Latest news with #EleganceBratton
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
House Great Vince Lawrence Recalls the Racism Fueling Disco Demolition Night in New Doc Clip
Chicago house pioneer Vince Lawrence recalls witnessing Disco Demolition Night as a teenager, and later recognizing the racist undertones of the infamous incident, in a new clip from the fascinating documentary, Move Ya Body: The Birth of House, premiering on Rolling Stone. Directed by Elegance Bratton, Move Ya Body digs into the origins of house music on the South Side of Chicago, where Lawrence and his peers crafted a new sound with emerging synth technology and perfected it in underground clubs like the Warehouse. The birth of house music in the 1980s was also, in part, a response to the heyday, and unceremonious downfall, of disco, another genre that had distinctly Black origins before garnering more mainstream attention via white artists and culture. (See: The Bee Gees and Saturday Night Fever.) More from Rolling Stone How Metallica Inspired Fans to Walk and Rock Again After a Serious Motorcycle Accident De La Soul Dig Into Their Long Island Roots in 'The Sixth Borough' Doc Clip Eddie Vedder Raises Awareness for Rare Disease in New Docu Clip Lawrence happened to be working as an usher at Chicago's Comisky Park on Disco Demolition Night in 1979, when a largely white crowd rioted after blowing up a crate of disco records. Lawrence was the victim of racist violence that night too, and an out-of-court settlement allowed him to buy a Moog synthesizer and pave the way for the creation of house music. But in the new clip from Move Ya Body, Lawrence admits that, at the time, he wasn't able to perceive the racism and anti-Blackness fueling Disco Demolition Night. As he puts it, 'I was just not accepting of the reality of racism, of real racism.' Lawrence continues: 'I feel now that a lot of the angst about disco was really about Blackness. Because people were on the radio describing things that were just Black. The gold chains was a symbol for us that we were no longer bound by chains. Bell-bottom pants and the leisure suits were a way for us to feel together, when we had matching tops and bottoms. All of these things were being said in a way that was looking down on everything that brought us joy.' In an email to Rolling Stone, Bratton calls Disco Demolition Night an 'ideological lynching' that was 'meant to remind Blacks, queers, and femmes to stay in their place.' Pointedly, he adds: 'The same forces that conspired to destroy Black dance music in the late 1970s are alive and well. Today, they call themselves MAGA… It feels so easy to just give these lunatics what they want but in Vince there is a powerful rebuke of the status quo. It's rooted in music. Talk about non-violent resistance!' Move Ya Body is set to screen Friday, June 13, as part of the Tribeca Film Festival, with additional showings scheduled through the weekend. Along with Lawrence, the film features interviews with other house luminaries including Marshall Jefferson, 'Screamin'' Rachael Cain, Byron Stingily, Lady D, Kevin Aviance, and Lori Branch. In explaining why he wanted to make Move Ya Body, Bratton says it was as much about his love of music as it was a desire to 'make sure the pioneers of house can get their roses while they are still here.' He adds, 'If you look up the top EDM DJ's in the world, they are white men mostly from Europe. House music like just about every genre of American music starts in the Black community… House history is black history, it's queer history, and it's feminist history. I want to show through Move Ya Body that partying is political. Going to a club and dancing to the same beat as someone different from you is a radical act. It shakes oppressive power to the core to think that we can find that commonality through our differences. If they weren't scared of our collective power then they wouldn't spend so much time trying to keep us apart.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
ABC News
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
The birth of House, and the rebirth of Lucius
'Chicago is a case study', says one of the witnesses to the birth of House music in the new film, Move Ya Body. In the 1980s Chicago was in the throes of segregation and violence, and its warehouses became the site of a new kind of dancefloor as the disco era faded away. At the epicentre was music producer Vince Lawrence, who joins Andy with Move Ya Body director Elegance Bratton to describe the creation and the Utopian aspirations of House. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House is at Sydney Film Festival 8th and 10th of June Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe are the dual lead singers of the band Lucius. Between them, they have three voices: Holly's, Jess's, and a third voice, a sort of Holly-and-Jess chimera that rises up out of their voices together. Their self-titled album Lucius has just been released, and Holly and Jess tell Andy about why it was time to return to a familiar sound, and to finally name an album after the band. Music heard in the show: Title: Gold Rush Artist: Lucius Composer: Jess Wolfe, Holly Laessig Album: Lucius Label: Wildewoman Music In the interview with Vince and Elegance: Title: Under the Influence Artist: Captain Sky, prod. Vince Lawrence Composer: Daryl Cameron Album: Single Label: Slang Recordings Title: Move Your Body Artist: Marshall Jefferson & Solardo Composer: Marshall Jefferson Album: Single Label: Trax Title: Promised Land Artist: Joe Smooth Composer: Joe Smooth Album: Single Label: D.J. International In the interview with Lucius: Title: Final Days Artist: Lucius Composer: Jess Wolfe, Holly Laessig Album: Lucius Label: Wildewoman Music Title: Do It All For You Artist: Lucius Composer: Jess Wolfe, Holly Laessig Album: Lucius Label: Wildewoman Music Title: Great Gig in the Sky Artist: Roger Waters, Holly Laessig, Jess Wolfe Composer: Richard Wright Album: Us + Them Label: Us + Them Productions Title: Orange Blossoms Artist: Lucius Composer: Jess Wolfe, Holly Laessig Album: Lucius Label: Wildewoman Music The Music Show is made on Gadigal, Gundungurra, Yuggera and Turrbal Land Technical production by Tim Jenkins and Dylan Prins
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mark Wahlberg Crime Thriller ‘By Any Means' Boarded by Bright White Light (EXCLUSIVE)
