“This is just a brief rough cut for a documentary I began shooting in 2002. Originally a documentary on LA guitarist Nels Cline (Geraldine Fibbers / Destroy All Nels Cline / Wilco, etc.) that turned into a documentary about NYC electric harpist Zeena Parkins (Phantom Orchard / Bjork / Matmos, etc.), the film evolved into a piece about a community of musicians from around the world who represent radically different ideas about what music is and can be. Although if I am successful, the film won’t be overtly about music at all, but about that elusive point at which living and art become indistinguishable from one another.

I shot and edited this footage of Okkyung Lee in Manhattan and Brooklyn, NYC. April 2005. Please forgive the poor YouTube resolution. The voice over in the first half is Pauline Oliveros, recorded in Kingston, New York, June 2003. The guitar “score” was written and performed by Jim McAuley, another musician in this documentary. The vocalist that you don’t hear is Shelley Hirsch.

Some other artists in the film include: Ikue Mori, Norton Wisdom, DJ Olive, Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, Nels Cline, Bob Ostertag, Okkyung Lee, Raz Mesinai, Zeena Parkins, Jim McAuley, Miya Masaoka, Pierre Hebert, Elliott Sharp, Marilyn Crispell, Leroy Jenkins, and others.” –Steve Elkins