Last Updated on 27/06/2020
When you think of Boiler Room, I’m guessing that underground film isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Up until recently, I associated the global broadcasting platform with sweaty warehouses, pioneering djs and some of the best worldwide events. ‘Boiler Room started with a webcam taped to a wall, opening a keyhole into London’s underground’, but the enterprise has grown exponentially since its creation in 2010, facilitating over 8,000 performances by more than 5,000 artists across 200 cities globally. According to The Guardian, they’ve streamed over 3.5 billion minutes of music.
Although initially focusing on London’s underground electronic scene, Boiler Room has expanded into many different aspects of the arts, partnering with multiple festivals (including SXSW and Dekmantel) and hosting their own festival in London last year (which combined jazz, rap and bass events with film screenings). With such a holistic appreciation for the arts, it’s unsurprising that in 2019 they also launched a film platform, 4:3, a so-called “Netflix for the underground” showcasing films and documentaries that explore music, art, fashion and sociopolitical issues, focusing on ‘youth culture, identity and anti-establishment voices’.
4:3 hosts over one hundred short and feature films, music videos and raw footage clips. Some are originals produced by Boiler Room itself, but the majority are preexisting works from external directors. It’s one of the most diverse and aesthetically exciting streaming platforms I’ve ever come across, and although this top 5 focuses on music-related films, I’d highly recommend checking out its vast catalogue – no matter what you’re interested in, there’ll be something for you.
But enough of my adulation! Let’s crack on with the top 5 films on 4:3.
5. Techno City: What is Detroit Techno?, Ben Cohen (2000)
It’s easy to think of techno as an inherently industrial, mechanical, almost soulless genre, with its relentless rhythms and futuristic synths. But Techno City reminds us that this couldn’t be further from the truth; exploring the socio-economic and political roots of the genre (born in the derelict Detroit of the 1980s), Cohen’s documentary continually returns to the fundamental soulfulness of techno, to its deeply human spirit. Detroit had its first electronic music festival in 2000, and the film documents this celebration, combining footage from the event, interviews with key figures from the techno canon and a tour around the city with legendary producer Carl Craig.
Driving us around the city, Craig reflects on its “remnants of industrial decay and riotous times”. After years of institutional racism, segregation, stark inequality and police brutality, the 1967 Detroit Riots erupted, resulting in the burning of nearly 1,400 buildings. This dereliction was exacerbated further with the recession and depopulation of the ‘70s. Standing outside Detroit’s Grand Central Station, one of many abandoned masterpieces in the city, Craig ruminates on how these derelict spaces have influenced his music. Linking the architecture of the station to the architecture of a track, he sees its columns as the drum beats, the building’s curves as the strings and synths. Founding father Derrick May similarly maintains that Detroit Techno is deeply connected to the cityscape: ‘we never really felt like we were a part of the city, but at the same time that resentment and that anger developed this sort of underground, demented passion for Detroit, and for all that it stood for, because we decided, “we hate you so much, we’re gonna change you”.
The tracklist is also unreal (no surprises there); a collection of 80s and 90s classics from Detroit’s original techno producers, it features the dulcit beats of Kenny Larkin, Eddie Fowlkes and Stacey Pullen. If you want a gentle introduction to the historical origins of one of the world’s most influential genres, then this is definitely worth a watch. Enjoyable and informative – just what we like.
https://fourthree.boilerroom.tv/film/techno-city
4. Modulations, Lara Lee (1998)
If you’re looking for a sweeping overview of the evolution of electronic music, look no further than Lee’s Modulations. An archive documentary, this film fuses interviews with some of the most influential djs, producers and music historians from the last 50 years with club and festival footage and trippy graphics. If you’re seeking Keir Starmer level detail on the ins and outs of each movement, then this ain’t that, but it’s not pretending to be – in 70 minutes we get a fast paced, holistic and deeply human insight into the natural progression of electronic sound from the 1920s to the late ‘90s.
Some of the interviewees are seriously impressive; seminal figures like Giorgio Morode (so called “father of disco” and producer to Donna Summer), house legend Carl Cox, Detroit Techno pioneers Juan Atkins and Eddie Fowlkes and turntablist innovator Q-Bert all talk candidly and fervidly about their genres and the innovations each movement has fostered.
