It started as a curiosity – something you might or might not hear if you squinted your ears just right at the speakers. Steven Ford (aka Bruno Pronsato) once played drums for a punk-rock/speed-metal band. Against the steady rate of singles for minimal labels like Orac, Philpot and Telegraph, that fact might have stayed a footnote in the producer’s biography. But Bruno’s latest work for Hello?Repeat has seen the musician ebb back wholeheartedly into the groove. His debut for Hello?Repeat, “Wade in the Water, Children,” was a track blown apart and left to see how sparse minimal techno could go, held together by the barest drawl of a bassline. And there’s little hyperbole to that description – try dancing to it.

With “At Home I’m a Tourist,” the first single from Bruno Pronsato’s upcoming album Why Can’t We Be Like Us, he takes the opposite approach: the drums are front & center, percussion is cascading from every corner, and there’s a drone not too far from the one you hear out of movie-theater speakers over-cranked during a horror film. There are handclaps too, but they’re all gauzed and disoriented, and as far away from the DFA snap as you could get.

It’d be tempting to describe the track as funky or loose - and neither adjective would be technically wrong - but they’d still be entirely wrong in spirit. Instead, “At Home I’m a Tourist” is full of blemishes - little creases, tics and wear in a genre that is all too willing to erase traces of humanity. It might be littered with the abject sigh of reversed strings but what’s actually eerie is how easy it nuzzles into your head without a proper melody in sight.

Hello? Repeat / HELLO 009LTD
[Listen]
[Nate DeYoung]

A brief interview with Steven Ford about “At Home I’m a Tourist” follows. (more…)

French disco producer Cerrone is, undoubtedly, a legend of dance music. Beginning his solo work in 1976 with the classic Love in C Minor, he has gone on to sell more than 25 million records and win five Grammy Awards for his efforts. In the course of promoting the reissue of his first four albums and the upcoming NY Dance Party for 2007, Stylus sat down with the man that brought us Supernature.

First up—tell us a little bit about the NY Dance Party for 2007. How did you become involved with this project and with Nile Rodgers?

Yes, Nile, he’s been my friend for thirty years. We’re going to celebrate thirty years of dance, also thirty years of his and my careers, too! (Laughs) It’s going to be in New York, during the Columbus Day weekend, and it’s going to be really huge. We have fifteen different sites, the main stage is going to be in the park (Central Park), and the event will be between 3 PM to 9:30 PM. Every site is going to have something different—some will be a DJs, some singers, but at 6:30, from the main stage, we’re going to have the big show, with a lot of stars involved from the last thirty years of dance, and that (will be broadcast to) all the sites by satellite, because all the sites (across the city) are going to have a large video screen on the back of the stage. With all of the sites in New York, we could have more than 3 or 400,000 New Yorkers dancing in the streets—it would be a great image for the World, and for New York. This is what the Mayor wants, too.

So, the Mayor has been enthusiastic and positive about it?

Oh yes, and if the mayor was not enthusiastic about it, you know, how could we do it? The mayor understands very well what we are trying to do, and likes the idea to give back the image of New York to the world… it’s sad, because after the Eleventh of September of 2001, the image of New York for the rest of the world changed very much. You know, it’s become much more a city of business than music, like in Europe we have Geneva… but New York is a wonderful city for music, and we want to celebrate the city as the home of dance music. The image of the people of New York, young or old dancing in the street, it’s a tremendous, beautiful image that we want to give back to the world. We are still working on the sites for the event, but we are thinking Battery Park, other parks, some sites for 3,000 people, some for 10 or 15,000, maybe something by LaGuardia as well… every month the event is getting bigger and better, with more and more people getting on board.

You’ve been doing a number of live events and dance parties recently, haven’t you?

We did the event in front of Versailles, with 100,000 people, which you can see six minutes of video from on my website… that was last year… Two months ago I played (an event) for Dolce Gabana, next month a tour in Moscow, in February another tour in France… and I’ll be working in the middle on a new LP to be released in the spring.

