When the folks at the Grammys approached acclaimed documentary director Amir Bar-Lev to create a film showcasing five unique musical collaborations featuring some of the country’s top DJs, he welcomed the opportunity.
“I’m a huge music fan and I’ve had an abiding interest in remixing and that kind of thing for a really long time,” said Bar-Lev during a recent phone interview.
The resulting “Re:Generation” screens on Thursday in the D.C. area at the AMC Hoffman Center in Alexandria.
| If you go |
| ‘Re:Generation’ |
| » Where: AMC Hoffman Center, 206 Swamp Fox Road, Alexandria |
| » When: 8 p.m. Thursday |
| » Info: $11.50; regenerationmusicproject.com |
The film documents the collaboration between five electronic producers and representatives from five music genres. Skrillex worked with the surviving members of the Doors in Los Angeles; The Crystal Method teamed with Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas in Detroit; Mark Ronson headed to New Orleans for a jazz session featuring Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Trombone Shorty and the Dap Kings; DJ Premier reworked classical music with the help of the Berklee Symphony Orchestra and his friend Nas; and Pretty Lights tackled the classic country standard “Wayfaring Stranger” in Nashville with vocals from LeAnn Rimes and Dr. Ralph Stanley.
“Re:Generation” shows the construction of five new songs from start to finish. The resulting works attempt to advance music through the creativity of the five DJ/producers.
“We created a situation that we hoped would yield good material,” said Bar-Lev, best known for directing “The Tillman Story” and “My Kid Could Paint That.” “Even though this seems like it’s a cutting edge subject matter, I think the film’s dirty secret is that this really isn’t anything cutting edge. This is what’s been happening with music since the beginning of music making. People have been building on the past in order to innovate and create for the future. All we did was create an artifice so it would happen in a much shorter time than it usually would happen. It’s like we created a petri dish.”
The film doesn’t shy away from certain tensions between the more established performers such as Doors drummer John Densmore or Reeves and their more genre-blending partners.
“I think a lot of these more established musician have a healthy skepticism about up and coming musicians and music styles,” Bar-Lev said. “I think the film captures the tension between traditionalism and innovation.
“Music is constantly evolving and music builds on the past and contemporary versions of things are no less legitimate than old ones,” Bar-Lev added. “This is as old as music itself.”
In the end, the collaborations work musically, and “Re:Generation” captures the process in a seamless and captivating manner.
“I think of it as a celebration of music making,” Bar-Lev said.
