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195 Metalbands (Interviews), Interview

Akerius: Occitanian Dungeon Synth from the Indian Ocean

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My fascination for dungeon synth is a perpetuating occupation in exploring new artists’ work and locating unique creativity. I had not thought to find dungeon synth being produced on the island of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. Aker Aeon is not an original inhabitant of the island, but it is where his memories of the beloved home turf in Occitania sparked the inspiration for his main project: Akerius.

Akerius is an oddity in dungeon synth for its location, but also a unique sound. At times foreboding, dark and full of alchemical mystery, at other times hints of pastoral landscapes ad to the colour of his sound.  This October, he released his latest record, titled ‘Shadowed Paths Through Middle Earth’. A beautiful, Tolkienesque piece of art in shadowy times.

Though personal issues momentarily put the interview on hold, Aker Aeon quickly got back to me with a wealth of answers about his music, inspiration, and facing this pandemic in the most remote part of France.

Occitanian Nostalgia and Dungeon Synth with Akerius

Let’s start with a ‘How are you doing?’ 

I’m doing fine, had to fix some personal issues a few days ago but things are getting better now, and quicker than what I was expecting. I think my passion for music helped me to deal with stress and tiredness! Finally, this interview is a good opportunity to take my mind off things.

Aker, the man behind Akerius
Aker, the man behind Akerius

How has the pandemic affected your life on Reunion?

Quarantine, curfew, wearing masks,…etc. Our situation in Réunion is not so different than from other countries. But at the moment, we succeeded in maintaining an “acceptable” situation, for example, there is no confinement anymore (until when ?…) but more restrictions concerning liberty: always wearing masks, no gatherings with friends or family and so on…

The positive thing is that I can spend more time at home and I’m more focused on writing and playing music. But on the other hand, this pandemic situation can also affect you so deeply then making music can be the last of your preoccupations! We all clearly need escapism…

I understand you’re not native to the island, can you share a bit about how you ended up there?

Yes, I was born in Occitania, a place fantastic region full of history (medieval castles, legends, secret places…). I’ve grown with all this ‘background’ and my mother used to tell me stories about those places, especially Carcassonne and the legendary Cathar country. Of course, I feel very nostalgic about this period and this is one of the reasons I started my project ‘Akerius’.

I decided to move to Réunion island for professional and personal reasons. I studied sciences for years (Biology & Geology) and Réunion is a very attractive place when you are fond of science and biodiversity, but the one more reason why I moved is love…

How did you get into dungeon synth music and metal and which is the dominant style you enjoy? Which acts inspired you? 

It all started with the “Norwegian black metal era” as I was a reader (and still I am) of a magazine called “Metallian” wich deals with extreme and underground music but also plenty of different styles like ‘avant-garde’ music…etc. I discovered this extreme music called ‘black-metal’ and it was so intriguing, mysterious, violent but also romantic. Of course, I think you cannot dissociate Black Metal from DS, I’m thinking about Burzum, Mortiis, Wongraven…but I’m not a ‘specialist’  of the genre then I won’t do more comments about it. I must say I enjoy listening to DS, Metal, Black Metal in an alternative way, it depends on the mood of the day. For example, a few days ago, I was even listening to some old Van Halen vinyl!!! Today I’m more into ‘Darkenhöld‘ and ‘Crepuscule d’Hiver‘ (french atmospheric/melodic black metal bands accompanied by a medieval universe). Inspiration comes in fact from many bands, many albums and many genres!

You have multiple projects going on as I understand it. There is Akerius, Aker (Aeon), and Nosferâ (am I missing any?). Can you tell a bit more about all these projects? I’m also curious about how they connect, particularly Akerius and Aker.

Nosferâ is a live metal band with some death/black metal influences that I created with my son who is a young drummer and also some good friends. We created this band for the pleasure of playing ‘live’ some compositions. Each musician puts his own influences in it, it’s a strong amalgam of genres, we’re having great fun playing together! Unfortunately, we were programmed to play for a festival here in Réunion island called “La Nuit de Kal” during the Halloween period, unfortunately, it has been cancelled because of the pandemic situation! But we’re still doing rehearsals, we try to keep it up!