This will be all original material?

Yes, right now we have 14 new tracks.

So, do you enjoy the live performances as much as the studio work? How do you feel about that?

Oh, I love it! Did you see the video?

The DVD you released last year? Yes, I saw that.

OK, because if you see the video, you have the answer for your question.

Very true!

After 30 years in the music industry, when you have the chance to play in front of so many young people… I take a great pleasure, it’s a surprise and a pleasure… and I thank my God that I could do this!

It’s great to see some of the things that you’ve done as far as live performances—not just concerts but theatre events, operas, the global peace concert back in ‘92… do you still see yourself as primarily a musician? In some ways it seems like you’ve become more of an artist in the broad sense, a cultural force of sorts.

When I’m on stage, I’m a musician. More a musician than an artist. I have to be. But, I mean, when you start in a group, in a band, as a musician, it’s for the rest of your life. When you take an American star, like a Carlos Santana, no matter what you have going on in the front, they are still a musician in mind.

How do you feel about your relationship with the dance music world? It seems that you’ve moved away from dance at times, doing rock and doing more neo-classical music, but that you’ve never really turned your back on dance music as a whole…

Well, every few years I have a DJ who remixes or releases some of my old music, so the radio plays new stuff, but also, plays the old stuff with a new style, and the DJ puts me right on the floor where I have to be. For example, William Orbit made a remix in 1990, 1991 and then David Morales and Frankie Knuckles and so on, I mean there are so many DJs who have remixed my back-catalog, so no matter what, if I want to move from the style—and I say to you, I don’t want to move—the DJ kicks me in the… (laughs).

You don’t have a choice!

Yeah, and thanks, it’s perfect! Those guys make my life easier, so I don’t sound like a has-been!

Well I think you’ve combined enough looking back with looking forward that no one could accuse you of resting on your laurels or taking it easy…

Thank you!

But, looking back for a moment, what are some of your favorite or most memorable of your own releases?

Of my back-catalog, oh wow… I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I like I lot of it—starting from “Love in C Minor,” to “Got to Have Loving,” to “Supernature,” and so on… I like them all, they are my babies, if I can say that! I have to love my babies, you know? (Laughs)

How about your productions for other people?

If I made a production or a track for someone else, like Don Ray or Kongas or something like that, it’s still 75% myself, so, it’s still my baby! For example, for my last LP I composed 18 songs, and I know that I’m only going to use 12 or 14 songs for the record, so the other four songs are maybe going to go to someone else, but… I’m going to do something with it. Like, the Don Ray album—I had too many tracks for my album Supernature, and in the meantime, because Don Ray was my arranger for strings and brass, I said let’s make an LP for you—and we finished the LP together, but as I said, these are still my songs, my production—my babies!

What else are you listening to right now?

There is a lot. A lot, a lot of good music right now—I like a lot of R&B, I like also… the Madonna, I love the last Madonna!

How about when you started?

For strings, I got very influenced by Barry White, of course. And because I’m a drummer, I put the drums at the front on the mix. At the moment everybody told me, it’s crazy to have the drums up front, you have to remix that for the radio. But, to make sure that the record company isn’t going to remix my songs, I made it 60 seconds or a few minutes longer so that I was sure I’m not going to be played on the radio and no one is going to touch my mix!

Well, it worked out well for you and for the dancers as well…

Yes!

[Mallory O’Donnell]

On the occasion of the 2006 US DFA DJ Tour, Stylus stopped for a moment to chat with the Juan Maclean and Tim Sweeney over sushi and Sapporo as they swung through Houston…

So, Juan, working on album number two?

Juan: Yeah, album number two is the next step.

Are you gonna be using a lot of players from the live setup?

Juan: Sure—it’s really become a different thing live—like a happy acid house jam band. Like the Grateful Dead crossed with the Chemical Brothers.

