[Column] Dark Jazz / Noir Jazz ─ The sounds of a city drawn by darkness and silence
Column en French House Nu Disco![[Column] Dark Jazz / Noir Jazz ─ The sounds of a city drawn by darkness and silence](/../assets/images/column-dark-jazz.webp)
Darkness, silence, slowness, urban reverberations - to what extent does jazz sink into the “shadow”?
Text: mmr｜Theme: About the history of dark jazz centered around Bohren & der Club of Gore
Dark Jazz/Noir Jazz is a subgenre that has undergone a particularly unique evolution in the history of jazz. It”s not a smoky late-night bar or a rain-soaked alley in the city; rather, it”s music that draws the “shadow” of the city and leads the listener into a lonely story.
This article organizes the flow of dark jazz from the late 1990s to the present day, based on data from actual artists and works centered on Bohren & der Club of Gore, and comprehensively deals with its musical structure and compatibility with movies/images.
1. What is dark jazz?
● Origin
Dark jazz is not a strictly defined genre name, but a term that has become established through online tags and listener communities since the 2000s. The musical elements are as follows.
- Extremely slow tempo (around 30–60 BPM)
- Minimalistic harmony structure
- Dark use of jazz instruments (saxophone, wood bass, piano, vibraphone)
- Introduction to ambient/doom/film music techniques
- Dilution of dynamics with emphasis on sustained sounds
By combining these characteristics, a unique sound image was born that could be described as ““a world view built only from the dark side of jazz.’’
2. Major artists and their roles
● Bohren & der Club of Gore (1992–)
Formed in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Although there have been several changes in members, the following points have remained consistent.
- Originally from slow doom/hardcore band
- In the 1990s, he turned to the approach of “playing jazz at an extremely slow tempo”
- Tim Bruns (drums), Mickey Kohlmeyer (piano/organ), Robin Schuller (bass), Christoph Kloser (saxophone/piano) and others play key roles.
Musically, the biggest feature is that it combines the tempo of doom metal, the instrumentation of jazz, and the spatiality of film music.
Representative works:
- Gore Motel (1995)
- Sunset Mission (2000)
- Black Earth (2002)
- Geisterfaust (2005)
- Piano Nights (2014)
In particular, Black Earth is treated as a masterpiece of the genre, with its saxophone, piano, organ, and wood bass creating a sound image that seems to draw reverberations in the darkness.
● The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (TKDE)
From the Netherlands. It started in the mid-2000s as a project to add sound to video materials. Using a wide range of tones such as strings, electronica, cello, trombone, and vocals, he expanded the realm of dark jazz to include ambient/electronica.
There was also a related project, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, which focused on more improvisational live performances.
● Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones (France)
Taking its name from David Lynch’s video work, it promotes a more drone-oriented approach. Using baritone saxophone and electronic processing, he creates an acoustic space that feels like it’s shrouded in fog.
● Expansion since the 2000s
With the spread of YouTube and Bandcamp, the tag “dark jazz” has become globally shared and diversified by independent artists. Musicians from Finland, Poland, Russia, the United States, and other countries participate, and it is distinctive in that it develops around a ““mood’’ rather than a specific region.
3. Musical structure of dark jazz
Dark jazz sounds like ““quiet, dark jazz,’’ but it is actually a combination of multiple musical characteristics.
● 1. Tempo: Extremely slow, reminiscent of doom metal
- BPM 30~60
- There is little movement within the measure, and reverberation dominates.
- The structure increases the weight of each note, creating an element that depicts the silence of the city.
● 2. Harmony: Modal structure/utilization of diminished chords
- Mainly minor
- Ambiguous resolution using dim7, m7(b5), sus4
- Harmony construction that prioritizes “atmosphere” over functional harmony in jazz
● 3. Acoustic processing
- Spatial production with reverb
- electronics sustained sounds
- Lo-fi ingredients that add a tape-like texture
● 4. Instrument-based narrative style
Many dark jazz pieces are instrumental, “The space speaks, not the voice.” It takes the form of
4. Affinity with images: Why does it “improve the atmosphere”?
Dark jazz has a high affinity with movies, animation, games, and VJ videos.
● Reason 1: Don’t over-explain the scene
The sound image of dark jazz leaves a lot of “blank space”, so the video side is free to give meaning to it.
● Reason 2: Matches the night view of the city, rain, and slow motion.
- Low light footage
- Overhead view of skyscrapers
- car lights
- Unmanned subway station
These scenes and dark jazz go very well together.
● Reason 3: Film music structure
Bohren & der Club of Gore’s songs tend to emphasize ““persistent atmosphere’’ over clear melodies, making them a natural fit for cinematic contexts.
5. Chronology of dark jazz
6. Genealogy of dark jazz
7. Masterpiece
● Bohren & der Club of Gore
- Gore Motel (1995)
- Midnight Radio (1997)
- Sunset Mission (2000)
- Black Earth (2002)
- Geisterfaust (2005)
- Dolores (2008)
- Piano Nights (2014)
● The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble
- The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (2006)
- Here Be Dragons (2009)
- From the Stairwell (2011)
● Dale Cooper Quartet
- Parole de Navarre (2006)
- Metamanoir (2011)
- Astrild Astrild (2017)
8. Current state of dark jazz
Through long mixes on YouTube and “night view + dark jazz” videos by viewers, Since the 2020s, there has been a reappraisal of music, especially among young listeners.
- “Quiet music” is gaining popularity alongside the trend of Lo-fi Hip Hop
- Used as BGM for video production, VJ, and independent films
- Anonymous artists are increasing mainly on Bandcamp
Without being fixed as a genre, It continues to expand as “music that creates an atmosphere.”
9. Where is dark jazz headed?
With the spread of AI-generated video, VJ software, and indie games, We have entered an era where visuals and sounds are talked about in the same breath.
Due to the nature of dark jazz, which is ““slow and has many blank spaces,’’ It is thought that it will continue to have new value by mixing with images.
While belonging to the jazz tradition, Absorbing the context of ambient, minimal, and doom, There is still a high possibility that it will grow as the “sound of the city” in the 21st century.
At the end
Dark jazz is not the background music of a bar or the sound effects of a night town. **This is a modern art that depicts the loneliness and shadows of cities using only sound. **
Each artist, mainly Bohren & der Club of Gore, has drawn different ways of drawing shadows.
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