Reviews (17) 
Learn how the craft works!
(Sorry about that header.) Ambitious and mostly successful overview of the roots and branches in the modern electronic music scene. The film covers quite a bit in just over an hour. The use of "sound bite"-length artist interviews seems to irk some reviewers; I think they are failing to savor the irony that this is just the cinematic equivalent of "sampling", after all. As in any similar collection of interviews, artist comments range from the banal to the revelatory, but the director gets credit for not allowing any concept to become too redundant. This film edges out the very similar documentary "Better Living Through Circuitry", by thankfully not inserting so many tiresome, epileptic seizure-inducing scenes of people "raving". Highly recommended for genre fans.
CREATIVITY for the ear
As a self-proclaimed electronica freak I must recommend this one to not only those interested in electronic music, but also to anyone interested in opening their mind to the possibilities of NOISE. However, this film left me wanting more background on the use of music (specifically electronic) in its relationships to manipulating the senses.....and its correlations to design, be it spatial, physical or virtual......however, this is a must see.
The title of this movie should've been
"Clubs and Raves and The Young People Who Go To Them--Oh Yeah And The Old Genius Farts That Pioneered The Music They Dance To". BUY - MY - COPY - PLEASE!!!! I expected this film to play like a Keyboard Magazine interview with the artists; detailing their influences, their gear and how they create their sounds. There's a lot of DJs standing behind turntables bobbing their heads, mere snippets of the new techno bands like Prodigy, only a passing mention of Kraftwerk and no mention at all of the Art of Noise. I was disappointed. If you want the real story of Techno check out History of Rock and Roll: Episode 10 - The Perfect Beat call me: therealpeperl@yahoo.com
An ultra-condensed history of electronic music
"Modulations" is a very fast-paced documentary about the past, present, and future of electronic music. Because it is so condensed, lacks narrative voice-over, and features so many people, you'll be able to watch this one again and again and always discover something new. Please do look past the very cheesy cover--it doesn't do justice to what's on the DVD. While rave and commerical acts like Fatboy Slim do get covered, you'll also find great footage of Pierre Henry, Genesis P. Orridge, and Giorgio Moroder (how often do you get to put those three names in a single sentence?).
Somewhat of a history of electronica...
Including some of the original classic techno and house trend setters with interview clips of the artists who created them. Interviews with electronic music pioneers such as Carl Cox, Juan Atkins, Robert Moog, Derrick May, and many many more. The first half hour is great but kinda stumbles as it spends too much time reviewing rave music, but then gets back on track. The only extras on the DVD are the trailer and Japanese sub titles.
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