My friend saw you play at the Winter Music Conference in Miami and he wanted me to ask you if you’ll be getting more use out of the big button? The one that makes everything super-loud…

Juan: Oh—the up-down button. We do this crazy thing where we break songs down really quiet, then build up a big drum fill that comes crashing in on the one, and I press the button and everything comes screaming back in.

Tim: The target button!

Juan: I do a similar thing when DJing. It’s very sneaky. I just set up two records but really there’s a mix CD in there, ‘cuz I don’t know how to DJ or anything.

They won’t notice here.

Juan: They’ll know. When they see my skills. Mad skillz! (Laughing) No, he likes to make fun of me (points to Tim) because he says that guys who play in bands can’t DJ. It’s true though, that just trying to DJ without having produced anything of your own is really tough.

How long have you been DJing? Even just playing with it?

Juan: Oh, I don’t know—years!

Were you ever a radio DJ, or…

Juan: Yeah, years and years ago, but real club DJing I didn’t really take seriously until a little while ago.

I usually find it a lot more fun when people don’t take it too seriously…

Juan: No, no… I take it seriously…

As far as the mixing, or what you play…

Juan: Yeah, definitely! (Meaning all of it)

Well, that’s good too—it’s just another instrument, really—if you can bring a musical approach to it, it really rewards the listener.

Juan: Coming from playing instruments, it’s just another instrument that I have to learn how to play, I’m not gonna just get up there and not be good at it.

That’s good, I guess what I meant more, is that I get tired of as a listener is the cult of the DJ where the DJ plays a four-hour set of basically the same song.

Juan: I hate that! It’s really boring.

Especially with the focus lately on minimal sounds…

Juan: I know… well, I won’t say their names… I have friends who are minimal guys. And I like that stuff, but it’s endless…all that stuff sounds like an endless track, like the same track after a while…

Tim: You’re talking about minimal stuff? Who?

He’s not gonna name names, we’re on the record here.

Tim (gleefully): Name names!

[Juan looks askance]

Tim: What’s your problem (teasingly)? I thought you had more of a diverse outlook on music than the rest of the DFA?

Juan: Well, they make fun of me at DFA for liking certain things.

Like what?

Juan: Well, I’m probably the most tasteless DJ on the DFA, cuz I’ll play things that are just like retarted and fun or whatever…

Tim (smiling): Oh, I’ll agree…

Juan (continuing): But there are DJs that are infinitely tasteful, but it’s like nobody wants to hear it…

Tim, give me your rundown on radio DJing versus live club DJing

Tim: Well… it’s two different things… on radio, you obviously don’t have to worry about the crowd, or if anyone’s listening…

Do you get into that vibe when you play live, or find yourself wanting that freedom?

Tim: No, I love playing with the crowd, because sometimes you have this connection or whatever and you work with that, but you get a lot more nervous, worrying if something’s going to clear the floor or whatever… but opening for Juan, it’s like I can’t do any worse than he does. (Laughter)

Juan: I can do whatever I want to, because of who I am!

You have carte blanche, then?

Juan: A blank slate, even.

Tim: Oh, you don’t have a blank slate.

[Mallory O’Donnell]

From 1984 to 1995, U.K. duo Nitzer Ebb pioneered a unique sound that fused elements of techno, punk, and industrial into a ferocious string of singles and LPs. Through tracks like “Murderous,” “Join in the Chant,” “Let Your Body Learn,” “Lightning Man,” “Getting Closer,” and many others, Douglas McCarthy (vocals) and Bon Harris (drums, programming) spread relentless minimal menace to dancefloors worldwide, influencing the likes of Richie Hawtin, Darren Emerson, Sven Väth, DJ Hell, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and countless others along the way. Now, a decade after calling it quits, Nitzer Ebb are back with a two-disc compilation (Body of Work), a new remix collection (Body Rework: Remixes), and a worldwide tour. Stylus editor Todd Hutlock caught up with Bon Harris recently to discuss the band’s comeback, legacy, and future.

