Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/926403
maltatoday SUNDAY 14 JANUARY 2018 29 This Week When was Goldstein first set up, and what were your initial aims as a band? Goldstein started s a side pro- ject way back in 2012 after some disquieting events, a long hiatus and a good measure of nothing much, it started in earnest dur- ing January 2017 when latest re- cruit Timothy Garrett (Krishna, Cosmicomics) joined the fray. Also part of the platoon we find Viper Soup Complex's Mike "Coach" Spiteri and Deluge of Sorrow's Ludvic and Nico (sur- name redacted). Goldstein aims to be the foremost proponent of pointless verbosity in the Mal- tese Islands. Also, 'music'. How does the "musical history" of each individual band member reflect on your overall sound and approach to music? Much like how a squad of comrades is limited by the weakest link so is Goldstein's struggle to transcend its lowest denominator. The high pressure environment of modern-day music-crafting is no place for the band so we cunningly avoid- ed that by designing a genre that borders on the absurd. The al- chemy (like chemistry but less refined) of the band works in that it allows to bring whatever nonsense currently holds sway in the member's head at the mo- ment. You are deliberately a multi-genre setup. Was this something that came naturally when you first formed the band, and how would you say it reflects back on your material? Rather than focusing on the multi-genre aspect, I would say the band coalesced out of a common vibe-state-of-mind- thingamajig. The style is not so much directed rather unearthed and cleaned up (for a given val- ue of clean). The result is a very personal collective exploration, which to be frank, we hope is entertaining at least... if only for its schadenfreude value. What is your song-writing process usually like, and were there any particular aims or milestones you wanted to achieve with your initial batch of material – i.e., the songs that you will be debuting at the January 20 gig? The process brings to mind the "infinite monkey theorem", that is, we throw stuff at the damned thing (the song) until we feel reasonably good about it. As for milestones, I think we were just hoping to execute our set in a reasonably competent manner. What do you make of the bands you will be playing alongside at this upcoming gig? Would you say you're all roughly on the same wavelength? We're all fans of both Lady Liz- ard and Kingdoms of Dusk and we're very excited to have them perform alongside us. Stylisti- cally each band has some com- mon traits, but ultimately we feel each one of us brings some- thing different to the table. With regards to experimental music, we do feel that some sort of scene and a deeper appreciation are happening to a certain ex- tent, however there is definitely more room for more interesting sounds and projects to come out of it. What do you make of the local music scene? What would you change about it? The scene is filled with talent throughout its many facets, it would be cool if we could find a way to centralise and coordi- nate events. I cannot help but feel that the numbers within the scene have grown from when we were young but it has also frag- mented in the process. A good nerve centre to help maximise impact of events would help performers and attendees in equal measure. Also some beer would be nice… What's next for you? A shower and a good cuppa, maybe a nice glass of something strong... cross-cultural memory TEODOR RELJIC catches up with recently born and already hard-to- pin-down "Stoner / Doom / Post-rock" act Goldstein ahead of their debut gig on January 20, and does his best to grapple with what this new eclectic band is all about Plugging into the nerve centre way things are looked at, and so can provide new instruments for understanding and think- ing. Curating an exhibition is certainly a militant action, but it reflects a way of perceiving the world and providing new visions, rather than imposing opinions and programmes. That's the case of the present exhibition, in which rather than reflecting upon national values and celebrating them, we tried to compare identities in order to foster an open dialogue with the Otherness. What is certain- ly striking is the overwhelming presence of male artists in the local scene, with a few young and talented exceptions. We do hope that things can move for- ward very soon. White Memory – 1989/2018: Art in Malta and Poland will remain on display at Spazju Kreattiv at St James Cavalier, Valletta until February 11. Fea- tured artists include Victor Ag- ius, Paweł Althamer, Norbert Francis Attard, Ewa Axelrad, Miroslaw Balka, Vince Briffa, Austin Camilleri, Gabriel Caru- ana, Alicja Dobrucka, Nicolas Grospierre, Magda Skupinska, Mark Mangion, Agnieska Pol- ska, Pierre Portelli, Jósef Roba- kowski, Raphael Vella, Jakub Woynarowski. This exhibition is supported by the Malta Arts Council and the Polish Institute in Rome and endorsed by the Valletta 2018 "Rather than reflecting upon national values and celebrating them, we tried to compare identities in order to foster an open dialogue with the Otherness" Goldstein will be performing alongside Kingdoms of Dusk and Lady Lizard on January 20 at The Garage, Zebbug. Doors open at 21:00 and entrance is at €5 A corned beef talisman: Goldstein have chosen to represent themselves with this image. Make of that what you will, readers Goldstein are: Nico Grimm (guitar and vocals), Timothy Garrett (guitar), Michael Spiteri (bass) and Ludvic Gellel (drums)