If the Grammy's taught us anything, it's that despite Dave Grohl's apparent objections, electronic dance music, or EDM, has stepped boldly into the spotlight, with artists like Skrillex and Deadmau5 leading the charge toward the mainstream.
Director Amir Bar Lev's RE:GENERATION Music Project, a documentary produced in part by the Grammy's, looks to further explain how electronic music has influenced pop culture, and connect it to the kind of "real music" Grohl was talking about. DJs Skrillex, Pretty Lights, Mark Ronson, DJ Premier, The Crystal Method team with artists like The Doors, the Berklee Symphony, Martha Reeves, and Ralph Stanley. Lev, whose previous documentaries include the award-winning My Kid Could Paint That and The Tillman Story shifts his focus to technological innovation and its impact on music with RE:GENERATION.
RE:GENERATION Music Project is seeing release via select one-night-only theatrical screenings on Thursday, February 16. Encore screenings will occur in select venues on Thursday, February 23.
The film looks at the history of music straight in the face. Not only history, but the songwriting and the studio process employed by musicians of different genres. The producers and DJs will write and record a brand new track with their collaborators.
The film already has gathered more than 2 million views of assorted clips from the film, and well more than 1 million streams of the five tracks within weeks of their launch.
In the documentary, five-time Grammy-nominated artist Skrillex heads to a Los Angeles studio to work with members of The Doors in order to collaborate on a song called "Breakn' A Sweat." The Crystal Method heads to Detroit to dig into the new song "I'm Not Leaving" with Martha Reeves of the Vandellas and The Funk Brothers. Mark Ronson takes on the challenge of jazz as he headed down to New Orleans to brew up the "A La Modeliste." Ronson works with a cast of icons such as Erykah Badu, Trombone Shorty, Mos Def, Zigaboo Modeliste and members of The Dap-Kings. DJ Premier takes a surprising twist taking on classical music working with the Berklee Symphony Orchestra and NAS for his song, "Regeneration." The documentary even hits the city of Nashville where Pretty Lights ties twang into the thump with "Wayfaring Stranger", which features vocals from Dr. Ralph Stanley and LeAnn Rimes.
As Scott Kirkland of The Crystal Method stated, "There is no sound we can't make. There's not a beat we can't create. There's not an artist we can't record . . . Now what?"
"Five DJs will turn the table of the history of music." Those five DJs stories have been documented for you to view. All you have to do is get off your ass, go the one of the listed venues and watch the history of music unfold before your very own eyes.
List of Venues:
AMC Westgate 20 9400 West Hanna Drive Glendale 85305
AMC Desert Ridge 18 21001 North Tatum Boulevard, Suite 32 Phoenix 85050
Surprise Pointe 14 13649 North Litchfield Road Surprise 85379
Studio Movie Grill Scottsdale 15515 North Hayden Road Scottsdale 85260
Tempe Marketplace 16 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway, Suite 1160 Tempe 85281
