Play it again! Looking for Loops

A filmic trip through the world of musical repetition.

“Play it again” sets out in search of the phenomena of repetition in music history: from the Middle Ages to minimal music, from the motets of Josquin des Prés to Maurice Ravel's Bolero and pop music, from Handel to the hand-made loops of Mike Oldfield, from loop pioneer Terry Riley to live looper Konrad Küchenmeister, from George Antheil to Balinese gamelan music.

This one-hour documentary not only investigates the causes, but also the effects: What is repetition, what is variation and what is a loop? What is actually being ‘repeated’? Does repetition have feel-good or rather anger potential? Music ethnologists, neuroscientists, composers and performers search for answers to these questions.

Using selected works as a spotlight, the aggregate states of repetition are traced and, above all, listened to. Concert scenes alternate with dance scenes in which repetition sets the beat, supplemented by world music archive material.

The eternal return of the same becomes a stylistic device in itself. The narrative strands are mostly cyclical: Short stories about repetitive routines become loops and playful cartoons tell humorous never-ending stories. Loop collages run through the film like a rondo, associatively taking into account non-musical manifestations of the endless loop.

Original title PLAY IT AGAIN! Auf der musikalischen Wiederholungsspur
Genre Documentary
Production year 2024
Video format 4K/UHD
Production Company EuroArts Music, ZDF
TV Director Anne-Kathrin Peitz
Duration 52'
Distribution TV EuroArts Music International, ZDF
Distribution VOD / SVOD EuroArts Music International, ZDF
English title of music work With music from Handel (Passacaglia), Josquin des Préz, Mike Oldfield, Steve Reich and more