Plugging into the nerve centre | Goldstein

When was Goldstein first set up, and what were your initial aims as a band?

Goldstein started as a side project way back in 2012 after some disquieting events, a long hiatus and a good measure of nothing much. It started in earnest during January 2017 when latest recruit Timothy Garrett (Krishna, Cosmicomics) joined the fray. Also as part of the platoon we find Viper Soup Complex’s Mike “Coach” Spiteri and Deluge of Sorrow’s Ludvic and Nico (surname redacted). Goldstein aims to be the foremost proponent of pointless verbosity in the Maltese 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 avoided that by designing a genre that borders on the absurd. The alchemy (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 moment.

Goldstein are: Nico Grimm (guitar and vocals), Timothy Garrett (guitar), Michael Spiteri (bass) and Ludvic Gellel (drums)

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 value 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 Lizard and Kingdoms of Dusk and we’re very excited to have them perform alongside us. Stylistically each band has some common traits, but ultimately we feel each one of us brings something 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 extent, 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 coordinate events. I cannot help but feel that the numbers within the scene have grown from when we were young but it has also fragmented 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...