Rennie Resmini (vocals) Starkweather
What is your name and band/label/etc?
Rennie Resmini, vocalist of Starkweather.
What are your top five albums that were released in 2012? (In order 1-5)
- Dodecahedron - s/t
- Obsidian Kingdom - mantiis: an agony in fourteen bites
- Latitudes - Individuation
- Vaura - Selenelion
- Necro deathmort - the colonial script
What band did you discover in 2012 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
Obsidian Kingdom. The Mantiis release crept up on me. It has a wide variety of influences and textures. To me the band harnesses the fever dream qualities of mods carve... Thought Industry, avant black metal aesthetic of <Code>, the free form nature of Kayo Dot. They are an act where onecan listen to their earlier efforts and hear a marked progression in all facets of the band.
How will you remember 2012? (In terms of music)
A lot of significant losses. The passing of Steeve Hurdle (Negativa, Gorguts, etc), Szymon Czech (Nyia, studio X producer/engineer) andclassical composers Elliot Carter, Horatio Radelescu, Hans Werner Henze. Yet another great year for Malignant Records, Autarkeia and Profound Lore. And there were a number of great releases in addition to those in my top five: Gaza, Black Sheep Wall, the Mars Volta, Desolate Shrine, Dysrhythmia, to quickly name others.
What can we look forward to from you in 2013?
To finally release the 2 song full-length we started a couple years back. Get everything wrapped up with the most recent material. It has takena bit more time than anticipated as we're incorporating additional members. I'm expecting to do additional vocal work with Pristina and a collaboration with Anthony Couri (Minsk, Cedars of Lebanon, US Christmas), Andre Foisy (Locrian) and members of Sun Splitter that's been brewing over the Summer of 2012. Anthony has dubbed the project Khamsin.
What records are you looking forward to most in 2013?
Voivod - Target Earth, new recordings from Gorguts, Aosoth, Blindead, Pharmakon, Baring Teeth, Ulcerate, Sinistro, Anacrusis, <Code>, Rosetta, Moloken, Pyrrhon, hopefully something from Rose Kemp.
Fundraising sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have made a strong impact on the ability of artists to release music. Do you think this approach is a trend, or will it continue to shape how artists produce their material?
This is probably going to be a continuing trend. In a sense it weeds out the middle men: the record labels and distributors. Those finding success with this model won't be beholden to the whims of record labels. Hopefully it doesn't spell the end of physical copy. I'm still a sucker for paging through layouts and artwork.
