Xavier Godart (The Great Old Ones - guitar)
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2013? (In order 1-5)
- Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory And Injury
- Vhöl - Vhöl
- Year of No Light - Tocsin
- Deafheaven - Sunbather
- Mouth Of The Architect - Dawning
2. What band did you discover in 2013 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
It has been quite a long time since a band had an impact in my life but this year, I've been listening extensively to Aluk Todolo, especially their last album, Occult Rock. I find their music completely hypnotic and intense. I really enjoy to be lost in their sound.
3. How will you remember 2013? (In terms of music)
When I wrote this top 5, much more albums from 2012 were coming to my mind. So I guess I may have missed a lot of stuff this year.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2014?
We're working on a new album with The Great Old Ones, which might be released mid-2014. We'll be touring in Europe and we'll play in some great festivals like Roadburn or Under The Black Sun. 2014 will definitely be great !
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2014?
The only thing I can think of is the Ulver/Sunn O))) collaboration, Terrestrials. I'm very excited about this collaboration.
6. There is a lot of debate over streaming sites and royalties, namely with Spotify. What is your stance on the economic policies behind the current streaming services? Do you have a preferred one?
I think these sites only benefit major labels. Of course, spotify or deezer provides a certain visibility for your music but at what cost? Music listeners are thinking they're actually equally remunerating artists when they listen music on these services. But anyway, spotify and deezer are losing money, so I guess this economic model will not last for a very long time. Artists have tools like bandcamp or bigcartel to sell their items (tee-shirts, cds, lps...) and every single piece of music is on youtube right now, it's the best streaming and discovery website nowadays. The only thing missing is a platform that mixes youtube and artist marketplaces with some metadata glue, and that would be awesome for everyone. For listeners because they can listen to music for free, and artists because listeners directly buy items directly to artist (or labels) via the same platform.