Bright White Light has boarded Elegance Bratton's 'By Any Means,' co-financing and executive producing the upcoming crime thriller starring Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Beharie, Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, David Strathairn, Ethan Embry, LisaGay Hamilton and LaChanze. Bright White Light's Wayne Marc Godfrey and Nicki Cortese will executive produce. More from Variety Harris Dickinson's Directorial Debut 'Urchin' Gets 5-Minute Cannes Standing Ovation, Plus Lots of Love From Paul Mescal Marisa Tomei, Sam Rockwell and Chris Messina to Star in Zombie Comedy 'Hellhound' (EXCLUSIVE) Why Harris Dickinson Put His Rising Acting Career on Hold to Direct Cannes Premiere 'Urchin': 'I Didn't Work as an Actor for a Year' Hammerstone Studios' Alex Lebovici, Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee are producing for Thunder Road alongside Chester Algernal Gordon for Freedom Principle, Stephen Levinson and Wahlberg under his company Municipal. WME Independent and CAA Media Finance are co-representing U.S. rights and is representing international sales. 'By Any Means' follows a notorious mafia hitman and a young Black FBI agent as they team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in 1966 Mississippi. ''By Any Means' is truly one of those special projects that you can't believe is actually based on a true story,' said Bright White Light CEOs Godfrey and Cortese. 'We are so grateful to have been invited by Alex, Basil and Erica to be part of this exceptional production and that we were able to add some additional value to the already impressive cast, director, producers and financiers' Founded by Godfrey and Cortese, Bright White Light produces, develops, and finances both independent and studio films, in addition to providing financial and creative backing to filmmakers, producers, entrepreneurs, and capital investors. The company has invested more than $500 million in film productions and has produced more than 130 feature films. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Move Ya Body' Review: Doc Doesn't Definitively Answer Its ‘Birth of House Music' Claim
New York City has hip-hop, and Chicago has house music. Although each genre became a global phenomenon, the latter still generates far less mainstream coverage. To this day, a cloud of mystery still surrounds house music with most people largely unfamiliar with its origins and its impact. Director and producer Elegance Bratton, best known for his 2022 feature debut 'The Inspection,' along with Oscar and two-time Emmy winner Roger Ross Williams set out to change that with their documentary, 'Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music,' which premiered at Sundance. Named after the 1986 Marshall Jefferson classic 'Move Your Body,' widely considered the house music anthem, Bratton begins the doc with a postcard-worthy nighttime image of the city with 'CHICAGO' in yellow letters emblazoned in the middle. Easing into the meat of the documentary, a nightclub becomes the focal point as the pulsating sounds of 'Move Your Body' play as an unknown male voice begins framing what's on the screen. That voice is later revealed to be pivotal house producer and pioneer Vince Lawrence, who played a critical role in 'Move Your Body' being released through Trax, a record label he basically spearheaded. Bratton moves through the genre's early Black gay influence and as he chronicles DJ Frankie Knuckles and the legendary underground club The Warehouse where he DJ'd, the racial backlash against disco's inclusiveness and rising dominance led by a popular white radio jock, Lawrence serves as his north star — from being an usher and one of the few Black faces at the infamous Disco Demolition Night at the Chicago White Sox's home of Comiskey Park where scores of white attendees burned records by Black artists, to his early days fighting to press and promote house records. The problem with 'Move Ya Body' is not that it doesn't have enough meat. Instead, Bratton juggles too much for his chosen format. Given the many stories he wants to tell, a docuseries probably would have served him better. Bratton also doesn't seem to have a strong foundation in his subject matter. First, he's not from Chicago, and because Chicago house music is so under-documented, living in the culture is probably more essential for nailing the story with confidence and authority. A great example of this comes early in the doc when Lena Waithe, arguably the most famous Black gay Chicagoan, and others discuss Black Queer invisibility and marginalization. When house music is played in clubs in New Jersey, from which Bratton hails, and the larger NYC area, Black gay participation dominates. In contrast, house music evolved from the Black gay community into an inclusive genre embraced by Chicago's Black community. Many of its most well-known DJs, from Steve 'Silk' Hurley to Farley 'Jackmaster' Funk, and participants are heterosexual. House music is literally the soundtrack of Black Chicagoans who came of age in the 1980s and 1990s. While the doc does show clips of people partying to house music at Mendel, a storied Black Catholic High School in Chicago, it never notes how many of these parties were held for middle schoolers, because they were alcohol-free gatherings. Since 1990, the annual Chosen Few Picnic & Festival, which has no significant presence in 'Move Ya Body,' has attracted thousands of Chicago house music lovers from all cross-sections of the Black community. And elements of house music can be found in songs from Chicago rappers Kanye West and Common. These misses don't mean 'Move Ya Body' is not interesting. Bratton's inclusion of the claim by white Chicago singer Rachel Cain, a rock-n-roll singer who worked with Lawrence early on, that she is a house music pioneer and the overall spotlight 'Move Ya Body' places on white exploitation of house music is extremely important. And Bratton's cinematic lens and integration of old photos and footage is consistently fantastic. The dramatizations of Lawrence's early life are especially well-done and play more like his history come to life than re-enactments. No one can dispute that Lawrence deserves his flowers and recognition, but 'Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music' falls short of fulfilling its ultimate mission. The post 'Move Ya Body' Review: Doc Doesn't Definitively Answer Its 'Birth of House Music' Claim appeared first on TheWrap.
