First off, click for the snazzy new website of Speaking in Code. Thanks to Nick Hubben (who designed this blog 5 or so years ago) for the great new look. Other big stuff continues to happen on the DVD front. Steve Mizek turned in a sparkling review of the film over at well-established electronic music website Little White Earbuds. He says Speaking in Code “successfully personalizes the realities of music obsession, from packed stadium triumphs to tribulations that require self-sacrifice in pursuit of satisfaction.” For his full review, click here. We’ve also recently updated Speaking in Code at Wikipedia.

In addition to extra content you can find at LWE and at Beatportal, we were also able to share one extra with Pitchfork Media and their Pitchfork.tv website. This is one of the extras which appears in the DVD, along with extended interviews, an essay and live footage of Modeslektor at Sonar:

Most newsworthy, though, is after getting a substandard protoype from a manufacture (who was randomly referred to us), we have decided to move the shipping date of the DVD back to March 29th and use a new company who will provide a much more satisfactory product.

Duplium, a Canadian company with locations in Canada and the US, will be servicing the Speaking in Code DVD to the world, now, but they need 10 business days to get our orders out to you. So despite having a release date of March 12, 2010, we will not begin shipping until the week of March 29, 2010.

When the quality of end product (flimsy plastic, cheap paper) was substandard, we felt like we had to make a change. When the DVD shows up at your door, we want it to be the best product possible. Our former distributor also had little experience with international shipping, and nearly half of the pre-orders so far are for Europe (and beyond Europe!). We of course want to be sure you get your DVD safe and sound.

So watch for a shipping email confirmation during the last week of March. You will still get your DVD when everyone else does, so you won’t be missing out. Thanks to all who have ordered Speaking in Code ordered so far. You can still pre-order the DVD at the website. If you have any questions, please drop us a line as always: info@squar3.com

In the meantime, the readers of the squar3.com blog may have missed the inaugural Speaking in Code podcast(!), from our long-time collaborator Baltimoroder. It includes some music from the film, some music we remember hearing while making the film and other music from the artists who appear in the movie. The mix was so good, in fact, that our friends at Pitchfork Media put it in their Forkcast section. They called it a “pretty amazing mix.”

Baltimoroder - Speaking in Code Podcast 01

The tracklisting:
1 “Fragile” - Monolake (Imbalance Computer Music)
2 “Wombat” - The Wighnomy Brothers (Kompakt Extra)
3 “In The Moog For Love” - Steadycam (K2)
4 “For Penny and Alexis” - The Rice Twins (Kompakt Extra)
5 “You Might Say Im Ruminativen (Parfum rework)” - WB (WB Records)
6 “Enjoy The Silence (Timo Maas Extended Remix)” - Depeche Mode (Reprise Records)
7 “Milk & Honey” - Philip Sherburne (Lan Muzic)
8 “Maps (Michael Mayer & Tobias Thomas Mix)” - Ada (Areal Records)
9 “Regensburg (Gas Mix)” - Markus Guentner (Kompakt)
10 “Kappsta 2″ - The Field (Kompakt)
11 “Vote or Die” - Modeselektor (BPitch Control)
12 “Way Out” - Ellen Allien & Apparat (BPitch Control)
13 “I Love You” - Modeselektor (BPitch Control)
14 “No 7-11’s (Akufen’s Chill Em All Mix) - DJ Champion (Saboteur)

Keep an eye out for the next podcast, with Tobias Thomas (Kompakt)! And the DVD will start shipping on March 29, 2010 … I guarantee it!

Obviously, it is with great pride that we report to the world that the Speaking in Code DVD is officially available for pre-order at the official website: speakingincode.com. For those of you that have been following this saga for nearly 5 years, this is welcome news indeed!

We have finalized the list of appropriate DVD extras and they are as follows:

Extras:
Modeselektor Live at Sonar 2006 Uncut

Deleted Scenes:
Kompakt Tour in Köln
Modeselektor Talks About the Berlin Wall
Monolake at the Berlin Wall
Backstage at Muna Club in East Germany
Who is Jimmy Johnson?

Extended Interviews:
Wolfgang Voigt
Ellen Allien
The Wighnomy Brothers First Interview
Wighnomy Brothers After Speaking in Code

Outtakes

Each specifically selected extra is not only related to the film itself, but they are also quite hilarious and interesting. We have other extras that will be populating the web in the weeks ahead. Watch for them!

The price is $19.95 + $4.95 S&H. This price will most likely go up as we balance the costs of shipping and packaging and so forth in the week ahead, so order your copy now.

If you have seen the film, the extras are worth the price and you know what all was gone through to make the film in the first place! The more pre-orders we can manage, the more DVDs we can make. Your pre-order means a lot.

If you have yet to see the film, well, I can’t offer you a guarantee, but here’s what other people have said: “The personal edge really makes it stand out as something different,” (press kit) “I was very impressed with the unexpected layers,” “Brave rather than exploitative,” “Had an amazing look,” “I loved it, truly!” “Electronic Music’s Most Important Documentary?” (beatportal.com)

There is no end to the news in Boston, either. Not only is Basstown chugging along (Facebook site) but these last few months Boston stepped up and hosted it’s first electronic music festival, called, Together.

