Living-room vibe
June 27, 2011
TV Noir is the brainchild of musician and music journalist Tex Drieschner, who started the format as an informal get-together for friends three years ago.
As word spread and TV Noir became increasingly popular, production of the once monthly program moved from the upstairs room of the Cafe Edelweis to the larger Heimathafen Theater in Neukölln, where it regularly hosts some 400 guests who come to see two bands or musicians take to the stage for exclusive, stripped down performances.
Shot in stark black and white, and simulcast on both the TV Noir website and on cultural television channel ZDF Kultur, TV Noir has seen big names from the German music scene - think ClickClickDecker, Wir sind Helden and Jupiter Jones - play on stage with rising new talent. The mix creates an intimate, exciting musical experience.
Tex is the program's host and interviewer, a friendly fixture on the TV Noir couch. He recently met with Deutsche Welle to talk about his show, which has grown in size but still retains its impromptu, living room vibe.
Deutsche Welle: What are you looking for when you book bands for TV Noir?
Tex: We have two distinct slots. We have the A Slot and the B Slot. For the A Slot we're looking for famous names but still very interesting and edgy. For the musicians playing in the B Slot, it's an advantage if no one knows them. The whole point of TV Noir is that we focus on the person and the voice. So we look for people who have personality and we take away all the frills and let this strong personality come through.
If a rock band plays, can they play their rock show as they normally would?
No, not at all. It's pretty rare that we would have a rock band anyway. But when we have, we've always made it clear that they can't just size down their normal act, they really have to re-invent it for TV Noir. And that's awesome. Electro acts or pop acts have sometimes gone into the studio to record the TV Noir versions of their music or taken it on tour. Juli did that. So did Klez.E.
When you watch these programs you do get a real feeling that you're watching a party in someone's apartment. Is this communal vibe something you really aim for?
Absolutely. That's even our slogan: "Das Wohnzimmer des Songwriters" or "Living Room of the Songwriter." But that's how it all started, just a few friends playing together. One of the key features of the show is being able to switch from this goofy stupidity to this immense intensity when people are playing. That's something really rare. You have 400 people in the theater and sometimes you can hear a pin drop. That's very intense.
On the subject of the intensity of the program, one thing which certainly helps is the distinct look TV Noir has.
That's right. The program is recorded in black and white. That's a symbol of removing all the bells and whistles and focusing on the music. The black and white look also creates a simple and elegant style which is very much our positioning.
The programs are recorded live. Do you have a big blooper reel of mistakes?
All the time! If there's a technical mistake then obviously we stop and fix that. But these little mistakes, well, they're part of the show. For example, at the beginning members of the audience will shout out words and the musician has to interpret that through music and we all take part and help out and dance around and this goofing around just helps to get everyone involved and open. The point of the show is to present the artist naked and as they really are so all those little stumbles and mistakes are totally part of the program.
What else is TV Noir involved with beyond the television show?
Our philosophy is that we love to work with the artists and many of them are good friends so it's natural to expand what we do into other areas. We've created a series of TV Noir Concerts where we send two of the artists on tour together and they play acoustic versions of the tracks. It's mostly the lesser known musicians who go and we use this emotional tie with the brand and the audience to help them get acquainted with a larger audience and to let the fans see them live.
What are your plans for the future?
Well, we're not very strategic! We will continue to develop the live concerts of course and we are expanding our online store where we sell artists' music. We're also looking into developing our website in a way that allows the audience who are hungry for this kind of music to connect closer to the artists and that this communication becomes better integrated. But it's also very important to us that it remains fun!
Text: Gavin Blackburn
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn
To hear more about TV Noir from Tex and to hear some live music from the programme, listen to this week's Soundscape 100 on the link below!