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“Sisters with Transistors” * (2020, Metrograph Pictures) Laurie Anderson narrates this doc about the pioneering women of electronic music whose full due still remains frustratingly out of reach. The most well-known of the ten artists profiled are Wendy Carlos and Suzanne Ciani (whose ear-splitting appearance on “The David Letterman Show” is included), though crate diggers will recognize BBC composers Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire (“Doctor Who”), as well as Bebe Barron (who scored “Forbidden Planet” with ex-husband Louis), theremin virtuoso Clara Rockmore, and experimental forerunner Pauline Oliveros. The film’s central thesis – that these composers helped usher electronic music from curiosity to mainstream art form without receiving the same recognition as their male peers – is underscored through modern and vintage interviews and clips (Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore being aurally assaulted by Maryanne Amacher’s performance), as well as director Lisa Rovner’s visual flourishes (sly stock footage of happy teens appearing to dance to the composers’ work). Attention to these composers’ works has grown exponentially in the last two decades; one hopes that “Sisters” pushes them further into the spotlight that has so long alluded them. Metrograph’s DVD includes two excellent panel/Zoom discussions – one with Ciani and newer electronic artists (including Moor Mother and Modular Princess), and another featuring Alissa DeRubeis and Suzi Analogue, among others – and a Q&A with Rovner.