AKER is an ‘instrumental’ metal project. Inspiration comes from all my musical influences, it’s very diverse, depends on what I’m listening at the moment, for example, the EP “Stellar Sacrifice” (featuring a track with Stuurm from Gargoylium/Crepuscule d’Hiver) was written while I was listening to a lot to the THORNS VS EMPEROR album.

Out of curiosity, how do you create ‘dark’ music in a place that is, as far as I can tell, the opposite? Though I do see magnificent nature in photographs of your place of residence. 

This dark ambient and medieval music come directly from my imagination after reading books, watching movies, listening to music… in fact, I am like most of the musicians who are writing their own music, so nothing special here… But I must say that Réunion’s landscapes are so fantastic that they can be a great source of inspiration! Especially the mountains, forests and volcanic areas! Nature can be ‘magnificent’ as you said but there are also some secret, mythical and ‘grandiose’ places that can inspire you in a way and feed your imagination if you’re receptive to it! For example, I explored months ago a lava tunnel that inspired me the music for ‘Inside The Trolls Cavern’ from my last album.

Commerson crater on Réunion where Akerius dwells
Commerson crater on Réunion where Akerius dwells. Song inspiration!

Is there any sort of scene there to speak of in darker music in the broadest sense of the word (metal, dungeon synth, or even punk)? yeah…metal, punk, rock, progressive/alternative rock…etc. Some very good local bands from Réunion are trying their best to export their music (not so easy when you’re isolated in an island!). Concerning DS, I did not hear from any other projects, it looks like I’m the only one, and let’s hope that in the future there will be more DS projects here…

Your latest album is ‘Shadowed Paths Through Middle Earth’. This is a Tolkienesque album, but that’s not your regular topic as I understand it. What are your inspirations for dungeon synth?

I’ve been listening to a lot to Mortiis, Summoning, Ulver, Emperor, Covenant, Satyricon, Wongraven, Evol, … just to name a few. Inspiration comes from music first (it can sound strange but I listen a lot to King Diamond or Mercyful Fate when I lack imagination), but of course also literature, movies or even paintings can inspire me in a way. For example, I particularly appreciate some drawings from John Howe but I also admire the work from other underground artists (Bard Algol, Corbac Lenoir).

 On the other hand, you’ve now used Middle Earth. What are particular aspects that make Tolkien so inspiring for you? What are your favourite tales from his work and are there other fantasy writers you enjoy and would pay tribute to (I’m personally still hoping to find some Gemmell-inspired ds)?

Yes, S.P.T.M.E is a ‘special’ one in my discography as it’s the only album dealing with the Tolkien’s universe.  Music was written during a period I was reading some tales about Middle-earth, the last one I read (once again) was ‘The Children of Húrin’ which I did not like a lot on first reading. Tolkien’s work deals with many themes and the world he has created is also made of drawings, songs and of course tales, all of this is incredibly rich and inspiring! Of course, there is also this atmosphere of melancholy and the struggle between good and evil that feeds many of his stories: definitively inspiring for writing music! I do not have favourite tales but let’s say I usually come back to ‘Bilbo The Hobbit’ and of course ‘The Lord of the Rings’ which is a much more complex and dark work. Because of its darkness, it is more appealing to me…I don’t plan to pay tribute to other fantasy writers for the moment but as you suggested I should start reading ‘LEGEND’ from David Gemmell, some friends always encouraged me reading it because the fantasy universe he has created is different and original. We’ll see…

What is your recording process like and what sort of equipment and instruments do you use? 

The recording process is very simple: a DAW, a sound card, and an old Korg keyboard with enough presets to make some decent music but I do not use MIDI sequencing. In a way, my approach of making music is ‘old school’, the sounds & presets that I’m using are very simple and ‘ basic’ comparing to the 2021 audio technology (not to mention the ultimate quest to get a ‘wall of sound’ mastering). Maybe in the future, I’ll try to use more modern sounds but for the moment it’s ok, I’m not ‘disgusted’ with my recording equipment yet.

I also use electric and acoustic guitars and a ‘baglama’ when I want to add some special vibes or dark ambiences. I always liked the acoustic or clean guitar interludes you can find in metal, that’s why I tried to add some guitar parts in my DS compositions.

What are your thoughts on the phenomenon that is dungeon synth and modern offshoots like a comfy synth? 

