The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Anthony Gaglia of LáGoon, Oopsy Dazey & The Crooked Whispers

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I just have fun creating music on my own and with my friends. I’ve been playing guitar since I was really young, but for the first chunk of my guitar playing years I was playing classical guitar and did so all the way through college. I still love playing classical guitar, but I got pretty burnt out on how strict it all felt. My only goal now is to make music that I enjoy and more importantly fun to play live.

Describe your first musical memory.

Cruising around in my dad’s work van listening to music. He had a huge tape collection and he’d pick me up from school and let me pick out a tape and we’d drive around and listen to whatever I picked out as loud as the van speakers would allow. More days than not I’d pick ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres. He gave that tape collection to me a few years back.

-Describe your best musical memory to date.

Man, hard to pick just one. I’ve met so many rad people and travelled to some pretty cool places doing this music thing. In college I composed a classical piece based on Haitian voodoo rhythms and traveled to Doha, Qatar to present it at the World Conference of Undergraduate Research which was pretty unreal, so we’ll roll with that one.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When I was going to music school and getting all types of music theory shoved down my throat I had this formulaic way of going about writing songs. I thought I needed to jam everything I was learning into the music I was making. I was so focused on every song needing to have key and time signature changes, weird chord voicings, or all of the above. It’s a complex you see a lot of music school kids fall into. If you’re familiar with any of the music I’ve released over the past 8 years it’s pretty obvious I’ve moved away from that haha. I still think there’s a time and place for some of that stuff and still like nerding out on music theory but my songwriting now is definitely more of a “less is more” approach.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

For me it leads to expanding into other genres. I think that’s true in music, other forms of art, and life in general. If you aren’t trying other things you’re just limiting what you can accomplish.

How do you define success?

Releasing projects that I’m proud of and being the best friend, son, and husband I can be.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

We found an overdosed couple in the bathroom after one of the shows I played in college. It was the first show of mine my now wife ever came to. The guy survived but unfortunately his girlfriend wasn’t able to be resuscitated. It was a pretty heavy scene.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A classical album. I’ve got a few solo, duo, and quartet guitar pieces I’ve composed. Someday I’d like to get those worked out with some other players and record a live performance of them.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Bringing people together and giving them a sense of community they might not have without it.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Becoming a dad.

https://anthonygaglia.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093983161060
https://instagram.com/oopsy__dazey
https://oopsydazey.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/oopsy__dazey

https://www.facebook.com/LaGoonPDX/
https://www.instagram.com/lagoonpdx/
https://lagoonpdx.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thecrookedwhispers
https://www.instagram.com/thecrookedwhispers/
https://thecrookedwhispers.bandcamp.com/

Oopsy Dazey, Oopsy Dazey (2023)

LáGoon, Bury Me Where I Drop (2022)

Anthony Gaglia, Voodoo Heartbeat (2020)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Conny Ochs

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I think self-perception can be deceptive given the many pitfalls of ego and circumstance, but since you ask, I’d like to think of myself as an explorer. I have always lived a life on the fringes of society. In orbit, observing, sometimes trying to fit in, but rarely succeeding. This has made me an observer of things, I think, a not always humble, sometimes manic observer. I explore what I see and consequently feel through music, words and images. It’s very cathartic in the sense that you have to let go of everything that comes at you from time to time so that it doesn’t tear you apart. But I hope that the dialog that manifests in this process can be inspiring for everyone who participates. Even if it’s only for a moment. In the end, it’s a quest for freedom.

Describe your first musical memory.

My father used to play and sing songs for me on the guitar just before I had to go to sleep, when I was about four to five years old. I remember how awestruck I was. There was this person I knew from everyday life, but somehow hearing and seeing him in this way transformed him into something almost metaphysical. I hold those memories most dear.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

That is a difficult one. There are many, and they are “best” in different ways. But here and now I’m going with my encounter with Scott “Wino” Weinrich. He really encouraged me to follow my calling when he brought me on stage with him during the “Adrift” tour in 2010 and put me in a spotlight that I wasn’t used to at all. Up until that moment, I hadn’t really figured out where I wanted to go as an artist, but Wino really helped me bring everything into focus by just being the passionate player and singer and, later on, friend that he is. From him I really learned to be in the moment, and to be there for the song, undisguised and honest. What I learned in those days has certainly shaped the way I write and perform forever.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

There have been a few occasions where I’ve been subtly asked to adapt to certain standards. Very subtly, maybe in terms of a certain sound detail, a certain lyrical style or artwork. I’ve always stuck to what I thought was right at the time, which didn’t always work out the way I had envisioned and made me question my decisions and sometimes quite stubborn demand for authenticity (which is already very hard to define) many times. This can put you in strange places and test the aforementioned faith in whether what you’re doing makes sense at all. Nevertheless, I always did what I thought was honest, and that was the most important thing for me. Still is.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

To freedom, I hope.

How do you define success?

As an artist, to get as close as possible to what you really want to communicate. As a human being, to remain kind, respectful and curious like a child.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

To be honest, I can’t think of anything… I think it’s all part of the journey, part of the bigger picture by default. However, i am a big movie fan, you could say I watch too many silly films maybe, but that doesn’t really count I guess.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I would actually love to work on a graphic novel with a good scriptwriter. I’ve been into comics since I was a kid and have always done small panel projects on my own, but I’ve never ventured into working on a proper graphic novel. I have a few ideas, but I haven’t found the right writer to work with yet. I’d like to just focus on the artwork – plus, the whole process of scriptwriting is something I’d love to find a partner for who really knows how to do it right. I’m a big fan of the work of Alan Moore, as well as Enki Bilal, Rick Griffin, Raymond Pettibon or John Totleben. A sort of crossover between mysticism, surrealism and noir. Probably some musical allusions in it, too. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about for a while. I’m always on the lookout for the still anonymous partner.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

For me, art means creating connections. Physical connections between people, connecting to your own body, connections between ideas, connections between brain cells. It can even point a way back into the past, to things you might not have been able to perceive at the time, but which only make sense later. It can connect you to a world from which you feel alienated. And then again, connection is activation, and that is movement, and that is life.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

It’s been a while since I’ve been on the road without a guitar on my back, and I’m really looking forward to just traveling for a while once I finish recording the new album. It’s going to be hard too. I usually pile new projects on top of each other far in advance. I was actually supposed to start this trip after we finished the last master earlier this year, fingers crossed that I can pull it off this time.

https://www.connyochs.com
https://www.facebook.com/conny.ochs
https://www.instagram.com/connyochs
https://connyochs.bandcamp.com

http://www.mainstreamrecords.de
https://www.youtube.com/@exileonmainstream3639

Conny Ochs, “Hickhack” official video

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Rob Zim of Rrrags

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play the bass. As a teenager the only videotape I had was the Who’s Tommy (apart from some porn of course). I must have seen it at least 100 times. Entwistle’s enchantingly playful and creative bass lines made me play the bass. I remember every single note, I wish I had half his talent.

Ron from Rrrags has been a long time friend and I played in several bands with him before. We always went to the Roadburn Festival and stayed over at our friend Bidi, who is unfortunately not with us anymore, through whom we met Rob Martin. We decided to jam together and the satisfying outcome was the base for Rrrags. It is fun to play with Rrrags since there is a lot of space for improvisation and every concert is an adventure.

Describe your first musical memory.

Roger Glover’s ‘All you Need is Love and Understanding’ was, I believe, the first animated videoclip in the early/mid seventies when I was about three years old. When it was on television I pushed my face to the screen and immersed in the music and visuals. There was a singing frog, I loved it so much. Only 30 years later I found out the singer was Ronnie James Dio, which was also the first metal concert I went to as a teenager. That was weird.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

As a musician, playing Hellfest for 10.000 people was cool. But playing an improvised 75 minute Kraut/jazz/psychedelic jam session for a few hundred people on the Roadburn 2022 festival with my friend Ron from Rrrags and Ingvald and Ask from Kanaan was a highlight in my career. We had played two nights with Rrrags already and I was already home and all my gear loaded out when they phoned me to come back and do the gig. The audience was pretty baked from three days Roadburn and it went down very well, a full house was really digging what we did. Of course we did not record it, even though we were prompted by Roadburn’s house recording technician Marcel van der Vondervoort. We still forgot and maybe it is better like this, probably in the memory it’s better than the reality haha.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I have hardly any principles and and can relativize almost anything but my belief in evolving intelligence is tested on a daily basis.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I don’t think art progresses to a higher level. Rather it meanders parallel to life and changes and reshapes accordingly. I have the feeling that art is quite immersed in daily life at the moment. Advertisement videos are weirder than video art 30 years ago and a lot of street art is more exiting than modern art in galleries. It is easy to express yourself, due to software like GarageBand and photoshop/illustrator and AI filters and apps on the smartphone. Art is utilitarian and not idealistic. It doesn’t lead to a better life or something.

How do you define success?

I think to be successful is to get recognition, for being good at doing what you are passionate about. This can start already on a tiny scale, with few people.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Anything of U2. I have an allergy.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I explored all of the arts I am interested in quite extensively already and kind of did what I wanted to do. That is quite a relaxing situation to be in. No Ambition, No Frustration is my motto. I just want to make and play music but that is nothing I did not do yet.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

For me the Only function of art is to levitate one’s mind somewhere where there is no troubles and challenges, only ecstasy. Art does that, it can make you forget about all your problems. Especially music since it hits you unconditionally, it needs no explanation or context. For me music is the highest form of art.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I look forward to my next voyage. Don’t know yet whereto it will be but I love travelling.

https://www.facebook.com/rrragspower
https://www.instagram.com/rrrags/
https://rrrags.bandcamp.com/
https://www.rrragsrock.com/

https://laybarerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laybarerecordings/
https://www.instagram.com/laybarerecordings/
https://laybarerecordings.bandcamp.com/

Rrrags, Mundi (2023)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Samantha Marandola & Andrew Marandola of Oldest Sea

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Sam: I put my current emotional state into sonic form. My music is highly autobiographical, and the process of writing and performing it is like a form of self-therapy.

Describe your first musical memory.

Sam: I was laying on the couch with my dad watching a Roy Orbison concert on TV. If my memory serves me right, it was not long after he died and they were airing a bunch of his filmed performances. I’d never heard a voice like that before. It was so ethereal and I was completely mesmerized. I was only 4 or 5 years old.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Sam: I think my earliest musical memory is probably also my best musical memory.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Andrew: I’m never married to any set of beliefs. I do not take offense to my personal ideas being challenged. I embrace the possibility of being incorrect.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Andrew: Artistic progression leads to more questions than answers. Writing and imagining is a never ending labor.

How do you define success?

Sam: When you feel like what you’re doing has purpose and meaning, then that’s what I consider to be success.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Sam: There’s this really gory scene in the movie Bone Tomahawk and the visuals haunt me to this day.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Sam: I’d like to eventually score films.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Sam: I mean, art elevates. I truly believe that the action of creating something from nothing raises the collective vibration of the world. You make the world a better place when you make art.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Sam: Oh man, I’m in my late thirties so the things I look forward to usually have something to do with home repairs. We’re getting our deck replaced soon and wow that’s pretty exciting.

https://www.facebook.com/oldestsea
https://www.instagram.com/oldestsea/
https://oldestsea1.bandcamp.com/

https://darkestrecords.bandcamp.com/

Oldest Sea, “Sacred Destruction” official video

Oldest Sea, A Birdsong, A Ghost (2023)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Darkplace

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I define this project as an art project. After 5 years of Music theory and audio technology studies, together with a lifetime in the music business it all came to a halt. I just couldn’t bear to make another album let alone release it. Releasing an album is sometimes the same as killing it. Before an album is released it can be whatever you want and the possibilities of success are limitless. But when you release it, it’s all there in the views and listens. There is no mystery in releasing music anymore. you can see exactly how it’s going, so can everyone else. This is when I turned to painting. To be able to create again without ambition, hopes and dreams. I wanted nothing with my painting, it was just an outlet… But then it became more. One year after making my first painting I got accepted into an art school. I went there during the pandemic and it was lovely. This is when the idea for this project was born.

Describe your first musical memory.

My first musical memory is “Eye of the tiger”. My mother and father were not at all music listeners but I was old enough to figure out how to turn a cassette on, and I found a cassette with only this song on. And I played it on repeat. Back then, repeat meant you listened, then rewind, then listened again.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

This is a tough one. It is usually not the epic “party” moments that are the best and long lasting ones. One memory comes to mind. I was at my first music festival in Sweden with a camp-site and all.
I was 18 and I remember I just met a new person and the sun was setting. The whole forest where the festival was held shined golden red and Air was playing in the distant main scene. They played their song “Sexy Boy”. And usually when you hear a song you love you kinda waste a bit of time running towards the concert trying to get as far in as possible. Not this time. It was just so beautiful being this far away, seeing the whole spectrum of the festival and having a moment.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I don’t even know if I have any firmly held beliefs, I have values and opinions but a belief is something else. I try to be open but at the same time I am very closed in a sense. I know this is a none answer but yeah finding it hard to come up with a firmly held belief that then also got tested. A belief most likely gets disproven if tested because a belief needs to be believed and therefore have no proof.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Progression is needed to keep it interesting. One of the coolest things is when you can age together with an artist you love. A decade later neither you nor the artists are at the same place as you were but it can still be a perfect match.

