Cowgirls and Synthesizers
- Sun, Apr 19
Director: Joe Wallace Run Time: 81 min. Format: DCP Release Year: 2023
Starring: Hyperbubble, Manuel Cuevas, Ricardo Autobahn, Shoes
DVD Release screening and Q&A with DJ Rob Levy
Hyperbubble and director Joe Wallace will be attending the Q&A with Rob Levy
UK hit-maker and Eurovison songwriter Ricardo Autobahn follows the synthesizer pop duo Hyperbubble, described by Alternative Press as “the sonic equivalent of a truckload of Twizzlers”, as they drive to Nashville to record a country and western album using only synthesizers, drum machines, and theremin. Along the way, Hyperbubble members Jess (from Saint Louis) and Jeff (from Texas) meet cartoon cult heroes Samantha Newark of Jem and the Holograms and Manda Rin of Bis/Powerpuff Girls fame, Theremin diva Dorit Chrysler, music fashion guru Manuel Cuevas, cosmic cowboy Garett T Capps, air-drumming filmmaker Ari Gold, Do-It-Yourself vinyl pioneers Shoes, synth-pop sweeties Freezepop, Lederhosen Lucil, Helen Love, and Our Daughters Wedding, and somehow end up winners in Dolly Parton’s Netflix song contest.
AWARDS
Best Documentary – Berlin Independent Film Festival
Best Cult Film / Best Direction / Best Editing – Creation Film Festival
Bronze Award – Worldfest Houston International Film Festival
REVIEWS
“A Pop-Sparkled documentary for the whole family” – Trailer Punk
“Eurythmics meets Josie and the Pussycats” – Keyboard Magazine
“Whimsical splashes of animation and comedy” – CatSynth
“The Carter and Cash of Synthpop” – The Electricity Club
“Somewhat bonkers, but absolutely brilliant” – Synthetic Dreams
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Director Joe Wallace (Springfield IL) is a die-hard fan of genre cinema and indie oddball weirdness such as Death Race 2000, Norway, and Black Tight Killers.
Wallace’s gateway to indie filmaking was as a videographer and reporter for the Air Force. During this time Joe interviewed a wide range of familiar faces; Cheap Trick, Toto, Survivor, Gang of Four and Nine Inch Nails, as well as more mainstream household names including Joan Lunden and the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Most reporters would find meeting with a powerful leader such as Jesse Jackson a daunting assignment, but it was interviewing synthpop pioneer Gary Numan that Wallace found more intimidating. Not because Numan is a tough interview, but because Joe has been hooked on Numan’s work since hearing Cars for the first time in 1979.
It is this love of electronic music, storytelling, and the art of the interview that ultimately led to Wallace transforming Hyperbubble’s 20 years of synthpop, performance, and art into the 70-minute documentary, Cowgirls and Synthesizers.