Modulations: A History of Electronic Music : Throbbing Words on Sound [Illustré] [Anglais] [Broché]

In this expansive history of electronic music, Shapiro (The Rough Guide to Drum 'n' Bass) chronicles the creative moment of generating sound through sampling, mixing, and manipulation. Written by musicians and aficionados, the articles assembled here form a fascinating account of innovators from John Cage to Miles Davis, thoroughly exploring this sprawling genre and its musical offshoots. Densely packed and meticulously detailed, the book makes some startling geographic and stylistic leaps in an effort to trace the comprehensive history of electronic music. Through interviews, vivid pictures, and crisp commentary, it illustrates how electronic music is now at work in the majority of today's musical styles. This work, a tie-in to Iara Lee's 1998 film of the same name, explores in greater detail some of the same ground covered in J.M. Kelly's The Rough Guide to Techno Music (2000). An essential tool for anyone interested in this music, whether mildly or deeply.DCaroline Dadas, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

It’s a handsome publication that would look equally at home on a hipster’s coffee table or a musicologist’s bookshelf.

Other books have been written on electronic music, but none with the breadth and accessibility offered by Modulations, the tie-in volume to the critically acclaimed film directed by Iara Lee, released in 1998. Going beyond the limits of an encyclopedia or a record guide, essays by musicians and music journalists illuminate such genres as techno, house, krautrock, disco, hip-hop, drum'n'bass, ambient, and downtempo in more expansive detail than was possible in the film. From the "art of noise" proposed by then Italian Futurists to the musique concrete experiments of Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry, Modulations probes the conceptual origins of synthesized sound. Present day geographic trends and cross-fertilized styles are traced back to the experimental and groundbreaking work of diverse pioneers such as Iannis Xenakis, Kraftwerk, Giorgo Moroder, Robert Moog, and John Cage. The African-American roots of electronic music are also documented, from free-jazz fellow traveler Sun Ra to funk innovators Parliament/Funkadelic. Sections on fusion, dub, post-punk, breakbeats, latin freestyle, and Miami bass make this book an all-encompassing reference tool for devoted followers as well as an excellent introduction for curious newcomers.