What We Started

Review by Ale Turdó

RATING: 8/10

Pushing up the tempo.

Writing and directing duo Bert Marcus and Cyrus Saidi came up with a solid (re)telling of Electronic Dance Music’s past, present and future in their feature documentary What We Started (2017). Household names such as Tiësto, Paul Oakenfold, Steve Angello and David Guetta -among several other DJs, producers and promoters- share their thoughts and first hand testimonies of 30+ years of EDM.

But just like any story that makes its way into the screen, What We Started develops its narrative focusing on two pivotal and opposing characters: Veteran DJ and producer legend Carl Cox, and the upcoming dutch sensation Martin Garrix. Fifty-five year old Cox is about to wrap his 15 year tenure as the main DJ in Ibiza’s hottest club called Space, while eighteen year old Garrix tries to pull it together as he prepares to open Ultra Festival in Miami, being the youngest DJ to do so ever in the history of the festival.

The smart thing about What We Started, is the way it blends Cox and Garrix career paths with a detailed reconstruction of EDM’s close-to-official History: from New York’s disco days to the house scene in Chicago, Detroit’s techno and Manchester’s acid house scene, revisiting all the fundamental stops from dark crowded basements to neon crowded arenas. 

The narration tries to make its most honest effort not to avoid sensitive issues inherently attached to the nightclubbing culture – mainly drugs and alcohol- and the way illegal activities seem to latch on this scenario.

Documentary-wise, the producers take an enormous advantage out of the fact that EDM is still a “young” musical and cultural phenomenon, meaning they can get their hands on lots and lots of footage -mostly from the digital era- to help paint the most accurate picture of this movement thru the decades, from close to illegality to standard industry professionalism. The exact same way it happens with pretty much every music genre.

Contrary to other genres, like Rock-n-Roll or Pop for example, there seems to be no room in EDM’s environment for egocentric feuds or vanity beefs. What We Started tries to portrait this singularity as utopic as possible. It is only accurate to say that it succeeds most of the time, except when small arguments arise, dividing old school-vinyl-scratching DJs and young-USB-button-pushing upcomers. That’s pretty much as far as rivalry goes in this domains.

There is a lot of detail and effort put into pointing out the craftmanship of the DJ as a creative artist and not just a mere extension of its turntable, a character that started out in the darkest corner of the shadiest clubs and now has a prominent place on the main stages of the world. While the electronic movement continues to develop decade after decade, the documentary stresses the importance of considering the figure of the DJ as the equivalent of a lead singer or lead guitar player from the Pop/Rock Music universe.

But without a doubt the biggest achievement of What We Started ends up being its ability to tell a thorough and solid chronicle of EDM’s journey that entices both the fan and the non-initiated, coming from out of the mouths -and tracks- of the top players of a genre that keeps on writing its own history.

Ale Turdó —Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Alejandro is a film critic and movie enthusiast that has been writing about movies for the past 7 years, covering everything from blockbusters to indie gems and all in between. He majored in Sound Design and Cinematography in college and is a full time digital content producer. He’s the kind of guy that thinks that even the worst movie can have something interesting to write about. Additionally, he writes for Escribiendo Cine and A Sala Llena. Twitter: @aleturdo and IG: @hoysalecine