Exclusive Interview with NOIR
NOIR is a House and Techno DJ, producer, and record label owner from Denmark. He is best known for his tracks “All About House Music”, "My Mtv", "Africanism" and "Around" (which was at the top of the Beatport charts for over 6 consecutive months in 2011).
Siam2nite had the opportunity to have an exclusive interview with Noir, shortly before his performance at Sing Sing Theater on 8th November.
Where are you answering these questions?
In my studio, listening to new music (demos and promos) having breakfast and the 1st coffee of the day.
You are a DJ and producer from Denmark. How did you get in touch with electronic dance music in the first place and how did you get into DJing and music production?
I got into electronic music as a 6-year-old because my best friend had a brother 8-10 years older than us who bought a lot of vinyl and then recorded it onto cassette tapes that we could listen to in our rooms. We loved everything with robotic voices, so Kraftwerk was one of our favorites.
I knew from a very early age that I wanted to make my own music and it had to be electronic music.
As a teenager, I became obsessed with Depeche Mode, and around the age of 16 I started to develop an interest in djing, and I think my first public DJ sets were around the age of 18. It took some time before I had the money for computers and Synthesizers for music production, so it wasn't until the age of 21 that I exploited music production, and from there it took many years until I felt comfortable enough to send my music to labels. In fact, it took me eight years to get the first record deal outside Denmark.
You play and produce Techno & House music. How would you describe your own music in a few words; what is distinct about it?
It's obviously melancholic and dark (Noir), but I would also say I have my more uplifting and beautiful moments in there. Over the years I have made a little bit of everything before I found “my sound” and believed in it. But these days is definitely deep, dark and sexy.
You are best known for your tracks “All About House Music”, "My Mtv", "Africanism" and “Around” which was at the top of the Beatport charts for over 6 consecutive months in 2011. What other tracks would you recommend to someone that is not familiar with your music?
Many to choose from but to pick out the biggest “public hits” it would have to be: I Am, Bataille, Blackrays, Keep Up, Obscurité, Angel, and Messiah. An easy way to check my tracks is to visit my youtube channel and hit the playlists I've made.
What have been the best and the worst gigs you ever played and what have been the funniest things ever occurred during any of your performances?
Honestly, I forget the bad gigs really quickly, so I would just have to reply that it's those few times when the DJ equipment was really bad, or those times when the power of the club just cut for several minutes, and those (very rare) occasions when fights in the crowd ruined a party.
The funniest gigs are those where you get surprised by people showing up with homemade signs, t-shirts or whatever creative things they could do with the word “Noir”, and obviously those times when you are on lineups with industry friends, and we end up getting drunk playing b2b2b2b :)
I get the question of best gigs all the time, so I should be able to reply to that by now, but really can't cause there are soooo many to pick from, and if would be unfair to pick one frover the others.
So let me say I had two very cool gigs in Thailand. One in Bangkok in the very small club GLOW, where I ended up drunk behind the decks but had the time of my life with the crowd, and one in Phuket on a private beach. It was the last gig of an Asian tour, and after that, we had 2-3 days to relax in Phuket. The first night I played a private party on a private beach for 80-100 people. That was different, great fun and good times.
What are you currently working and focusing on? What's on your agenda for the near future?
I am currently working on a new “Noir” release series. I cant reveal much more but its gonna launch in 2018 and carry on into 2019 all on my own Noir Music label. Some of the music will be played during my Asian tour ;)
On 8th November you will make your Thailand Debut at Sing Sing Theater. Have you visited Thailand before? What can the Bangkok crowd expect of your upcoming performance?
As stated above I loved the night at GLOW. I am looking forward to being back in Bangkok, and they will get a boost of energy from the DJ booth that night, I am sure. Of Thailand in general, I have high praises. I have seen a lot of the country as I have a friend from Thailand who I traveled with (in Thailand) for three weeks. I have been a tourist in the country and couple of times before I came here as a DJ. So yes..... I really like Thailand.