[MXD Networking @ SPOT] Meet Drowned in Sound

Once again this year, MXD are inviting several key international industry professionals to attend SPOT Festival. All of them will be joining us at the MXD Superball @ RADAR as part of the SPOT+ programme, but until the festival kicks off on May 4th, we will be bringing you brief introductions to them, including where they come from, what companies they work for, what bands they want to check out at Spot, and much more. We’re looking forward to seeing Dom Guerlay of Drowned in Sound.

Name: Dom Guerlay

Media: Drowned in Sound

Can you tell us a bit about the DiS’ history?
Drowned In Sound is an online music blog that started in October 2000. In that time it has become the largest online interactive music community thanks to its forums/boards and currently averages around 1.2 unique users per month.

– and a bit about what DiS has been up to this year?
This year DiS has already covered numerous festivals such as Eurosonic, Talinn Music Week, Ment and 2Q, and we’ve interviewed the likes of Temples, Slowdive, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Jens Lekman and many others. We’re also curating stages at Handmade and Focus Wales festivals and are involved either with media promotion or DJ slots at Liverpool Psych Fest, Karma Fest and Secret Garden Party.

What was the moment you decided you wanted to work with music?
Probably from when I can first remember! My father bought me an electric guitar when I was 11 but I was too impatient to learn to play it so I started writing about music in fanzines during my late teens and eventually continued from there. I also used to promote and run a couple of club nights in my hometown of Mansfield which carried on when I moved to Nottingham in the late nineties.

What are your favorite Danish acts and who are you looking forward to seeing at Spot Festival this year?
My favourite Danish acts would probably be The Raveonettes and Waldo & Marsha – both of whom blew me away the last time I came to SPOT in 2012. I also love Mew, both on record and live. This year, I’m quite looking forward to seeing Marching Church, Baby Handshake, Shiny Darkly, Omar Souleyman, Sløtface, Siv Jacobsen, Velvet Volume, Yung and The Love Coffin.

Best show of your life, hands down?
That’s a really difficult call, but I’d probably have to say either My Bloody Valentine supported by the Boo Radleys at Leicester Polytechnic on the Loveless tour in December 1991 or Manic Street Preachers playing every one of their singles at London’s O2 Arena in 2011.