Rich Loren Balling (Handmade Birds)
1. What are your top five albums that were released in 2013? (In order 1-5)
- Locrian - Return To Annihilation (Relapse)
- Black Boned Angel - The End (Handmade Birds)
- Pharmakon - Abandon (Sacred Bones)
- In Solitude -Sister (Metal Blade)
- Pinkish Black - Razed To The Ground (Century Media)
- Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City (XL)
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?
I enjoyed spending time this year revisiting a few bands that had previously had a great impact on me and enjoying that impact all over again: The Appleseed Cast, Hot Water Music, as well as spending many months immersed in Rocky Votolato's True Devotion record. These records provided a nice balance to the somber dark stuff I have been listening to so much in recent years.
3. How will you remember 2013? (In terms of music)
I will remember it as the year that I started enjoying Icona Pop and turned 36 which cast me into a permanent place where being kvlt matters not as long as I am enjoying my life and my creative pursuits.
4. What can we look forward to from you in 2014?
New releases from Prurient, Barren Harvest, Burial Hex, Cindytalk, Gates.
5. What records are you looking forward to most in 2014?
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?
First, there really is no debate, because the technology can't be stopped. Second, it has been proven that Spotify fluctuates between being the number one and number two source of revenue for labels and artists alike in Europe.
