdrop, this archival documentary narrated by Laurie Anderson reveals a unique emancipation struggle, restoring the central role of women in the history of music and society at large. More than just the history of a music genre, it's the story of how we hear and the critical but little-known role female pioneers play in that story.
NB: The screening of this film will be followed by a Q&A (language: English) with synthesizer pioneer Suzanne Ciani, who also appears in the documentary, and local composer Miss Milivolt.