If I Think of Germany at Night

The symbiosis between man and machine has been a basic motif in German music since Kraftwerk. That it has managed to develop and change during all this time is the thing that fascinated Romuald Karmakar into making a brand new film about techno culture. A serious film about a serious culture, which constantly mutates into new forms of expression – and responds to the world surrounding it. Five DJs, including Ricardo Villalobos and Roman Flügel, talk theory and practice from their home studios and in front of the mixing console at the night clubs. Karmakar, who is one of contemporary culture's most consistent documentarians, concentrates on what happens in the studio rather than on the dance floor, but his concise approach still creates a larger story about creativity and cultural activism. Maybe techno since Kraftwerk has been about humanising machines, rather than the other way round. The style is minimal, precise and carefully arranged – just like the music itself.