Don’t really know what to think about it, but all I hope is that the ‘dungeon synth’ revival stream will get stronger and will spread the world, lots of my friends who didn’t know this genre like it a lot now! I think it’s the kind of the music that is very appropriated to listen to when you are in isolation, and if you need to disconnect from reality, it can easily transport you to other places and time… This music is so deep and mysterious, I think this is why it attracts more and more people including musicians starting their new projects. Comfy synth is not music I’m used to listening to, any artists come to my mind right now but I will look forward to it!

This brings me to the question how do you define dungeon synth? Because opinions vary and for some, the definition is quite narrow, for others it’s very broad. 

The origin of this music is very special and complicated, so many things have been said and everyone has his own explanations and arguments. I won’t try to give a definition as I’m not myself a ‘specialist’ of the genre. I think that Dungeon Synth is a “sub-genre” of black metal, but nowadays when you listen to the new DS scene you can easily notice that the music is ‘polished’ and clean when you compare it with the sound of the dark period of the ‘old school’ DS! It has evolved so much!

DS can deal with so many themes and ambiences: darkness, melancholy, fear, mystery, history (medieval times), paganism, sorcery, literature…etc. And the music can be mixed and recorded in so many different ways (lo-fi or a bright and powerful mastering with a ‘more modern vibe’). For all these reasons and different aspects, it’s so hard for me to define it!

Akerius northern forests and landscapes
Mysterious forests and the north prompted the start of Akerius

What future plans do you have for Akerius, Aker and other musical releases?

I have no plans, I play what comes. I can write some music very quickly because inspiration is knocking at the dungeon door. And if I have enough energy to shape what I have in my mind, I motivate myself to start the recording process which can be a time-consuming thing if you’re a perfectionist like me. But during this pandemic period, creating music is a “mind healing”, so the more plans I’ll have the more it will be fine!

If you had to describe your music as a dish, what would it be and why? 

If my music was a dish it would be a good « Cassoulet » with a glass of red wine or a glass of Hypocras (a medieval drink that I particularly like). Cassoulet is a speciality from the ‘Occitanian terroir’(the region where I was born). Sausages, confit (typically duck), pork, and white beans are used to cook this dish. An excellent option for entertaining especially on cold winter nights when the weather calls for a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal. It’s a very ancient, authentic and generous dish. I would be perfect tasting it in an old tavern or inside a medieval castle! If you never tasted it, you should try one day 😉

But of course, music is the best food for the soul… Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this interview Guido! Salut!

 

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Tir – Exploring the Mists of Time

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The world of dungeon synth is filled with remarkable individuals. One of those is Oytun Bektas, a musician with origins in Turkey, but currently residing ‘down under’. His music has been well-received in the world of synth lovers as being of remarkable, singular quality. Performing under the moniker Tir, Bektas has redone several of his albums in a quest for more perfection, exploring the ancient past, myths and the Cosmos.

Bektas was willing to tell more about his remarkable project, his journey to where he is right now and his vision of the sound he strives for. There’s a depth to his approach to music, but also a well-condensed form to his answers and explanations I found most enjoyable.

The dungeon synth experience of Tir

How are you doing? 

Thanks. I’m pretty busy, but I’m fine.

How did you as a musician arrive at Dungeon Synth? What musical projects have you been in, who are your inspirations?

Actually, it wasn’t a special choice for me to meet DS music style. I think that the fact that I have been dealing with classical music since I was very young maybe the first factor in this situation. I believe that along with the education I have received, I have developed myself in the field of polyphonic music production. Of course, the bands and musicians I have listened to for the past 20 years have been the second-biggest influence in capturing this music. Wongraven, early Mortiis and Burzum to name a few. Of course, I also got inspiration from some neofolk, dark folk and ambient artists because I didn’t directly produce DS. By the way, I’ve never been involved in any projects before Tir.

For anyone not familiar with Tir, how would you introduce yourself?

A one-man project based on Dark Folk / Dungeon Synth, whose main theme since 2016 is the depiction of Cosmos, myths, history and nature. I think that’s the ideal definition.

How did you get to the name Tir? I was drawn to it as it has a meaning in Tolkien’s languages, but also refers to the Norse god of the sword. I read for you it has to do with the Turkish meaning, which is closer to solitude, can you tell more about that and what that means to you?

