Hi, We’re Eric & Sarah. Director & Producer of Beautiful Noise - the story of how The Cocteau Twins, Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine influenced generations of bands - Ask us anything

Hello, big fan of shoegaze and really looking forward to the release of A Beautiful Noise, congratulations! I have 2 questions.
1) Were there any particularly great resources (e.g. books/interviews) that you guys might have studied or read up on the genre before the documentary was being made?
2) Did if any of the musicians in the documentary surprised you guys in terms of their interview responses or conduct?

Actually the reason we made the doc was because there was no book or film or cohesive story about this incredible music. We structured it so that it allows the musicians to tell the story. I think in terms of influences for us it was other filmmakers like Ken Burns, Jonathan Caouette, Adam Curtis, etc.

I've always found it hard to describe this genre of sound, and it seems most of the bands involved don't really like the s-word ("shoegaze") to describe their music.

What word or words are proving more agreeable to the makers of this genre of music?

Not sure there is one consensus from the musicians themselves. We are finding the term 'noise guitar' to be a better fit though when we talk about it.

Hi folks, congrats on the film firstly. Good luck with it!

Why did you make this film?

I know that may seem like a strange question but I'd imagine this is a film very much for the fans, so it might be difficult to get funding for or awareness out about. You could have picked millions of things to make a documentary about, so why this?

It was a topic that really interested us, and yes very difficult to make. The doc ultimately took on the theme of art for art vs art for profit.

Do you mind me asking though why it really interested you? Were you into the music? Did you see something about it that made you think "That would be a good film subject" or is it something else entirely?

Definitely into the music and also thought it should be documented. Grew up listening to these bands and the genre is so influential, it just keeps going.

When can we expect a home video release?

soon we think

Wow, you interviewed a lot of people for this - was there anyone you really wanted to interview but couldn't get - or, was there anyone you got to interview that ultimately didn't make it into the film? Thanks in advance.

Yes, William Reid, Liz Frazer, Lou Reed, Jonny Greenwood, Brian Eno, and others, but we did end up with over 50 interviews...

Wow, well done - was it a case of just bad timing for some of the people you requested or did people prefer not to do it?

Yeah, well some were just not into being interviewed, others were not available.

What do you think about today's music of a similar ilk? Do you enjoy the way this kind of sound has evolved and spread into other genres over the years?

Yes, we are fans of many of the bands playing now and feature several in the film (i.e. Weekend, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Grouper, Pure X, I Break Horses...) It's cool to hear it expanding into other genres. There are millions of possibilities.

Fantastic to see so much background detail on this period of music, much neglected previously! Looking forward to seeing the whole film.

How did you find the whole Kickstarter process for getting funding to release the film? Would you change anything if doing it again?

Thanks, yeah, we love Kickstarter. I think if we had a crystal ball we would have known it was going to take quite a bit longer to get the film finished. Kickstarter is a great platform for indie art projects to get made. The only problem is that making something like this can take an unknown amount of time.

Are there plans to release the film on DVD/Blu-ray? If so, what timeframe can we expect for that?

Yes, we are currently working on that.

Is there another genre of music or a particular artist that you would like to make a film about?

We have lot of ideas for other projects, we are developing a few of them. There is so much great underground music and art out there.

Ditto on the video release question - and will there be scads of extras (interviews, performances?) that perhaps did not fit into the cut of the film?

[Am still floating from seeing Slowdive here in DC Wednesday!]

We are working on the home video release. There's a lot of things that seem like they would be easy about Distribution that are ridiculously complicated. That's great that you got to see Slowdive, they're amazing live. Something we really love about this music is how it affects us, it's very emotional and connected. It articulates feelings you can't put into words.

After spending so long making this doc, you must be pretty drained.

What are you planning to do next?

Yes, we're exhausted, but it's still happening. It's a long road with any project when you really care about it. We have a lot of ideas and a few things we are developing to do next.

Two questions: Where/how did you draw the line on what would be considered shoegaze? It appears (in a good way) that you've kept it broad enough to include acts like JAMC and Americans like Medicine. Some might also include the Swirlies in such a list, or even go back to Sonic Youth as godfathers of shoegaze. Were there bands that you said, "Nope, we aren't calling this shoegaze" or "You know, this is borderline, but we're including them"?

Also, does the film include interviews with current shoegaze-ish acts like Asobi Seksu?

Thanks! I'm really excited to see this doc!

The genre covers a lot of bands, not all are in the film. We mainly focused on the UK origins.

Which of the bands would you like to see reform that have broken up? I never got to see Ride live but saw Lush, Cure, Swervedriver, MBV before and the Cure a few times. Great list of bands and good luck with film.

Would also love to see the Mary Chain with the original line up - Jim, William, Bobby, & Douglas.

Cocteau Twins, Ride, Lush, Flying Saucer Attack [it will be the 20th anniversary of Further next year]

Thanks everyone its been fun. You can visit www.beautifulnoisedocumentary.com for updates and news about the doc.

Does the film cover the C-86 movement in much detail (ie the Shop Assistants, Galaxie 500 etc)?

No but a C86 doc should be made

What's happened to the music reviewers that effectively killed off the original wave of shoegaze bands? Now that "shoegaze" has been shown to have a wide ranging and long lived effect on music culture (as opposed to Britpop, which was a flash in the pan), have these reviewers had to eat their words? I'd be interested to hear if you were able to get in touch with any of those idiot british press writers.

LOL. Most people don't admit to being wrong they kind of act like it never happened. Most of them moved onto other endeavors.

I love all of these bands! Who was your favourite person to interview?

They were all really cool. Jim Reid, Kevin Shields, Robert Smith, Toni Halliday come to mind.

Hi looking forward to this film, are there any screenings in Scotland? And is there any mention of the great 'Meat Whiplash' in the film?

Hi, no screenings scheduled at the moment for Scotland. Meat Whiplash are not in the film, cool band though.