Director: Adam Bhala Lough
MPAA Rating: NR
Run Time: 87 Minutes
Blending nonfiction and philosophical fantasy, director Adam Bhala Lough’s documentary Hot Sugar’s Cold World is more than your typical paint-by-numbers music doc. It’s a deep and satisfying portrait of electronic musician Hot Sugar, someone oft-referred to as a modern-day Mozart. As is his music, this film is a sensory experience that is best suited for a large screen and a loud sound system.
Nick Koenig, aka Hot Sugar, uses his obsession with sound to craft truly unique compositions, comprised of original, and wholly unconventional, samples he captures throughout his environment. It may be something as simple as throwing a Beanie Baby against the wall, or it may be a more elaborate setup, like having actress Michelle Trachtenberg shove a handful of Pop Rocks in her mouth.
Indeed, this sounds a bit pretentious, and maybe it is, but if you listen to his work, he does create some truly special sounds that you just won’t hear anywhere else. Where other producers sample other musicians, use drum machines, or – heaven forbid – use live instruments, Hot Sugar draws melody from the world around him, and that’s inherently fascinating.
Each sound he uses tells a story of how it came to be and, in turn, each of his songs tells a narrative to which only he is privy. The film gives a glimpse into Koenig’s eccentric state of being and how he crafts these auditory journeys. While much of the film is rooted in reality, director Lough immerses viewers into the world of Hot Sugar, occasionally breaking the bonds of the traditional documentary, with ’90s-style .gif interludes and staged farcical set-pieces.
One in particular involves Koenig and actor Martin Starr buying fireworks from an anonymous children’s entertainer they find on Craigslist who is clearly played by Pat Healy, despite having a blurred face. The film’s milky visuals lend themselves to the Harmony Korine-esque look of the film, playing into Hot Sugar’s white-trash-chic demeanor.
Meticulous framing will in one moment show the unfettered beauty of New York City, and the next will close in on an LED-lit racecar photo that is the very definition of tacky. As someone who was an enormous fan of Lough’s visuals in Bomb the System, he once again proves himself as a director to watch.
While not all Koenig’s philosophies on life, society and the world of sound are particularly revelatory, he does prove to be an entertaining individual to watch for an hour and a half, and his music is unabashedly great.
Hot Sugar’s Cold World is an easy recommend for even those not familiar with Hot Sugar’s work if, for no other reason to give jaded music lovers a glimmer of hope that there is still some creativity emerging from the art form.