Stylus: So what happened to bring Nitzer Ebb back into the limelight? Last I had heard a few years back, you and [vocalist] Douglas [McCarthy] weren’t even speaking to each other.

Bon Harris: I think Douglas and I decided to stop doing work as Nitzer Ebb more than a decade ago because we’d been together a long time and it was certainly an intense sort of band anyway. We wanted to go off and do our own things and taste life as individuals rather than as part of a band. We did very well over that decade, actually—I went into production and worked with the likes of Marilyn Manson and Billy Corgan and so on, and Doug went off and became quite a successful commercial director and worked in film a bit. So we’ve had a long time apart from each other, but both of us really enjoy performing live, and we both had a sense that the time would perhaps come around when we would feel like working together again and that it would feel right. And basically that is what happened. People were always asking us, “Will the Ebb ever get back together?” and we just got asked so often that we finally talked about it and it went from there. It just felt like the right time and the right thing to do.

So the two of you have essentially patched things up now?

I would say that working together again on this tour has probably been some of the most fun we’ve had in the band since it first began. There was a period when we didn’t talk to each other at all and did our own things, but we’ve been friends since school and I think it was just one of those things where we needed to cool off. Granted it was a long cooling-off period, but it was intense and that amount of time was necessary to offset the intensity of the work we had done. It seems to have worked, and we’re getting along really well.

One of the things that struck me when I was listening to Body of Work was how so many different acts took little things from the Nitzer Ebb sound and have cited you as an influence. Do you look back now and feel that you have a legacy?

We are aware that we have been influential in a lot of ways, but all that really stems from the fact that when we first created the tracks, we were really trying to do something special. We really did care about it and wanted to uphold a high standard of work and we were constantly searching to break barriers. There was always that thirst for uncovering more, pushing ourselves, and that meant that we did come up with some groundbreaking things. So I think we are aware of it and we are quite proud of it.

The other thing that struck me was how much of an evolution in sound there was from the early tracks to the later days. There are strings on tracks, you worked with George Clinton—you were all over the musical map more than people might realize.

Yes, and we were also always trying to do things that were more on the subtle side. I think there are little things going on during many of the tracks that people don’t really appreciate even now. It’s interesting that for all the amount of acceptance we’ve had and being cited as influential, I do think that in a lot of ways we are still quite misunderstood, even by people that really like us. There was always this whole thing where we were lumped in with what they call “industrial” music. When I listen to tracks like “Lightning Man,” I think to myself, “Well, there’s a synthesizer in there…” but other than that, you tell me what else is industrial about that song? So as much as people did get it, there’s still a lot that perhaps people don’t get.

Even on the new remix album, Body Rework, it’s really something to see Derrick May on an album alongside The Hacker and Robag Wruhme, and that speaks to the diversity present in your sounds. Do you see a connection between Nitzer Ebb and the minimal dance music that is so in vogue today?

Well, someone like Richie Hawtin has been a champion of our music over the years, but he’s also been a pretty groundbreaking chap himself. Those are the sort of people that you are proud to have been an influence on—they’ve picked up the baton and taken things in all sorts of new directions. So I see that connection, in that there are inquiring minds and people that aren’t afraid of a challenge, especially in dance music because it can be a confined sort of thing to do.

Beyond the tour, will there be new recordings? Yeah, that was something we discussed as soon as we got together and agreed to do the tour, so we threw the door open on that way back. We said that if we enjoyed working together and it’s fun and everything then we’ll do it. Doug and I have been getting along together really great and we’ve been working together on some new ideas. Hopefully we’ll have some time near the end of this year to put something together. We’re hoping to have something ready for the spring of 2007, perhaps. The whole thing has been like a stone rolling down a hill and gone so much better than anyone even thought it was going to be. And if the ball is rolling, you might as well roll with it.

What should audiences expect from the Nitzer Ebb live show in 2006?

It’s a really stripped down, back-to-basics approach to doing things. When Doug and I discussed it, we decided to concentrate on our earlier era, with the mainly electronic tracks, and with the whole basic, minimal militaristic image that people seem to like. People have been telling us that it is everything it used to be but somehow even better with maturity or experience or whatever it is. People have told us that we haven’t lost any of the energy, and in fact it looks like we found more from somewhere. So you can expect it to be pretty loud and feisty, because that’s the way we like it.

Body of Work and Body Rework: Remixes are out now in Europe on Mute; Body of Work is released in the United States on October 17. For more information and remaining tour dates, visit www.mute.com and www.nitzer-ebb.com.

[Todd Hutlock]

Berlin DJ, producer, and vocalist Cassy Britton has released tracks and remixes for Mental Groove, Perlon, and Playhouse, as well as her own self-titled label. Stylus caught up with her to talk about her new label, single, and mix CD…

Stylus: How does DJing at [Berlin’s] Panoramabar differ from other locales? Does it play to any particular strong points of your style?

Cassy Britton: Well first of all I know the club and I feel at home there, though I have to say that every single time it’s different - a different crowd, a different mood. I’m nervous everytime I play and I don’t know what’s going to happen…what helps is that I’ve got three hours and I have time to relax into it and build something.

Do you feel that your experience producing your own tracks plays a role in how you structure your DJ sets?

I thought it would make a difference, but it’s actually the other way round. More DJing helps me structure my tracks.

A lot of people that have seen you DJ say you find this “zen, contented space” even when you’ve been playing for hours on end. Can you explain anything about your mental state of focus?

I try to leave myself alone, as I was taught in my acting training (funnily enough at some point one adheres to what one was told). Everytime a negative thought pops up, I try to not let it get hold of me for too long…sometimes it’s very difficult, though.

What was the initial thought/moment/catalyst that lead you to start making your own music?

I just wanted to do it all by myself. I was sick and tired of watching other people do what I would love to do, so I had to push myself a little further and get over my fear of failing and sounding like a loser. And curiosity of course. I just wanted to know what it’s like…

Why did you decide to go with your own label, as opposed to releasing elsewhere?

Also curiosity, and a strong interest in the process of releasing music - something very important to make yourself familiar with as a musician. The times of big labels doing all your work are gone, and as a musician you have to know as much as possible in order to let your music speak and be successful. You can’t allow yourself becoming the victim of some uncontrollable circumstances. Sometimes shit happens and that’s very good. You learn, but the rest of the time it’s important to, as you say in German, to “hold the reins in your own hands.” But I still want to release music on other labels, especially Perlon.

It seems like a lot of Berlin-based producers are stuck using the same tones, plug-ins, etc. Who do you feel is really pushing things forward and exploring new styles/sounds at the moment?

No one. I guess we all do what other people have done. There are some people who’s work I love and really appreciate for its authenticity or for its vibe or…I can’t describe it further, I guess those are very subjective preferences.

One final question: any forthcoming releases you’re particularly excited about?

My husband Tobias’ next record, on Logistic, is one of my most favourite tracks at the moment. It’s also on my mix cd. It’s called “Dial.”

Cassy’s new mix CD Panorama Bar 01, and single “Alexandra/Toyah,” are both out now. For more information, visit her official website.

[Colin James Nagy]

On this third edition of Influx, we profile Foundsound. The label puts out music “showcasing quirky, dancefloor-friendly tracks constructed from fragmented samples, organic minimalism, and random field recordings.” Stylus editor Todd Burns talked to Sean O’Neal and Cyhl Takerkart about the Philadelphia electronic music scene, the differences between DJing and producing, and what’s up next in 2006 and 2007 for the label.