We wouldn’t normally think of electronic music as starting in the early ’20s, but Lee urges us to rethink our rigid definitions of what constitutes electronica. The film introduces us to some of the earliest pioneers of “electronic” music; John Cage, one of the 20th Century’s most influential avant-garde composers and an advocate of electroacoustic music and unconventional instruments; French composer Pierre Schaeffer, the developer of musique concrète, a radical movement that viewed recorded sounds as raw building blocks to be made into music; and Robert Moog, the inventor of the first commercial synthesizer. But it’s not all about the old stuff – from these origins Lee takes us on a rollercoaster tour of the ways in which electronic sound has been continually reborn and reshaped globally, from Detroit Techno, to Acid and Chicago House, to hardcore German Drum and Bass and Gabber, to ambient sound and even turntable experimentlaism (to name just a few).
Although you’re left feeling a bit like you’ve been sonically punched, it’s an exhilarating and genuinely enlightening watch. Kraftwerk maintained that once you entered your car you were in a musical instrument, and this is exactly what Lee’s film conveys – the notion that electronica is all around us, that it’s an intrinsic component of human life and of the industrial landscapes we’ve created.
3. Everything Is Recorded, CHILD & Mahaneela (2018)
In third place is probably the most visually impressive of this top 5; CHILD and Mahaneela’s Everything is Recorded documents the making of Richard Russell’s 2018 album of the same name, effectively his debut release as an artist with his label XL Recordings.
Russell is clearly an industry giant; “a raver turned world-conquering label boss”, he’s built one of the most dynamic rosters around, from Radiohead to M.I.A to The xx. Everything is Recorded captures this sonic breadth; a 12 track album, it features 10 different artists, including Sampha, Giggs, Infinite Coles, Ibeyi and Peter Gabriel.
The concept of Everything Is Recorded lies in its name. Russell brought together musicians of different genres and generations, many of whom had never met, for writing sessions, jams and rehearsals in his west London studio, The Copper House; the whole process was recorded from start to finish, ensuring that nothing was lost – no mistakes were cut, no performance too polished – and the album was formed from this organic material. As Obongjayar, one of the collaborators, remarks, Russell’s style of producing is a fitting analogy for life, as “everything is recorded, from the moment you’re born to the moment you die’. Russell himself describes the process as the ‘making of a big and necessary mess’; ‘a very necessary component of art is to be childlike and to play’, he adds, ‘to just brush the paint about and see what happens’. This unfettered, unfiltered creativity that Russell facilitates is palpable in the film, and the artists speak about their experience with him as something therapeutic, both creatively and emotionally.
The film is aesthetically beautiful, weaving together footage and film photography from the studio sessions, interviews with Russell and his collaborators and videos of their live shows. A captivating and nourishing work, this is the perfect way to spend half an hour – and if you haven’t already, it’ll inspire you to listen to the beautiful album it documents.
https://fourthree.boilerroom.tv/film/everything-is-recorded
2. Palestine Underground, Boiler Room, 4:3 and Ma3azef (2018)
In second place is Palestine Underground, a short documentary produced by Boiler Room’s Anaïs Brémond and directed by Channel 4 and BBC documentary filmmaker Jess Kelly. The film follows various techno, hip-hop and trap collectives in the week leading up to Boiler Room’s first party in Palestine, which took place in Ramallah and featured 7 sets from 9 artists. Part of their ‘Contemporary Scenes’ initiative, this is one of many invaluable BR projects that works towards ‘uncovering underground collectives, artists and subcultures from across the world.’
Palestinians aren’t producing music in spite of their occupation, but because of it, using their artform as a means of connection, cultural commemoration and resistance. The documentary begins with a brief but necessary historical recap of the region’s geographical developments, reminding us that cartographically, “Palestine” does not exist; following the creation of Israel in 1948, Palestine has been divided into (physically) the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and (emotionally) the diaspora of 1.8 million Palestinians living inside Israel and its 7 million refugees in Syria, Jordan and Egypt.
These territorial divides have produced physical barriers to creating a holistic Palestinian scene, but in the last 10 years djs and producers have been actively transgressing these borders. The documentary follows Jazar crew, a Palestinian DJ duo from Haifa, Israel, who use the migratory privileges afforded by their Israeli passports to travel to the West Bank (whose inhabitants face severe restrictions on movement outside of the territory), connecting with artists in Ramallah to host joint parties. Authorities shut down their clubs after midnight, but frequent house parties keep the scene alive.
