Music Documentaries

The Cry of Jazz (Documentary by Edward Bland, 1959)

The Cry of Jazz is a 1959 documentary film by Ed Bland that connects Jazz to African American history. It uses footage of Chicago’s black neighborhoods and performances by Sun Ra, John Gilmore, and Julian Priester interspersed with scenes of musicians and intellectuals, both black and white, conversing at a …

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Music Documentaries

Congo Beat The Drum – The Documentary

Two musicians from Tel Aviv travel to Jamaica to record an album with forgotten reggae artists from the past. The film follows Kalbata (Ariel Tagar) and Mixmonster (Uri Wertheim), from their basement studio in Tel Aviv, all the way to the Kingston ghettos, looking for their favourite singers of days …

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Sunday @ the Movies

“Rhyme & Reason” (1997) by Peter Spirer

“Peter Spirer was behind many of the notable hip-hop documentaries on this list, but none are as ambitious (or as successful) as Rhyme & Reason. It’s not even that Spirer interviewed over 80 major artists for the film—it’s the subject matter he includes that other documentaries fail to acknowledge. – …

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Interviews

MIMS Talks with: GUS SUTHERLAND

We’ve been following filmmaker Gus Sutherland’s exploits for a while now. Earlier this year, we dropped the trailer to All Ears, his documentary on the L.A. beat scene. The All Ears UK premier took place yesterday, so I took the chance to catch up with Gus on All Ears and …

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Music Documentaries

“The Unseen” Documentary on Detroit Hip-Hop Producers

I’m stood in the middle of some sweatbox club on the Brighton seafront. On stage, three of Detroit’s finest are putting the finishing bars to Game Over by Dabrye. At the end of the track, DJ Dez cuts the music and Phat Kat steps past Elzhi to the front of …

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Music Documentaries

Documentary: “NY77 The Coolest Year In Hell”

It’s a rainy Sunday night here in Montreal, which basically provides the perfect scenario for settling down (after what was most-likely a weekend of hard partying) and watching a great doc. Whatever the weather, NY77 – The Coolest Year In Hell is an extremely captivating account of one of the …

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Music Documentaries

“The Godfather of Disco” Documentary on Mel Cheren & West-End Records

This documentary is more than just about the life of Mel Cheren, it’s a a great time capsule for what was a great era in New York City club culture; the burgeoning disco sound, unified dance floors consisting of every race and sex and a record label that wasn’t afraid …

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Music Documentaries

The Strange Story of Joe Meek (1991)

In an effort to escape spoiling an amazing documentary on such a legendary producer/composer I encourage you to skip past these words, click the link and get right into it. If the first 30 seconds doesn’t grab your attention enough to keep watching then you’re welcome to come back here …

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Music Documentaries

Johannesburg : Real Scenes (a Resident Advisor movie)

RA tells the remarkable story of the South African city’s thriving house scene. South Africans are the biggest consumers of house music in the world, and Johannesburg is the beating heart of their scene. If you’re looking for proof, there is no need to visit a nightclub. In turning on …

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Music Documentaries

“Studio One Story” – Documentary by Soul Jazz Records (2001)

via SoulJazzRecords: Studio One Story is a documentary this is both a staggering slice of musical history and a definitive guide to Studio One, Jamaica’s greatest ever record company, and its legendary founder, Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd. ‘Studio One Story’ was filmed in 2002, two years before the death of the …

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“Downloaded: The Digital Revolution” Documentary Trailer
Music Documentaries

“Downloaded: The Digital Revolution” Documentary Trailer

Words from: Animal New York Thirteen years ago today, Shawn Fanning and Shawn Parker singlehandedly changed the future of the music industry when they released pioneering file-sharing service Napster. Not many average college aged kids manage to simultaneously piss of Dr. Dre, Lars Ulrich and the entire RIAA, but neither …

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