Alchemists of Sound (2003) [Documentary film]

Fifth and last edition of our small Electronic Music Cinemathèque:
The rather popular & high quality BBC documentary Alchemists of Sound from 2003 (again) about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Why aren't there any movies about communities like the GRM, the WDR's Studio für Elektronische Musik, RAI Milan, MEV etc. out there?

List of composers/musicians featured in Alchemists of Sound:

• Mark Ayres
• Milton Babbitt
• John Baker
• Desmond Briscoe
• David Cain
• Wendy Carlos
• Malcolm Clarke
• Delia Derbyshire
• Maddalena Fagandini
• Brian Hodgson
• Peter Kember
• Paddy Kingsland
• Roger Limb
• Dick Mills
• Robert Popper
• Peter Serafinowicz
• Adrian Utley

Download it here (1) (2) or preview it right now:

The Electric Music Machine. Five Days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop [Video, 1987-88]

Electronic Music Cinema, movie no. 4: an interesting documentary about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (much better than the previous Music Arcade programme), although from their later period (late 80ies, so not too much vintage analog gear around). Another Youtube finding.

Download it here or preview it now:

Nick Rossi: Pathways to Music (1971) [Documentary film]

I'm not sure if this one is a hoax. But even if it is, it's a useful one.
"Nick Rossi's" "Pathways to Music" from "1971" is basically just a slideshow of rare pictures of very early electronic instruments (1900-1950) with narration. There are plenty of trashy slideshow "videos" on Youtube, but this one was credited to a "Nick Rossi" from "1971" - and it wasn't posted on Youtube. Anyway, the narration is quite professional, and the overall approach is more or less serious, which makes this one a useful, yet not too exciting watch (especially given the lack of alternative footage on this early era).

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Bernard Wilets: Discovering Electronic Music (1983) [Documentary film]

Welcome to our Electronic Music Cinema Week:

Watching gigantic, flickering, wired modular synths in action (best: in black and white) can be as much fun as actually listening to vintage electronic music. It's all part of this mysterious, sci-fi-like aura that we all like so much (did I mention that I feel in love with electronic music after seeing the TONTO synth beast for the first time...).
Although there's isn't much footage around, a few really useful documentaries can now be found on Youtube (from where I took the movies shown here, but prepared for offline consumption). You'll need an flv player (just google it) to watch it offline.

We're starting with Bernard Wilet's Discovering Electronic Music documentary in three parts from 1983 ; it's really fun to watch it, so make sure to get it.
The original Youtube post aptly says:
"This is an educational film from 1983 describing a little bit of the history and tools of electronic music. The best thing about it is that it is behind the times for 1983, and seems more like a 1970s film. Frequently featured is a Moog modular! Also featured is a Fairlight, but as an analog obsessive, I'm less interested in that. You'll love this film if you love analog synthesizers, electronic music (historic, not electronica), or music geeks. : ) Lots of cool oscilloscope shots, primitive sequencers, etc. ".

Many thanks to the original taper & uploader!! We need more of that stuff.

Download it here (flv player required).

Here's a sample: