Rant: Theo Goslett (Hollow World)

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Seeing my dad play at local pubs, we was a rock musician for most of my childhood so gigs were pretty commonplace when I was younger.

I’d always get a glass of lemonade and salt and vinegar chips too, which I was far more excited about as a 5 year old than seeing bands play.

What was the first record you got/bought?

It was Limp bizkit – Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavoured Water. I got it on cassette tape when I was around 11 years old. I remember my mum being totally cool with me listening to that at the time… Maybe she shouldn’t have been in retrospect.

What is your favourite listening medium and why?

Definitely CD’s, I love having a physical object in my hands, poring over the artwork, lyrics and liners is a really cool insight into what goes on with a band.

One album you’d like to hear re-recorded/mixed/mastered/done differently?

Oh man this is a tough one. Probably The Red in the Sky is Ours by At the Gates, hearing that back with a modern mix and master would be incredible!

How much do you listen to your own records?

As songs are being written or freshly completed I listen to them until I can’t take it anymore, from there on in almost never, unless of course I’m rehearsing for a show or actually playing with the band!

Is there a genre/thing that you wish would see a second coming? Is there a combination of sounds/styles you’d like to hear that hasn’t been done yet?

Not necessarily, but there’s definitely a lot I’d like to see die off. There’s plenty of people out there creating watered down and uninspired copies of other songs/albums. It lacks an authenticity of emotion, great music should come from within and be an expression of self and that’s evidently lacking in a fair amount of what’s currently out there.

How do you feel about the current state of music production?

It’s amazing, anyone can now break into the world of home recording and with a cheap interface/mic they can produce pretty decent sounding recordings with the help of youtube tutorials etc. Creating music has never been as accessible as it is now.

What do you think will be the listening medium/environment in let’s say 10 years from now? Do you think digital will reign supreme or do you think there’ll be a physical medium that will catch up?

I think digital will definitely remain supreme, we are in an age of instant gratification. People want something immediately, taking the time to go to a music shop to buy a cd, then get home and rip it and then put it onto your phone to listen to is a lot more of a chore than simply buying a digital copy is.

In saying that I don’t think physical releases will die off, there are plenty of people (myself included) who are fanatics for collecting a hard copy of the music. The recent record resurgence is a testament to that!

Which I personally really dig purely for the larger format artwork.

Any hot new bands out there we should check out?

Absolutely!

Splatterpuss, Rise of Avernus, Cryptic Abyss, The Hazard Circular and Zeolite are all making fantastic stuff at the moment!