I know a lot of people were confused by that name when they first heard it. Tir is a word of Central Asian origin. It’s an old name of Turkish origin. So it has no relationship with Tyr.
Secondly, On my U.S.V. album, there were people who thought I was doing the Tyr song for my band name. But that song was only about the album’s depiction of Nordic mythology. In its clearest sense, Tir (not TIR) means alone and deserted. But I think it’s a very impressive detail that the language we use has taken on different meanings in itself.

When I found out about your music, at first I was under the impression Tir was a Scandinavian project. Only then I understood you’re located ‘down under’, but you are originally from Turkey. Can you tell me a bit how you ended up there and is there something of your travels that has seeped into your music? 

This was a decision I made about the direction of the world I live in. Sometimes when you think you cannot solve something, you have to create a new path. Otherwise, you will start to rot. You can think of it in every sense. I have the same instinct in the art I have produced. While in Turkey, Tir’s adventure bore the traces of European folk, and on the other hand, the different effects of the dark geography. Now I feel like I am on a different planet here. I think this will improve Tir’s needs and orientations a little more.

When you moved you did a funding campaign for equipment. How come you didn’t have the gear anymore?

Yes, we were only able to bring a limited number of personal items of goods when we travelled to Australia. That’s why I created a charity campaign on this issue. Some followers, whom I’d like to thank again, helped me buy a midi keyboard. Later, I ended the campaign in order not to force more people on this issue. I continued to see my works with an old laptop 🙂 But now, those who want to help can reach me through PayPal.

You released an album titled Mountains, which you later gave a Redux version. As someone who loves mountains, I wanted to ask you what you find inspiring about them? What do they mean to you? 

For me, mountains album was the artistic expression of my musical experience for so many years. It was a reflection of the books I had read until then, my communication with nature and perhaps more. Mountains were actually an image. I can say that the journey of man and nature was in a way the intersection of the universe. I tried to present this as minimally as possible. Redux was a move to further enrich this simplicity.

What do you mean when you talk about simplicity, which you describe as key to what Tir is and does
not mean simple? Or in other words: what is your vision on the sound of Tir?

By simplicity, I mean, I have a completely dissimilar understanding of music. As I mentioned earlier, it is a wealth for me to produce a very vocal harmony. In other words, since I did not produce music in a narrow and routine pattern, Tir’s position in this genre is a little different. I would say, little intensifying the effect of dark art. Also, Tir basically intensifies its music without leaving the DS patterns. Even this detail keeps it away from its understanding of standard and simple composing.

Your recent album brings the theme of your music much closer to your region of origin. What prompted to switch from the Nordic darkness on ‘Nigritude’ to the mysteries of ‘Persepolis’? And can you say something about what you are telling on this album, what stories etc.?

In fact, there was no deviation in the depiction of dark art. Nigritude had a more edgy number of songs than just being an EP album. But the fact that the cover art was gifted to me by Markus Stock and the design was made by Peter Bursky (who also owns Brilliant Emperor Records) brought a lot of interest to this EP. Persepolis, on the other hand, was a rich serving of DS and Dark Folk art. During my visit to Iran many years ago, Persepolis left a very deep impression in my mind. In that red-painted land, I felt war, art and more with excess. I mean, in the middle of the desert, there was a source of life. I even felt the emotions of that period. I wanted to create a sound from ancient times on this album today. I’m happy to talk about the brutality of the old and bring history to life. Some places are ignored only for political reasons, but we have a detailed history that offers tons of importance.

For me, ancient history and the middle-east is a topic that is filled with mysteries. I believe you could build a whole body of art around this, expressing stories and ideas. Do you plan to continue with this? 

In fact, not only men (I had made a type in my question, hence this reference, ed.), but for many women in the Middle East and Anatolia there are many heroism stories. The female warriors and the female hierarchy was much stronger than now. With religion, a regression and patriarchy began to emerge in this process. On the other hand, the most important bend of civilization’s crossing arms is in that land. Actually, I have the idea of continuing this depiction not through Tir but through my side project Ruins of Xibalba. My primary target is old Anatolia and Central Asia.

What is your process of writing and recording music like, particularly for your last album?

My musical composition processes are all about my visual experiences. I start to experience the subject I depict visually and start to read these details. Then comes the technical part of the job. Which is not a process that runs without any blockages. So I can say that it sometimes happens that I can finish a few songs on the same day.

