The best electronic music documentaries come down to three sittings. Maestro maps the 1970s New York club world where house music grew up. What We Started trails Carl Cox and Martin Garrix through the arena era. EDC 2013: Under the Electric Sky hands the camera to the festival crowd itself.
The ranking leans on documented premieres and credits. What We Started premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 15, 2017, directed by Bert Marcus and Cyrus Saidi, per its encyclopedia entry. It traces three decades of the genre through two leads who rarely share a stage.
Which Film Covers the Roots of Club Culture?
Start with Maestro. Josell Ramos wrote, directed, filmed and edited it himself, and the film details the rise of New York's house music clubs in the 1970s, per its encyclopedia entry. It stood for years as the only full-length documentary covering the Paradise Garage, the club that defined the format.
The rollout was a slow burn. After premiering at the inaugural In-edit Festival, the film toured the European circuit in 2002, reached United Kingdom cinemas in 2003 and played limited U.S. release in 2004, per the same entry. A 2005 DVD paired it with a soundtrack.
The subject earns the patience. This is club history told from inside the rooms, and that vantage is why the film still circulates among DJs who never saw the era.
What Should You Watch for the Arena Era?
What We Started is the bridge. Its anchors sit at opposite ends of the bill: Carl Cox, resident DJ at Space in Ibiza since 2001, and Martin Garrix, the young headliner of the festival boom, per the encyclopedia entry. The film walks three decades of electronic dance music through their careers. We covered a connected angle in Electronic Music BPM Cheat Sheet: Every Genre.
The interviews run deep. Cast members range from David Guetta and Tiësto to Pete Tong and Louie Vega, per the same entry. The film holds an 85 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of April 2020, per that record, which makes it the easy recommendation for a first watch.
Where Does the Festival Crowd Get Its Close-Up?
EDC 2013: Under the Electric Sky closes the list. Co-directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014, per its encyclopedia entry. The camera follows festival-goers through Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, and Focus Features picked up distribution.
This is the crowd film of the three. The story is the audience, not the booth, which makes it the pick for anyone planning a first festival weekend. The synopsis describes the event as the largest dance and music festival held in the U.S., per the same entry.
How Do You Build the Watch Order?
Run the list in the order its subject matter unfolds. Maestro first, because everything after it makes more sense once the garage-and-loft era is on the table. What We Started second, to connect those clubs to the stadium circuit. Under the Electric Sky last, to see what a half century of dance floors built.
Pair the films with the records themselves. A documentary sets the scene, and a playlist finishes it. Availability shifts by region and year, so check your platform before you promise a screening night.
Names fly fast in all three. Keep a notes app open, because every credit list doubles as a reading list for the next deep dive.
Conclusion: Press Play Before Festival Season Returns
The best electronic music documentaries work as a sequence. Maestro sets the roots in 1970s New York. What We Started makes the leap to the arena age. Under the Electric Sky drops the camera into the crowd. Watch them in that order and the decades assemble themselves on screen. Readers following this should also see How to Start Producing Electronic Music at Home.
Queue the first one tonight. The festival posters will read differently afterward.