How do you define success?

I used to count the streams and views. And count the crowd and number of shows played. Now I think I try to own my “success” by measuring things I can control. With this album, my success is that I actually finished it. I made the album and I animated the whole album and it took me 2,5 years of hard work but I did it. My goals are local. Like with my oil painting, my only goal is that I want to paint a 1000 paintings before I die. They don’t have to sell or be admired by anyone else. Just… 1000 oil paintings.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I was there, in the early years of the internet, where horrible videos were on rotten.com etc. Maybe it’s all still there but yeah, I saw some stuff there I wish I hadn’t.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I would like to make an animated movie, with dialogue and all. Same style as the music videos.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

The most essential function of art I think is to make you feel something. Different kinds of art have different kinds of delivery but it’s all about feelings. A painting can give you an instant feeling, the second you look at it you feel and think something about it. Music can be instant or it can grow, you can even hate it at first. Same with movies and books. Same goes for all art.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I look forward to going to Poland this weekend to see the Beksinski painting up close, he is my favorite painter.

http://www.instagram.com/darkplacemusic
https://darkplacemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://darkplace.se/

http://icea.se
https://www.facebook.com/iceaofficial
https://www.instagram.com/iceaofficial

Darkplace, About the End of the World (2023)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Joey Kaufman of The Holy Nothing

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

The Holy Nothing feels like our collective second chance at being in a band. We all spent our 20s playing in local bands and touring around by the skin of our teeth. THN feels like we all finally knew what we were doing and how to go about it in a way that was good for everyone. The whole point from jump was “if it isn’t fun, we’re not gonna do it.” So far, it’s been just fun.

Describe your first musical memory.

I lived in this old farmhouse when I was a kid. I remember my dad used to put music on in the house. The earliest memory I have is hearing The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia by Reba McEntire. I was super intrigued by the story telling aspect of it. That’s something I’ve chased as a songwriter and something I hope to explore way more of moving forward.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Honestly, it was fairly recent. Again, I’m sure into story telling and thematically-driven music. So bands like My Chemical Romance were HUGE for me. So seeing them on their reunion run with my chick was insane. The most special moment though was them closing Riot Fest with the song Cancer. It wasn’t in the setlist or anything. They just did it. We just held each other and sand along all teary eyed and shit.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

In regards to music? The whole amp modeling, processor thing. It seems super convenient and would probably save my lower back from spasming all the time. It seems really sick. But I just can’t get over how sick amps and cabs look and sound. Rock and Roll don’t need computer amps.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I feel like I’ve seen it go into so many different directions. Hopefully it leads to folks trying new things despite what they’ve created in the past. I hope it just makes our band want to outdo ourselves for ourselves. Nobody else.

How do you define success?

When my two friends and I can hear or see something we did together and go “yeah, this creates an emotional response”. I just want those two dudes to be hyped on what I’m doing the same way I get hyped on what they’re doing.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

My chick works in the medical field so she’s fascinated by like horrific medical related Instagram accounts and shit. So like seeing a dude get de-gloved or some shit. I’m not into that.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I want our band to be viewed as an art project more than a typical rock band. There’s a ton of visual related stuff that I’m really excited for us to pursue that will be accompanied by our music. I feel like music videos are there to supplement the music. I’d like to do things the other way around where we create a visual and the write music to that.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

For me, it’s to just create emotional responses. Finding things that feel like they’re speaking directly at you.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

The final season of Letterkenny. Those guys feel like family to me and my favorite part of the holiday season is watching them.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093190566481
https://theholynothing.bandcamp.com/

The Holy Nothing, Vol. I: A Profound and Nameless Fear (2023)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Stephen Sheppert of Radiant Knife

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I’d describe our music as prog influenced sludge with some sci-fi and possibly dark wave elements. Prog in the sense of math-rock/noise rock influence akin to Don Caballero, Dazzling Killmen, Breadwinner, Loincloth, and not necessarily tech-metal wankery.

Describe your first musical memory.

