Night Tennis
Aufgenommen und produziert in London und musikalisch inspiriert von Ken Nordines legendärem „Word Jazz“, und aber auch von Cypress Hills Soundtrack zum Shoot-Em-Up der späten 90er besticht der Track durch Songwriting, atmosphärisches Storytelling und schimmernde Grooves . “I wanted to capture the electric moments of social interaction, the beats in a conversation where perceptions shift. Here we have a man who comes looking for one thing, but leaves with another; an insight into another’s perspective on the world that they both inhabit. The band laid down that bouncing groove and it was the perfect setting for the scene”, erklärt Luke und zeichnet damit das Bild der Story.
The Interview
Late TV is...?
I think of Late TV as the moonlighting house band for a surreal all-night dream club amidst the cultural ruins of television’s after hours. You know on TV chat shows, when there’s a band that acts as a foil for the host? I always thought it looked fun to be in that band. The audience always claps.
What or who inspired you to "Night Tennis"?
It’s like a Serge Gainsbourg song, only we flip the cliche and instead of learning about the protagonist’s carnal desires we learn about the other character, her struggles, her story, her life. I really wanted to capture the electric moments of social interaction where perceptions shift. Here we have a man who comes looking for one thing, but leaves with another; an insight into another’s perspective on the world that they both inhabit. I was really inspired by Ken Nordine’s classic ‘Word Jazz’, or Baxter Dury would be a good contemporary example.
What is your creative process like?
Spiritually we are kinda like high-brow/low-brow junk dwellers, collecting the shards of fragmented culture and building something out of it. Practically we often come up with a riff or motif in rehearsals and then build a song outwards around It. With Night Tennis our bass player Ryan Szanyi came in with that hip hop style bass line, that bouncing groove, and it was the perfect setting for the story. I’d had the words written for a while, but I was waiting for this piece of music to come along. You have to be patient sometimes.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I’d love Late TV to score a movie, something like a Michael Mann style neon thriller, or a David Lynch alternate reality type piece. In the music world, personally speaking I Iove Belgian Jazz singer Melanie De Biasio’s voice, her music is sparse and that would be an interesting counter force to our big built-up arrangements.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
I’ve always admired people who go ‘all in’ in terms of concept. I first became aware of that approach through people like Tom Waits and Prince. They are famous examples, but there’s other brilliant nutcases out there too.
What is the most useful talent you have?
Speaking for myself I’d say finding other people who are talented and talking them into making music with me.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
I’d have all my latest ideas sooner! I’ve been in lots of bands, and it would have been great to get to Late TV earlier.. And yes, that is an oxymoron!
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
It started out as a great help, a game changer, but feels to me like it has now plateaued out. You could say that has happened with every technologically cultural development ever in terms of helping out artists. Once it becomes ubiquitous you're lost at sea again.
What do you know about Austria?
I know that it’s beautiful because I spent a very early childhood birthday looking at it through a car window when we drove my grandfather home to Serbia from England. We couldn't afford to fly everyone so we drove all the way there, it took days, and my birthday landed in Austria. I’d love to come back now and experience it. So if your readers would all agree to come out to see us, maybe I can actually make that happen!
What’s next for you?
We are putting the finishing touches to our debut album. In the meantime we are currently preparing to release our next single ‘I Like To Hear That Bird Sing’ to come out in the summer. It’s a beautiful blissed-out epic slow-jam and I’m really excited to share it next.
