Next Tuesday, Danish house revelation Noir will host a special edition of Defected In The House at Booom Ibiza - a showcase, in fact, for his own affecting record label Noir Music. It’s been a long and difficult but ultimately productive journey expanding operations from the tranquil isolation of northern Denmark – where the Noir ‘brand’ is based – to the noisy 24-7 throb of somewhere like global club mecca Ibiza.
Noir Music is, absolutely, Noir. And Noir is talented DJ-producer René Kristensen, the great Dane first introduced to electronic music via the ‘futurist’ bent of Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode. Their forward-thinking was addictive but Denmark, a relatively small country slow to embrace such sounds (let alone the acid house revolution starting to sweep England and Germany), presented few opportunities for Christensen to nurture his own musical ambitions.
Kristensen kept his head down - avidly collecting the records of interest he could lay his hands on even if he was without turntables. When finally he had those, he spent hours practising to DJ. He was reliant on the scraps of house sound and scene info filtering through from neighbouring European countries. Kristensen’s dedication finally paid off, securing him his first local club residency aged 17. But he needed to keep working hard. Denmark was far from embracing a dance revolution, and only a club DJ mixing genres, mixing old and new, mixing edge and accessibility would stand any chance of getting noticed and succeeding. It is a mantra to which Kristensen has successfully kept as Noir.
Towards the end of the Nineties Kristensen purchased computers, synths and software so that he could finally start to make his own records. Early releases ‘Shine On/Taste That Funk’ (2001) and ‘Hot!’ (2002) preceded his true breakthrough three years later, the double-whammy of ‘All About Housemusic’ (2005) and ‘My MTV’. The latter record, cunningly sampling Dire Straits, earned a release on Toolroom and emphatically rocked international discotheques left, right and suitably off-centre. It was the big moment prompting Kristensen to abandon his gym day job and focus full-time on music.
In 2007, then, came Noir Music. Kristensen had been shaking things up as Noir for a number of years but there were fresh challenges ahead. “I’ve never forgotten the label’s beginning” he urges. “It really was ground zero. It was incredibly hard to set something up that was different and by someone who no-one really knew much about. When you’re a successful artist already things are very different but I had to build, stretch, and sweat. It was hard, hard work but so worthwhile. I’m very happy with where the label is now. It has a good reputation, scoring highly with the likes of Beatport and Resident Advisor, as well as house fans all over the world. And I’ve managed to keep the quality there, and the consistency. That makes me very happy.”
Next week’s Defected In The House party will offer an exhilarating snapshot of all things Noir today. Noir, the artist, has progressed rapidly in recent years. Solo productions and collaborations, both on and off of Noir Music (and its subsidiaries Klimaks and NM2), have landed with as much intensity as creativity and maturity, confident club cuts such as ‘Lessons’ (with Martin Thompson, 2008), ‘Ragnarok’ (2009) and, most notably, pop-edged smash ‘Around’ (with Haze, 2011) preceding similarly weighty outings like ‘Casual Acquaintances’ (2012) and ‘Angel’ (again with Haze, 2014). Noir’s reputation for zealously funky and unpredictable programming, meanwhile, has earned him stellar DJ bookings everywhere from BPM, Mexico to Watergate, Berlin via London, Amsterdam, New York and Ibiza.
What of Noir, the label? A perfect reciprocation of Kristensen’s personal success, Noir Music has grown through sparky diversity and, as Kristensen himself testifies, quality. If Pirupa & Pigi’s 2009 release Sweet Devil was an early highlight – the label’s first Beatport number one – then others have followed via Oliver Dahl, Nice7, Butch, Hollis P Monroe (those epic remixes of ‘I’m Lonely’ in 2012), Larse and Coyu. Noir’s stable of labels has generated over 180 releases to date; the set-up has also provided breaks for Hot Since 82 and Norway’s soulful, melancholic trendsetter Finnebassen.
“I hate record labels that stick to one sound, it’s boring” he explains. “I haven’t developed albums with any of the artists on Noir yet but I’m constantly trying to guide them and give them advice where it’s relevant. I actually put pressure on them too, to do something different each time they’re working on a release for me. If anyone copied the sound they’d used on an earlier release, even if it was really popular and a massive hit, then I’d throw it away immediately. I’m not interested in that, I’m interested in unpredictability and moving forwards with great new music...the best, which is what I try to do in my own career.”
It doesn’t end there. Whilst this is a Noir takeover of Defected, Kristensen has insisted Defected head honcho Simon Dunmore also plays. “Of course he should!” he smiles. “I’ve always thought it odd when labels are guests of another party and the hosts don’t get to take part. Simon is such a moving DJ...one of the best warm-ups I’ve ever heard. Also, this is still, for us, a partnership with Defected. We’ve carefully chosen the line-up to reflect both Noir and Defected’s values. There’s a great mix of names on board playing across disco-house and, at the other end, groovy techno. I can’t wait.”
Away from the White Isle, Kristensen is advancing his debut artist album which he expects to release in 2015. The remote calm of Danish city Aalborg and its stunning surrounds, where he is based, provides the appropriate measures of calm and space in which his artistic thinking can fully unfurl and deliver. “Denmark is small and has no real sub-cultures. In terms of electronic music, Danes like it but they stick to what they’re fed by the media. They don’t really push beyond that” he suggests. “That said, I love it there...it’s the perfect getaway from all the craziness and I know my compatriots like Trentemoller and Kolsch feel the same way. In Aalborg I have the space to do what I want to do when I want to. It’s so quiet and there’s so much opportunity to reflect positively. It’s not like London, say, where you’ll always feel obligated to meet people, have business meetings, head to events. It feels like home.”
What can we expect from Noir’s long-player then? How far has he got? “It’s not really 4-4” he confesses. “It’s a mix of my trademark sound and electronica. There’s a moody edge, influenced by bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure. And a real focus on songs, rather than tracks. That makes the recording process far harder, and longer. There’s the whole ping-pong process of going between different singers and songwriters, and with songs you’re not just making something that sounds good...there are so many components that need to sound right with each other. I’m making good progress though.”
And before the album will come a couple of new singles – one in December, with a suite of carefully crafted remixes; the other in September, a pure one-tracker that Kristensen describes as Noir’s “clubbiest ever record.” Titled ‘My Fault’, it features German vocalist Hrrsn and a few impactful, semi-spoken sentences worked cleverly around snaking, ever building house flow. Noir is massively excited about its impending release.
“The future is my playground” he reflects. “Whatever I play or release is a reflection of my personality, representing what and who I am. I’m changing as an artist all the time, so the music will follow suit. Looking ahead I want to release whatever I like and I think Noir Music will be the same; I’m looking to keep building something there...keeping building with our artists. One year there might be a focus on techno, the next on deep house...always changing and evolving.
"Today, music is probably giving me the most enjoyment that it ever has. Recording my first album is giving me the biggest sense of freedom, and I feel like I’m finally building to becoming an artist rather than a producer. Our industry is very focused on singles and I don’t like that. Albums allow artists to really express themselves. I miss being told stories; it’s something that’s been missing from a lot of electronic music for some time actually.”
Words: Ben Lovett
Defected In The House Noir Music showcase hits Booom Ibiza on Tuesday 5 August – click for tickets