One that has stood the test of time is many mornings my father would play the record “The Wall” by Pink Floyd. I distinctly remember the song “Another Brick in the Wall” playing as I got ready for school. He had a music room full of vinyl and a decent sound system that would fill the house. “Hey teacher, leave those kids alone” as I walked out the door.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Any time I’ve made connections with other musicians via the riff without speaking. It feels like a form of telepathy that everyone should experience. It’s one of the unique things creating music can provide through making art with others.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

These days overt self promotion has become the norm, fueled by a fake it till you make it mentality. Being bombarded with that mentality through modern media is a test.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

In some ways it can result in more technically proficient and developed song structure, but in some cases regression can be progression as well. In many cases stripped back roots of music in its rudimentary form can more effectively convey a message or connect with listeners. Really depends on how you define progression.

How do you define success?

Created unabated art walled off from influence of outsiders, metrics, and all things business.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The daily news, any day of the week or anything spewed from mainstream media.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Possibly a blues influenced album that embraces time signature changes and off timings. An off timed vibe based in pentatonics.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To the artist the essential function is release and realization of something tangible, formed from emotions, moods, etc. To the person, aesthete, etc. experiencing the art it could be a connection through a similar way of thinking, or lasting impression from a different way of thinking.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

These days I look forward to family time and time spent with lifelong friends. The reality that life is fleeting becomes more evident the older we get. The Beatles weren’t wrong with “All you need is love”.

http://www.linktr.ee/radiant_knife
http://www.facebook.com/Radiantknife
http://www.instagram.com/RADIANT_KNIFE
http://www.radiantknife.bandcamp.com

Radiant Knife, Pressure (2023)

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Nathanael Larochette

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

For over 15 years I’ve been primarily creating instrumental acoustic music, particularly of a finger picked nature. It all began as a teenage obsession with heavy music that eventually sparked a deep fascination with the acoustic interludes that sporadically appeared on my favourite metal records. The first time I remember being completely blown away by acoustic riffing was when I first heard the intro to Blind Guardian’s “Time What is Time”. The next stage of my musical evolution occurred while learning the acoustic parts from Opeth and Agalloch songs while discovering dark folk classics such as Ulver’s “Kveldssanger”, Tenhi’s “Kauan” and Empyrium’s “Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays”. Other artists and influences have since shaped my sound and playing but these experiences and records formed the blueprint for much of what I do.

Describe your first musical memory.

I’m not sure if I can pinpoint my first musical memory but one of my earliest would be hearing my father playing the flute. He had a demanding job as a plant manager for Michelin but always loved art and music so in his spare time he took jazz flute lessons and I remember hearing him practicing in his office. I started playing violin when I was four so some of my earliest memories of playing music would be childhood violin lessons and recitals. In terms of listening to music, the Gameboy soundtracks for Metroid 2 and Kirby’s Dreamland became burned into my memory after playing those games for hours as a kid.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

One of my best musical memories to date would be recording my interludes for Agalloch’s fourth record “The Serpent & The Sphere”. I discovered their classic “The Mantle” in early 2003, around the time I got my first guitar, so it was surreal for me to be in the studio with them recording my music for their new album in 2013. Although it’s one of my best memories it was also quite stressful because I was so nervous. Honestly, I think the time spent hanging out with the band in the studio and watching them record was the highlight for me.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Whenever I see humans mistreating other humans it tests my firmly held belief that we are good by nature. Although tested, there is far greater evidence supporting this belief despite how often we are told to think otherwise.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I like to think that artistic progression leads to a deeper understanding of oneself and a deeper sense of humility because regardless of how much you do or how great you are, there is always more to learn and more work to be done. These experiences will hopefully lead to a deeper sense of gratitude for having the opportunity to express yourself through art which should ultimately lead to a deeper sense of compassion for others.

How do you define success?

Having the opportunity to continually focus energy on fulfilling work is a true measure of success for me. In a broader sense, I believe the heart of success is a balancing act that involves the simultaneous development and nurturing of one’s emotional, physical, spiritual, interpersonal and financial health. Time and again we’ve seen so-called “successful” individuals excel in one of these aspects to the total neglect of others with predictably tragic results. I believe the first and most difficult step is succeeding in treating ourselves with kindness which is a lifelong process that is too easily overlooked. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been working hard to prioritize my emotional and physical wellbeing because no amount of social or financial recognition will matter if we aren’t comfortable in our own skin. This is especially true for artists living creative lives in the digital age.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Human beings dehumanizing their fellow human beings.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’d love to score films and video games someday.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

I think the most essential function of art is to offer momentary relief to the artist and those experiencing it.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Any opportunity to spend quality time with my family.

[Photo by Jonathan Lorange.]

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Nathanael Larochette, Old Growth (2023)