Tracks
01: Sarah Goldfarb - Forty Years Ago I Sold My Body
02: Redwan - Macky & Donald (Fusiphorm Remix)
03: Someone Else - Goofball
04: Omar Salgado - Miniature

[INFLUX #001: Orac Records]
[INFLUX #002: Hand on the Plow]

Beatz by the Pound introduces its newest podcast: Influx. On this second edition, we profile UK imprint Hand on the Plow. The label puts out what co-label head Steven Taylor calls “21st century blues” and returns this month after a more than two-year hiatus. Stylus editor Todd Burns talked to Taylor, Laszlo Beckett, and Matt Southall about the origins of HotP, the music that they’re each producing, and about the slew of releases that they have upcoming in 2006.

Tracks
01: Spandex - What’s Wrong With You
02: Beckett and Taylor - Where There You Been Gone Find It
03: Pleated Lemon - Cocks and Fannies
04: Beckett and Taylor - Hoody (Instrumental Version)

[INFLUX #001: Orac Records]

Beatz by the Pound is proud to present its newest podcast to the world: Influx. On the first edition, we profile Seattle-based Orac Records, a label specializing in experimental dance music. Todd Burns interviewed co-label head Randy Jones about the origins of Orac, his own music under the alias Caro, and about the future plans for the label.

Tracks
01: Strategy - Super Vamp
02: Bruno Pronsato – Wuorinen
03: Appendics Shuffle - Cleanse You
04: Caro - My Little Pony

Stylus and Beatz By the Pound are very excited to bring you an interview with sQuare Productions’ Amy Grill, director and producer of the upcoming techno documentary Speaking in Code.

So, Amy, you’re making a movie about electronic music. Why?

Speaking in Code is a techno movie that’s not really about techno. It’s about people. It is a feature length character driven documentary that follows a global cast of underground electronic music writers, DJs, producers, and label heads as they survive and thrive in the digital age.

Within the indie electronic music community there are many compelling characters. By tracking these characters Speaking in Code discovers some very human truths about subculture, independence, DIY determination, risk, obsession, and eccentricity.

The music (and the ‘minimal’ scene) is a colorful, captivating backdrop and binding force for several intersecting character driven stories—the film has a narrative arc to it based on the life changes and exciting, even funny moments that happen over the course of the year and a half that we will have spent making the film and following these people.

There are a lot of electronic music documentaries out there that have attempted to do one of a few things: capture the spirit of rave culture, survey a specific genre of electronic music, engage the viewer in DJ worship and/or crazy laser light fascination, or make some kind of grand statement about the significance of electronic music, but this film is nothing like any of that.

We are interested in exploring personality, motivation, and getting beyond the surface-y, questions and answers. The film invites the viewer in to experience ‘being there’—at the club, in the studio, in a forest, climbing a hill on the way to see chalk mines, visiting moms in the suburbs, driving through a white-out snow storm, performing at a huge festival, entering the secret underground club or illegal party, and on and on. We have unprecedented access and we get very close with the main characters in the film.

We want to surprise people and perhaps change their minds about electronic music or at least open their minds and show them something they didn’t expect. This movie isn’t just for the techno heads, it’s for the hip old ladies who love character-driven art house documentaries too.

What about 2005/2006 strikes you as the right time for this sort of film?

A film like this could have been made 10 or 20 years ago and although some of the themes and characters would have a different tone and purpose—many similarities would still exist.

There is something special about right now though—from a big picture historical perspective we are seeing the effects of the digital age that make advanced communication and sound technology very accessible. This has strengthened the possibilities for independent music and subculture and our main characters are living proof.

From a more localized perspective on the minimal scene and our characters—over the last year or two minimal techno has arguably become the dominant sub-genre in techno and it has been fun to explore the personalities in the minimal scene and experience the music’s rise in popularity vicariously through our characters. Of course, it’s difficult to even know what minimal really is: is it a sound, an aesthetic, a lifestyle, a hairstyle, a look, or all those things combined perhaps? Some of the characters can’t even be described as minimal at all, but they are somehow minimal by association or connection to the minimal scene. Musings aside, I have to emphasize this is not the “what is minimal techno?” film. I’m sure there is a DVD project like that on the way soon, but we aren’t the one’s making it.