(Click for a .pdf of the huge guide to the Together Festival).

As the Creative Director I worked ceaselessly alongside Managing Director Mike McKay (who literally worked without sleep for days) to make it happen. Coordinating a music festival is a LOT of work. Fortunately, we had a huge team of supporters that saw it through.

It got press coverage in both the Sunday Boston Globe and Sunday Boston Herald (combined circulation over 600,000) prior to launch and some nice coverage from the biggest daily newpaper: Boston Metro on Thursday and a sweet wrap-up on the following Tuesday. There was even a letter from the Mayor of Boston himself.

I cannot write enough about the experience and what it meant to me. To say it was a dream come true is an understatement.

There was tons of music that got me through what amounted to the hardest I’ve worked in my life.

One was this track by Reagenz called, appropriately enough, “Keep Building”:

Reagenz - “Keep Building”

Kompakt still holds considerable sway in these parts, and their Pop Ambient 2010 was always a soothing relief from all the pounding music of the day. Especially the mammoth closing track from Brock Van Wey:

Brock Van Wey - “Will You Know Where to Find Me”

Then there were crowd favorites that became something more:

Fleetwood Mac - “Never Forget (Cut Copy Lifelike Remix)”

Together organizer and friend DJ Die Young continues to be one of Boston’s more unsung new producers. His dub seemed to always pop up on random at the right times:

DJ Die Young - “Back Around (Dub)”

And the Together Steering Committee, especially Alexander Maniatis of Dopamine Records, coordinated the Together 2010 sampler of regional producers, a stand out being, once again, Christopher Wade of Providence, RI crew Lovelife:

Christopher Wade - “Falling In”

For the latest in DVD updates, stay tuned to the Twitter (@sicfilm) or of course the Facebook group. Thank you for your years of support and patience!

Been a while. Thank you for your patience. We’re happy to say it will pay off (and the Facebook page and Twitter account has been very active), but at the same time independent film production isn’t what it used to be.

As you undoubtedly know, Speaking In Code, the techno movie that is not about techno, continues its pursuit. The confluence of industries and economic crises has produced an absolute flood of film producers, and vice-versa. There is no end to the amount of documentaries and a very particular limit to those who can release them in the traditional way.

It’s been seen with most of the different docs produced in 2009. From Anvil to For The Love of Movies and beyond, many producers have to resort to self-release to hope their film gets seen. Like many systems in this economic transformation, the rules are changing, and quite rapidly. While we develop this system of self-release, you, our fine fans, are kept waiting.

The good news is that the feature film is still stellar. We will be releasing a DVD in the coming months, but not before treating you to some of the extras and outtakes of the film. With every outtake we release, another option to pre-order the DVD will also be unveiled.

Or so we hope. This is a new world of movie production–a world without standard distribution, where everyone can share their slice of reality, where everyone’s story is their own. It seems quite scary, but it’s also one that is imminent. Thank you for your patience.

Been a while, but the forward movement of electronic music and the dance scene had propelled itself to new heights. Most crucially is the propagation of bandwidth. No longer is the size of a file so difficult. In fact, streaming has become the norm. And, for beat-lovers and dance heads around the world, the thought of an endless “radio” tuned to great music is quite perfect.

So here are five recent streams from SoundCloud, an excellent idea for streaming that has very much taken hold.

Todd Terje - 3 Hour Set, Big Chill Festival

Warmhq is a booking company in London. Their roster is pique, their knowledge of Soundlcloud even better. Here’s a live mix from slo-mo disco king Todd Terje.

PanTone - Live in Reykjavik 2009

Kompakt has a slow-moving account which features this former Canuck feeling it in Iceland.

John Daly - Sept ‘09 Mix

Forward Management is one of the few US agencies that has picked up on the brilliance of SoundCloud. John Daly is the next big thing.

Gudding - November Horror Set

There was quite a lot of talk about “horror disco” this year, and with good reason. The darkness of our economic times combined with the history of dance music equals this. To wit, Gatekeeper is the featured act atThunderdome’s first-ever New Year’s Eve party.

Despite the times, circumstance and independence, there is a DVD coming soon of the film. Stay tuned at the Facebook address or Twitter (@sicfilm) for the latest info.

Speaking in Code is starting to take on a life of its own. The most recent development came from Seattle, where an enthusiastic fan when back to Dallas crowing about the film. And now we have a screening in Dallas. Sunday, November 8th at 5:00pm, at the Angelika Film Center, the sister to NYC’s more famous NoHo destination. More info here.

As for New York City, we are happy to say it will premiere at the CMJ Film Festival. Wed, October 21st at 2pm, at the Norwood Theater, 241 W 14th St., b/w 7th & 8th Ave. Those with a CMJ badge need to RSVP here for entry. As for people without a badge, we’re finding out what the deal is there. Sign up for the Twitter service to be sure to know the latest.

