In the multi-award-winning follow up film to the American Epic series, Jack White and T Bone Burnett invite today's greatest artists to test their skills against the long-lost machine that recorded their musical idols and forebears, 90 years after it was invented. The producers spent nearly a decade rebuilding an original 1920s recording system - now the only one left in the world - timed by a weight-driven system of clockwork gears. Stripped of the comforts and security of modern technology, Nas, Elton John, the Alabama Shakes, Steve Martin, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Ashley Monroe, Willie Nelson, and Merle Haggard are among the artists who have three minutes, and one chance, to get their music etched into a revolving wax disc before the weight hits the floor. Conceived as a sonic experiment to attempt to recreate the conditions of the early record company field teams, the result is a series of career-topping performances by familiar artists pushed to meet the standards of their heroes. Going back to basics and capturing the energy of a unique live performance in the grooves of a rotating wax disc, these recordings are played exactly as they were made-"lightning in a bottle".
Arena
On the 90th anniversary of its construction, a team of dedicated filmmakers rebuilds America's original electric recording device - and captures "lightning-in-a-bottle" single-take performances from some of today's top musicians.