Where all have you traveled to get footage for the film?

We’ve been all over: Montreal, San Francisco, New York, Boston (I live in Boston), Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Jena, Amsterdam, Miami…

Most of the film has been shot—what techno celebs can we expect in the final cut?

Well, we’ve shot 217 hours of footage since we began production in May of 2005 and we hope to cull all of that into a feature-length film, so I hesitate to list everyone at this point, but certainly you can expect to see a lot from these people:

Robert Henke aka Monolake (co-creator Ableton Live)
Modeselektor, Bpitch Control
Ellen Allien, Bpitch Control
Wighnomy Brothers, Freude-Am-Tanzen
Bryan Kasenic (minimal techno promoter in NY)
Jimmy Johnson (owner of Forced Exposure)
Philip Sherburne (writer, DJ)
David Day (Label Manager and Marketing Director at Forced Exposure, DJ, writer, promoter)
Mike Uzzi aka Smartypants, Unlocked Groove
Dan Paluska aka Six Million Dollar Dan, Unlocked Groove
Tobias Thomas, Kompakt
David Prince, M3 Summit

Interviews / Appearances (it remains to be seen whether or not all of these people will make the final cut and we have interviewed many more people not included in this list to help us round out the story):/p>

Akufen
Deadbeat
Apparat
Wolfgang Voigt
Michael Mayer
Reinhard Voigt
The MFA
James Holden
Superpitcher
Isolee
Luomo
Anja Schnieder
Richie Hawtin
The Juan Maclean

Any surprising anecdotes that you can share with us (Vitalic actually is a robot, etc.)?

Too many stories to even tell. The whole film is like one big surprising anecdote, but a surprising anecdote with a point.
What kind of role has Philip Sherburne played?

Philip is a character in the movie, and as a co-producer he has been part tour guide, advisor, consultant, and friend throughout the entire process.

Tell me about financing something like this—what sources are you relying on to keep it going?

Plastic, lots of plastic (as in credit cards) and a handful of small private investors and a community of online supporters—although we are nearing the end of our credit limits and this last Europe trip tapped most of the small investments. So we are now really relying on grassroots fundraising online and also an upcoming benefit/screening/art party/happening here in Boston on August 26 at the sQuareone studio space in Fort Point / South Boston (New England’s oldest and largest artist community). We want to stay away from corporate sponsorship, so we are hoping that people who want to see the film made will help us make it. Anyone can donate any amount on our website—we are offering screen credit in the film for any donation of $50 or more. The grassroots efforts are to make the film mirror the DIY attitudes you’ll see in the documentary.

We are also seeking a film producer to help us cultivate prospective investors and help manage the business end of the film…and most importantly we are looking for investors—big and small.

We need another 25K in the very immediate future to finish production in the fall (Camera and equipment rentals, bus/train/plane tickets, gas, tape stock, the Director of Photography’s day rate) and also to purchase a G5 and enough drive storage (several terabytes) to be able to cut the film. We are currently hobbling along with my laptop and a few Lacie Hard Drives. We also need to be able to pay an assistant editor to log the tapes.

It isn’t cheap making a film—especially when the locations are all over the world …even if we eat on the cheap and stay with friends when we can. And, now Scott (our Director of Photography) is paid—he volunteered for a full year, but it is important to start paying him. Fortunately the most expensive part of the production is out of the way—we can see the light at the end of the tunnel—we just need a little more funding to get through the last few months of production and post production.

By May 2007. Then begins the festival circuit and search for distribution. We would like to see the film get international and domestic theatrical distribution, some broadcast play abroad, and a DVD release too—with lots of extras for the collector type.

Related Links
sQuare Productions
Speaking in Code @ MySpace
Photos from Speaking in Code’s Production
Contribute to sQuare Productions [Todd Burns]