BETTER LIVING THROUGH CIRCUITRY

Director Jon Reiss / 1999 / USA

Moby, Carl Cox, Roni Size, Frankie Bones, Kraftwerk, Jason Bentley, Meat Beat Manifesto and The Crystal Method—just a handful of the electronica and dance luminaries profiled and interviewed in Jon Reiss hip and hypnotic technomentary. This idiosyncratic examination of rave culture and music taps into the energy of the scene it uncovers, maintaining the amphetamine pace that defines techno and all its hybrids not only as an art form but a way of life. Reiss is best known for his killer clips for Nine Inch Nails as well as documentaries about crazed robotic gladiator creators Survival Research Laboratories. His insights, interviews (especially with more academically minded players like Scanner, DJ Spooky and PTV's Genesis P-Orridge) and hallucinatory footage reveal a new sense of spirituality and empowerment through technology. New modes of thinking embrace transcendence through sound and rhythm, encouraging in ravers a kind of ritualised connection to others and the universe.

"True to the spirit of Techno, the whole thing was shot on a Sony digicam and edited on a Power Mac... it's as slick as anything on the Discovery Channel and the 3-D computer animation is too cool for words"—Chicago Times

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