Bright Sparks... The documentary

It’s always a pleasure to learn the release of a new documentary on synthesizers.

This one is called Bright Sparks and was directed by Dave Spiers who wanted to make a less technical report than what can be seen in general as soon as it is about modular synthesizers.

One approach therefore more relaxed and less “I have a modular so I know what I mean” that we can sometimes see …

Official Press Release :

Bright Sparks

An album & film documenting the stories of the early electronic 
music pioneers.

“An engrossing and fascinating documentary that pays tribute to the modest but amazing innovators who changed the face of electronic music” – Vince Clarke

“Electronic music has been around for long enough to deserve its own historians and archaeologists. Dave Spiers is right at the top of the list: this loving and exhaustive study sets a new standard in instrument research, unravelling the tangled webs that lead to innovations” – Brian Eno

“A fascinating look into the minds of the people who create the instruments that inspire me every day” – Tom Rowlands (Chemical Brothers)

Bright Sparks, a multi-media project which pays tribute and documents the stories of a number of electronic music pioneers and companies, launches via its website, www.brightsparks.movie on Wednesday 9th December, 2015.

Beginning life with I Monster as a concept album paying tribute to the various people and companies involved in the early days of the synthesizer, the band began to look for a more interesting way of presenting the record and approached Dave Spiers and Chris Macleod, vintage synthesizer curators and owners of GForce Software, a company which replicates classic analog instruments for computers. 

The idea then developed into the production of a combined digital package consisting of the Bright Sparks album and accompanying documentary, released under the banner of a new, independent entity, Bright Sparks Archive Ltd.

Picking a number of the most influential companies, MOOG, BUCHLA, ARP, CHAMBERLIN, MELLOTRON, EMS, EDP and FREEMAN, the album was recorded using a number of their most revered synthesizers while the feature length documentary includes interviews with many of the key personnel involved in the development of the instruments including Peter Zinovieff (EMS), Ken Freeman (FREEMAN), Herb Deutsch (MOOG), Alan Robert Pearlman (ARP), John Bradley (MELLOTRON).

Additionally, a number of artists, including Will Gregory (Goldfrapp), Rick Smith & Karl Hyde (Underworld), Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails), Billy Currie & Chris Cross (Ultravox), Daniel Miller (Mute) and Adrian Utley (Portishead) pay their respects to the godfathers of synth development.

Exploring the human stories behind these early companies and instruments, the film captures the passion of these engineers who were driven to design something in much the same way as any artist or musician is driven to create. Often obsessed but lacking in any sort of traditional business acumen, the film often documents their struggles as they single-mindedly pursue their sonic vision.

This combined package will be released via www.brightspark.movie that the creators hope to continually update to function as a resource for these and other electronic music pioneers.

Bright Sparks film and album will be available to download from the site on Wednesday 9th December, 2015 and the album will be physically released on Friday February 26th 2016 on I Monster’s own label, Twins Of Evil.
The track listing of the album is as follows:

1. The fantastic tale of Dr. MOOG and the birth of the shimmering beast
2. The uncertain contents of the BUCHLA box
3. Alan R. Pearlman and the ARPiological exploration of the cosmos
4. The ballad of Harry CHAMBERLIN and the surreptitious window cleaner
Part 1. What’s the big idea?!
Part 2. Bill Franson to the rescue
5. The Bradley Brothers realise the transmutation of the Chamberlin to the MELLOTRON
6. London 1969 – The Wizards of Putney deny accusations of unholy enchantment at the
Electronic Music Studios (EMS)
7. Electronic Dream Planet (EDP) – the dirt in the ointment
8. The further adventures of K.FREEMAN and his incredible machine of a thousand strings

More informations :

Bright Sparks