Girls On Film

Ep 76: Sisters With Transistors special - Suzanne Ciani, Lisa Rovner, Gazelle Twin & Shiva Feshareki

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Episode notes

Discover the unsung female pioneers of electronic music in our Sisters With Transistors special. This one’s a real treat for your ears! First up, Anna is joined by collaborators on the doc: writer-director Lisa Rovner and pioneer Suzanne Ciani. Lisa explains the process of finding archive footage and constructing the ‘herstory’. From Buchla concerts to making music for the movies, Suzanne recalls her experience of being a female composer in the 70s and 80s. She remembers being one of the first women to solo score a Hollywood movie, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, in 1981. Keep listening for Suzanne’s discovery of a female film composer working in the 40s! And stay tuned for advice if you're keen to follow in her footsteps. Next, Anna chats to contemporary electronic composers Shiva Feshareki and Elizabeth Bernholz (aka Gazelle Twin). They recount their careers so far and talk about the unexpected positives of working in a male-dominated industry. Shiva explains how she got involved with Sisters With Transistors, and Elizabeth describes her powerful emotions when watching it. Together, they discuss the pioneers they look up to and those they have discovered through the doc. Other movie mentions: A Life in Waves (2017), Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and Legendary Tapes (2020), The Power (2021). This episode is in partnership with Modern Films. https://www.modernfilms.com/ Shiva Feshareki music: White Dwarf, from Nebula - a release due to come out on Vinyl with Matière Mémoire on 25th May / https://soundcloud.com/shivafeshareki NTS Live at Uniqlo Tate Lates, manipulating Daphne Oram and more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3Y93M_HkA Elizabeth Bernholz / Gazelle Twin music: The Well is featured on the OST for The Power: https://invada.bandcamp.com/album/the-power-original-motion-picture-soundtrack Unflesh is featured in Nocturne: https://invada.bandcamp.com/album/welcome-to-the-blumhouse-nocturne-amazon-original-soundtrack Suzanne Ciani music: Buchla concerts in NYC in 1975 Delia Derbyshire: Doctor Who theme Become a patron of Girls on Film on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/girlsonfilmpodcast Follow us on socials: www.instagram.com/girlsonfilm_podcast/ www.facebook.com/girlsonfilmpodcast www.twitter.com/GirlsOnFilm_Pod www.twitter.com/annasmithjourno Watch Girls On Film on the BFI’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX…L89QKZsN5Tgr3vn7z Girls On Film is an HLA production. Executive producer: Hedda Archbold. Audio Producer: Emma Butt. Principal Partner: Peter Brewer. Assistant Producer and Social Media Manager: Heather Dempsey. Assistant Producer: Elliana Jay.