The San Francisco screenings of Speaking in Code are also approaching rapidly. People can buy tickets right now, and if we can sell out both shows, we can prove a demand for other shows in the area and are considering working with promoters on a bigger event.

Friday, October 23rd, 9:15pm
Thursday, October 29th, 7pm

Also next weekend, the film gets screened in Krakow, PL. Though we are still looking for an official premiere of the film in Europe (more on that soon!), we’re proud to be a part of this extraordinary festival.

We also appreciate the rising demand for screenings in your area. Both in our email and on the various Web 2.0 sites, we get hit up about the release date every day. We are hoping to have a DVD plan by the end of the month. Despite the overwhelming demand for the film to be seen, bear in mind we are still a small operation.

We are now open to talking to people about screenings, especially seasoned promoters and people with contacts to local theaters. Please contact us if you can help, drop us a line at info@squar3.com

Musically, our subjects are still churning out great dance music. Modeselektor is the next volume of the esteemed Body Language Mix CD series (buy Volume 8 here or here). They released a podcast on Resident Advisor to celebrate.

Modeselektor - Resident Advisor Podcast #173

And they’ll hit the States again in a month for a full tour. The dates are as follows, many including a Basement Jaxx DJ set and/or MSTRKRFT:

Oct 29 2009 @ Blue Bird, Denver, CO
Oct 30 2009 @ Cervantino Festival, Guanajuato, MX
Oct 31 2009 @ The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
Nov 1 2009 @ Club 101, El Paso, TX
Nov 2 2009 @ Teatro Estudio Cavaret, Guadalajara, MX
Nov 4 2009 @ Mod Club Toronto, CA
Nov 5 2009 @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Nov 6 2009 @ Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL
Nov 7 2009 @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, New York City, NY

Wherever possible, we are hoping to screen the movie in and around these appearances …

The Wighnomy Brothers have been raising their profile as well, with this unreleased Nick Curly remix, most recently seeing a lot of love:

Wighnomy Bros. - Lampatee (Nick Curly Remix) (buy)

While their label, Freude-Am-Tanzen, is enjoying success with this release from Kadebostan:

Kadebostan - Spirit Soldiers (buy)

DJ and Journalist Philip Sherburne recently made a lot of waves with this 100-minute mix for the Unsound Festival, where he, Kadebostan, Monolake and many more will be appearing along with the film:

Philip Sherburne - “Unsound Podcast #3″ (mirror)

A new website called R.fm, is an impressive showcase on the electronic music realm. And they have posted a live set from The Field, an artist predominately featured on the soundtrack of Speaking In Code:

The Field - Live at OSC09 Stockholm

See you soon at a theatre near you.

As we continue to wait for more film festivals to endorse Speaking in Code, forward-thinking music festivals are eagerly slotting the movie to show in sneak previews and with panel discussions to follow. Two such festivals, we are happy to say, are some of the world’s finest.

In September, Seattle’s Decibel Festival will screen the movie with a talk afterwards with director Amy Grill and the Wighnomy Brothers. Decibel is a purely home-grown incarnation, built on featuring pristine American talent alongside international names like Alter Ego and Move D. We met Decibel director Sean Horton years ago, when we began filming at Mutek in Montreal. That his festival is still around, and is in fact thriving, is a testament to hard work and perseverance. Resident Adviser recently ranked it the #4 September festival in the world.

Unsound in Krakow, Poland was awarded the #2 October festival by Resident Adviser and, looking at the line-up, it’s easy to see why. Marcel Dettmann, Omar-S and Biosphere are just a few of the marquee names. DJ Spinoza (aka Bryan Kasenic) is also on the bill. Spinoza will be featured on the DVD of Speaking in Code, bringing his minimal aesthetic to the clubs of New York City.

In the meantime, there are quite a few blogs and posts on the internet which continue to help spread the word about the film, and trust me when I say we appreciate every one of them. The stigma of dance music and dance music culture is still a barrier that we have to overcome, even with a film about said barrier, but the interest shown around the world proves this story must be told.

Musically, the worlds of techno and house continue to collide at a rapid pace. Even signs of breaks, dubstep and drum & bass are starting to infiltrate them, and vice versa. It’s safe to say some of the barriers and genres within electronic music itself are starting to crumble. Consider:

Reboot - “Enjoy Music” [buy]

With that positive and soulful vocal and the straightforward bassline, Reboot is one of the new stars of what they call “tech-house.”

Like the recent manifestation of “electro,” however, this new tech-house is more of it’s own animal, as with another new star, Jamie Jones.

Jamie Jones - “Acerola” [buy]

Both the these things come together in a grand degree when Jones teams up with Berlin’s Teifschwarz and New York City’s rising star–Seth Troxler:

Teifschwarz feat. Seth Troxler - “Hurt (Jamie Jones Remix)” [buy]

The most promising part of this unification is that old divisions of race and history are being disregarded. House no longer means black (Tiefschwarz literally means “more black”) and techno no longer means white (Jones is black, while Troxler is of mixed race) … All aboard the trans global express.