The13th NÚMERO ESPECIAL Nº 2
UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA
NÚMERO ESPECIAL LO MEJOR DEL 2016
[ Interview with Jaike Stambach from “The History of Colour TV” by Diego Centurión. Translation: Bernardo Jiménez Mesa. ]
IT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO SEE INTO THE FUTURE WITH CERTAINTY
The German band The History Of Color TV has released on
Well with the new album at least, there was a desire for the
November 25, 2016, the single "Wreck", which is preview of
songs to have a certain narrative quality to them. For them to
the third album "Something Like Eternity". The band born in
be inhabited by characters and places, as conduits for emotions
2010 as an individual and multimedia project by Jaike Stam-
and writing about them, and less abstract on a certain level than
bach. Currently the formation has been extended to a trio, with
earlier songs/albums. I’d say the inspiration for this record was
Markus Mocydlarz and Janek Sprachta. "Emerald Cures Chic
more based in literature than in music.
Ills" (2012) and "Shapes Of Spilled Blood Spelt Love" (2014) are his previous albums.
What has the response to the new single been like so far? It’s been pretty positive. It wasn't the most obvious choice for
Hi! Before starting I’d like to thank you for the opportunity of interviewing you. Thank you for the invitation. To start with, where did you band name come from - The History of Colour TV? The phrase appeared before the band or project even existed,
a single. And It’s quite different from anything we've done so far, so it was interesting to get reactions from people who have been following us and who might have expectations. The sound of your band traditionally is somehow akin to shoegaze, yet in the new single, your sound has become more edgy. Have you been searching for a new sound?
or was even an idea. It was just one of those thoughts that drift
In terms of sound, it’s never really a conscious choice or an
through your mind out of nowhere. It seemed like a cool title, or
active search, like starting to write a record with a particular
a band name, and it ended up being used for this one. You could
sonic template in mind. Maybe it is to an extent. But it feels
almost say that the name triggered the project into existence.
more like a case of letting the music go where it wants to, so to speak. I think we were happy with the way things sounded as a
Since the band began as a solo project, how did the other members eventually end up joining to form a band?
three-piece in the rehearsal room, just really stripped down and sparse, with few effects on the guitars, etc. Again, that’s maybe
It became a band and evolved as one mainly just through mee-
just the nature of those new songs. It didn't seem necessary to
ting like-minded people. But also with the way the music deve-
dig deep into any extra considerations of 'production' or to add
loped - from noisy 'instrumental' stuff towards songs - it made
lots of overdubs. I think the rawness of that approach is both the
sense for there to be more people involved, especially for the
album's biggest strength and weakness, depending on how you
live aspect - it's just more fun to play this kind of music live as a
choose to experience it.
group of people rather than solo. When do you reckon the new album ‘Something Like EterniWhat do you see as the main differences between your first two albums and this third one?
ty’ will be released? and what can we expect from it (soundwise)? It comes out on February 24th. I’d say the single is pretty re-
The biggest difference is that this album was recorded live in a
presentative of the sound and atmosphere of the album. So if
studio, and the whole record was made over the course of a week
you like that song, there’s a chance you might enjoy the whole
or so. Whereas the previous two were put together piece by pie-
record, or some of it at least…
ce, over much longer periods of time. It's easy to make relatively high quality recordings ‘at home’, and not have to worry about
Do you have any plans for 2017?
the amount of time you spend on something in relation to cost,
Everyone in the band is quite busy, so it's not always easy to
unlike in a studio for example. So it can be tempting to spend
see into the future with certainty. Stuff tends to happen relati-
a lot more time layering and tweaking your sound, which was
vely organically with The History Of Colour TV, even though we
the case with those two albums. Both approaches are of course
did work extra hard to transform this latest album from an idea
totally valid. But with this album we decided to impose a much
into a recording, and a physical object for people to own. It's safe
shorter production time on ourselves, partly out of necessity,
to say we'll be playing some shows… and hopefully recording a
but also because it seemed to suit the new material we had been
new album before the end of the year.
developing over the past year. Thanks a lot for this interview! Who or what has influenced your music?
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The13th U NA R EVISTA IMA GINA RIA