By: Aly Vander Hayden
Photographs: Evan Smith
Curated by VICE with support from Dell and Intel, Noisey.com is an online music network dedicated to showcasing local bands and music scenes through short innovative videos and interviews. Launched on March 18 at SXSW, Noisey.com has already begun its documentation of 40 artists from 11 countries. Last Thursday, Noisey brought its free concert series to NYC at the Music Hall of Williamsburg with Cults, Oberhofer, and Puro Instinct. Ladygunn got the chance to chat with the music director for Noisey and general manager for VICE Music, Jamie Farkas, about this upcoming music network.
It’s so amazing that all of these shows are free, how did you decide on that?
The live music experience is the foundation of Noisey, so it was important to us to make events we do free to the public so as many people as possible can be a part of the moment our content is capturing.
What’s it like planning all of these international concerts?
We have incredible teams on the ground around the world. They help us produce events and shoot the amazing footage you see on our site. We use the local expertise to indentify bands that best represent both the local culture and the Noisey brand. The reality is no three bands will ever fully encapsulate Noisey, so we have been working our hardest to pick three bands who feel showcase the vast and varied talent on Noisey.com.
What sort of bands do you look to present on Noisey?
One of the most important things about Noisey is that it is a snapshot of what is happening in youth and music culture around the world. Bands we select serve as representatives for what is happening now in a specific scene, a specific city, a specific genre and will be examples in years to come of what was happening at a given time in a specific place. So the bands we pick need to be both of the moment and timeless.
What are your upcoming Noisey concerts?
Next Thursday, May 12, Noisey will be bringing the live music experience to fans in London, Berlin, Sao Paulo and Beijing. Some of the bands from each line up are already on the site and all bands featured at each show will be featured on Noisey.com in the coming months.
You’ve been doing a lot of music/art fused with technology collaborations lately, with Glaceau for the Uncapped Live, the Creators Project, are there any new projects from VICE to look out for?
Dell and Intel make Noisey possible, and that is the latest music and technology pairing. There are always new things on tap, so stay tuned.
Puro Instinct
Oberhofer
Cults
