Sisters with Transistors

Sisters With Transistors is a joyous celebration of pioneering women in electronic music, featuring the composers and musicians Daphne Oram, Pauline Oliveros, Delia Derbyshire, Suzanne Ciani and Laurie Spiegel among others. Directed by Lisa Rovner and narrated by Laurie Anderson, the film sheds light on these vital and untold sonic histories using a wonderful mix of archival footage, interviews and audio recordings. This absorbing documentary paints a picture of visionary artists using electronic technologies as instruments of liberation, creating and innovating in the face of a male-dominated music industry.

‘I first heard about Delia Derbyshire on Jarvis Cocker’s radio show. She worked in the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop in the sixties, and I was immediately fascinated by the sounds that she created. I was fascinated by the sounds, but when I discovered that there was a large group of women, whose stories hadn’t been told, but who played a massive part in today’s sounds, I was compelled to look into it more. I realised there was an archive of filmed material online, but then I discovered much more which has never been seen. Some came from the BBC, but a lot came from family members, ex-girlfriends and boyfriends, all kinds of sources. I’ve basically spent three years full time finding and researching this stuff. As I saw them, heard them speak, how they looked, the way they expressed themselves; all of these things made me think this would make a really good film.’

Lisa Rovner, Director