Even before Eminem tossed out the ultimate diss, techno was a dirty word in the United States. And as anyone who has ever championed the music on these shores will tell you, Europe, with it’s thriving electronic music culture, is seen as the mecca for those whose taste lean towards the auster sounds while living in a decidedly unfriendly market. Speaking In Code wisely ignores the “why” usually asked when addressing techno’s lack of popularity in America. But it does confront the very real clash of passion and finance faced by American fans who need to go to sometimes absurd lengths to get their fix.
David Day is an exceptional example of a typical techno enthusiast. Working a noble yet unfulfilling job at a Cambridge-based music distributor, he longs for the all-encompassing techno lifestyle crystallized in the European CDs that pass through his warehouse. He and his wife, Amy Grill, decide to make a documentary about their love for the music that eludes them in daily life. But while the debt piles up to create their video manifesto, the two fall into the trappings of techno fandom—“economy jet set” trips to Europe, homes used as surrogate afterhours clubs, and disorienting “local celebrity” within an unsustainable peer group.
At the same time, the pair interacts with those who—by benefit of locations—make their love of music a proper career overseas. The names Wighnomy Brothers, Modeselektor and Monolake might not mean much to U.S. consumers, but they are star names overseas. Their participation in Speak In Code will bring an international audience to the film, but the deeply personal and unflinching look at Day and Grills relationship within this melee is what sticks with you long after the credits roll. And it’s what makes Speaking In Code stand out amongst the growing selection of techno-docs found (if you’re lucky) at a local record store.
