Carroll Gardens resident Sarah Tracey launches musical web series

The past decade has seen online video content expand from music videos to newscasts, TV and movie repositories, short films, video blogs, and now original scripted web series such as The Guild and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

But an original web series that also serves as a vehicle for original music composed and sung by its star and co-writer? That’s new.

And that is exactly what singer-songwriter and Carroll Gardens resident Sarah Tracey has done with her musical web series, The Black Diamond, which launched its first episode on July 22 and will be debuting its fifth and final episode on Wednesday, August 28, at a live screening and concert at Joe’s Pub at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan.

I’ve always wanted to portray different roles, to wear different wigs and disguises–I love playing dress up–and to play characters, [so] instead of doing that for single song [with a music video], I thought why not do a whole series, explained Tracey of her inspiration process on the way to deciding to make The Black Diamond.

To do a mystery story with more clues revealed each week, with each episode [focusing on] a different character and their perspective. . . that’s how the idea came about and took on a life of its own, she said. It’s been so much fun to tell a story over five parts, 25-30 minute experience rather than a four minute video.

The Black Diamond is a musical adventure that pays homage to 1940s film noir movies, as well as classic detective films such as Chinatown (1974), which notably feature a femme fatale–an archetype that Tracey herself takes on, in her portrayals of four distinct characters: The Chanteuse, The Coat Check Girl, The Vixen, and The Waitress.

Stylistically, we wanted it to feel contemporary with flavor that’s retro. So you’ll see lot of vintage clothing and lot of contemporary pieces as well, Tracey explained.

Taking center stage alongside the moody visuals and intriguing story is Tracey’s voice, singing six tracks from her 2011 full-length album, Tell No One, which itself was inspired by espionage movies [set in the] Cold War era, like James Bond, Mission Impossible, and The Avengers.

When I wrote my album, I wanted it to feel like a long lost contact to those movies, she said.

In addition to Tracey’s four characters, The Black Diamond features The Detective (portrayed by Tony Costa), The Stranger (Roger Wingfield), and Voice of the Detective (Jon Andrew).

Another, unspoken, character is Brooklyn, which provided the setting, atmosphere, cast and crew, and general support. Scenes were shot in Prospect Heights/Crown Heights’ The Way Station, and the crew, from Wardrobe Director and Stylist Robyn Roberts to Hair And Makeup Director Jennifer King and filmmakers Jennifer Painter and Angelica Vanessa of Twin Tomato Creative.

Get a lot of talented girls, all Brooklyn girls, together, and there is a lot of creativity, said Tracey. We didn’t have a lot of expensive equipment and a lot of wardrobe came out of my own closet, so Robyn Roberts worked magic with pieces I already own.

In Brooklyn, there are so many speakeasies and bars, which lends itself to modern film noir-inspired stories, she added. Brooklyn is such a fabulous wonderful place to be an artist and musician. There is a creative and collaborative spirit wherever you go.

As for what she wants viewers/listeners get from the experience, Tracey said she hope[s] people fall in love with the web series and come away from it with a real hunger to hear more of my music.

I think the five episodes showcase six of my songs from the album and it gives you much more of a flavor of the musical world I’ve created, she explained. So I hope they come out and see us live because we put on a fabulous show with the sexy, intriguing, smoky, cool vibe of music you hear, plus a ton of really fun covers. It’s a night out to remember.

Does Tracey have more musical stories to tell?

I would love to do another one, but need to get through this one first, she laughs. We’re joking that a second installment is needed because the last episode leaves the door open to more adventures for the characters.

See the first episode here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjhxeSQcUIg&feature=share&list=PLtlki6VX12bkGzFqkFwOmFrbaKkEf7OTL.

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