The Pony Tales, Black Summer

Victoria Brooks sits down with The Pony Tales' Nadia Marquard Otzen and Kristoffer Sonne to discuss their new "film-album," Black Summer, on the day of their performance at Sketch, London. Directed by Otzen and composed and performed by Sonne, the film contains nine scenes, all correlating with a different track from the album, that can be rearranged in whatever order you like to create a new film-album each time you watch it. Originally premiered at Copenhagen International Film Festival Cph:Dox in 2010, Black Summer is influenced by the legendary Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth and represents music and film in equal parts, allowing both media to support each other in mood and narrative whilst referencing classic genre films from the road movie, film noir and the western. Shot in the Faroe Islands with a local cast, Black Summer tells a story of young savagery, lust and love amongst a group of isolated teenagers lost in the midst of the merciless and dramatic landscape that is simultaneously passive and active, beautiful and threatening; an external metaphor for the characters’ interior dilemmas and conflicts. After the interview, keep listening for a clip from the live performance at Sketch followed by a few sample tracks from the album!

Kristoffer Sonne has worked as a professional drummer since he was a teenager. Today he is part of Kensal Town Studios where he writes and records with artists such as Cat Stevens, Klaus Forman, Brett Anderson, Jason Mraz, Teitur and many other artists.

Nadia Marquard Otzen is a Graphic Design graduate from Central St. Martin’s College of Art, London. She is in-house designer, creative developer and directing assistant on commercials and features at production company, Gorgeous and also works independently as filmmaker and photographer.

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