The film introduces us to some of the region’s seminal producers, DJs and MCs, who are making waves across Europe and America too. We meet Sama’, a female techno DJ recognised by Resident Advisor as ‘the first Palestinian DJ and electronic music producer’, whose Boiler Room set has over 200k streams. We also spend time with beatmaker and producer Muqata’a (which translates as “disrupt”), who’s known in local circles as the ‘godfather’ of Ramallah’s underground hip-hop scene. He describes the importance of incorporating local sound recordings and old arabic vinyl samples into his music; ‘when your heritage is being attacked by the state, you have to find ways of being remembered, so I sample a lot’, Muqata’a reveals in an interview. ‘A lot of the Arabic music or old records in my grandparents’ homes in Jaffa and Safed were taken when their house was confiscated. So this is a way to bring those sounds back.’
This intersection between art and politics encapsulates the Palestinian scene, and whilst it conveys the deeply traumatic experience of living under occupation, Kelly’s documentary ensures that the exceptional artistry and craft of these musicians is given equal attention. An important and empowering watch.
https://fourthree.boilerroom.tv/film/cs-palestine-underground
1. Migrant Sound, Boiler Room and SYSTEM (2018)
The top spot has to go to Migrant Sound, a four-part documentary from Boiler Room’s SYSTEM campaign, an initiative celebrating migration, music and culture 70 years after Windrush. Each episode covers an important theme (Arrival, Racism, Identity and Legacy), taking us on a cultural and political journey from the ‘50s to the present day.
With a curriculum that actively ignores our colonial history and the lives of Britain’s migrant communities, it’s a depressing but unsurprising fact that most of us don’t fully understand Windrush. The Windrush Generation refers to the citizens from Caribbean countries who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971. This emigration was actively encouraged by Britain, who was suffering post-war labour shortages, but ended with the 1971 Immigration Act, which restricted further immigration but promised Commonwealth citizens already residing in the UK indefinite leave to remain. In 2012, however, Theresa May’s Hostile Environment Policy introduced an identity card system for immigrants, and banks, landlords and the NHS were instructed to refuse services to those who could not provide these documents. From 2013 onwards, members of the Windrush Generation began receiving letters which stated they had no right to reside in the UK; many were treated as illegal immigrants, and some were placed in immigration detention and even deported. The Windrush Scandal is regarded by Amnesty as a human rights issue; it’s a crucial component of British history, and yet one that so many of us know painfully little about.
Migrant Sound explores this experience through the lens of music culture. ‘Arrival’ introduces us to Mr Banton, a “local party legend” who arrived in Peckham in 1956 with only £5 to his name. He talks about the absolute need for music in those early years; with black citizens denied the basic right of entering pubs and clubs, the Bantons had to take it upon themselves to host their own events. Forming a sound system with his brother in law, the Bantons’ weekly house parties became the place to be, the hub of their local community.
This powerful series sheds light on the racial hatred endured by so many of the Windrush migrants, but it also illuminates the power of music as a tool of resistance, cultural celebration and nourishment, of “using art to change the narrative”. Jamaican music was not only a social but a political force, as activist and photographer Pogus Caesar reminds us: “this thing that we called reggae was much more important to us than just dancing along to. We had to dissect it word by word … it said to us, “stand up and fight for your rights”.
The series also celebrates the intersection of music and identity, on both a personal and communal level. We explore the impact of sound systems on Manchester’s cultural development; the legendary Guy Called Gerald speaks of his grandparents’ generation bringing reggae to Britain, and how this fused with hip-hop, electro-funk and soul to give birth to Jungle, which was “totally British”. “British” is used in what I believe to be its truest sense here, celebrating a hybrid identity that embraces the different roots of all its citizens, and combines them to form something truly powerful.
The final episode focuses on the future of British music, looking at grime and UK hop-hop, but it also highlights the absolute necessity of the arts as a support system for young adults. With years of Tory austerity and the decline of community centres, the responsibility has fallen on artists like Yung Saber to provide this support. He brings us to Digital Holdings’ recording studios, where the videos are produced for GRM Daily and SBTV, and where studio space is given freely to young adults who can’t otherwise afford to pursue their talent.
If you’re interested in the rich musical history of the UK and the absolute necessity of embracing different cultures, then this is definitely worth a watch. And if you’re not interested – watch this anyway and it’ll change your mind.
https://boilerroom.tv/playlist/migrant-sound-documentary