So, what is the scope of topics for Tir and since you also have a side project, how do you decide what fits the Tir concept and what needs a different moniker? Also, can you tell me something about Ruins of Xibalba?

When I founded Tir, I decided to depict history, nature and war, as well as loneliness in nature. I think I’ve brought out these concepts through the music in a way I’m happy with, but of course, these depictions are also influenced by the dark face of Black metal. It is of course more symphonic, but it’s pure. When I founded Ruins of Xibalba, I wanted to shape the dark ambient elements in my musical understanding more. In other words, it is a circled state that imprisons the listener in it, and I wanted to draw the audience into the dark world of Xibalba. At this point, I’m trying to bring it back to the universe we live in a little bit. So, R.O.X.’s first album describes the Mayans. They are a unique civilization that is very difficult to describe. I still think the Mayans are World Masters. Without being changed by this truth, my side project will continue to process both the mysticism in history and the role of past civilizations in the universe. Maybe this project can connect cosmically outside this world? Cosmic Ambient, sounds good, doesn’t it? 🙂

You are one of the artists in this genre who have decided to perform live. What does it mean for you to perform live and what sort of vibe do you go for?

I’m not the kind of person who looks warmly at live performances. But after my concerts at festivals such as Peru and the Northeast Dungeon Siege, the positive feedback made me very happy. As I said before, listeners and viewers can feel many different effects due to my not performing standard and simple music. I think that makes Tir’s influence different. Sometimes the listener is comforted by melancholy, while on the other hand, they can imagine themselves in a different universe with a mythological breeze. I think the biggest thing about such activities is that they lead people to more collective unity, especially during the pandemic period. The texture of underground music brings together many different elements. If I can contribute to it as a Tir, it’s flattering for me.

Dungeon synth has become a genre dense with meanings and offshoots. Sub-styles (or genres) like comfy synth, winter synth and so forth are disrupting the definition of the genre. How do you feel about this?

It's certainly possible for music to diversify in itself. Each production and composition can have its own form of narrative. The most important point here is how much it retains the main theme. For example, how stupid and unnecessary it would be for a Black Metal band to give you pop tunes and images, wouldn’t it? Seeing Dungeon Synth only in the form of game fiction reduces its great
strength. I’ve always defended this. DS Black Metal’s backyard; symphonic face. There will always be differences, but basically avoiding anathema can be the biggest mistake.

Which artists are you currently listening to and do you think should receive more attention?

Although I listen to Black Metal with intensity, I devote time to other genres from time to time. If I have to recommend it, I think the She Past Away is very strong. Again, from the same musical genre
Oul is a very successful band. On the other hand, I am looking forward to the new Tenhi and Summoning albums with great curiosity!

What are your future plans with Tir?

Persepolis is the last album before we see a shift in direction for Tir. For my next album, I want to produce slightly different content with the main difference from the current style being that more live instruments will accompany it. I guess there is no need to give more details, let’s wait and see together.

If you had to describe Tir as a dish, what would it be and why that one?

It’s a point I never thought about. But I’d definitely say water. I think it’s the right match. It points to the plain and clear simplicity of Tir.

Interview

Lovidalf Ranemmak VI about his creation: the genre of Ordo Fantet

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Music is a world of visionaries, and some of them are wildly misunderstood or not even seen.  Blame it on convenience or simple algorithms that guide us through the online wasteland, it does let a lot of great stuff go to waste. Call it outsider music if you will, but the most fascinating sounds can be found by those who look a bit deeper. Through thematic digging in online archives,  through one of his projects, I found one of those exceptional musicians. Lovidalf Ranemmak VI is one of those projects that are hard to understand. Lovidalf is an individual, but to be honest it’s more an artistic entity… The man who created his very own music genre called Ordo Fantet.

Now, Lovidalf has many projects and for the sake of mystique, we shall refer to him by this alias here. Inspired by game music, but more so by a classical training in music and fascination for bygone times, he created a style that may be closest related to dungeon synth and renaissance music. And to provide a corpus to this style, he has started a range of projects so numerous that one would be challenged to list all of them (he insists he has no problem with that).

Lovidalf is convinced it seems, as I conclude from our interactions online, that his style is not particularly interesting. Neither is he. He is wrong, but it speaks about intent that he’s doing it all anyway, dedicating his life to a remarkable creation.  I want to thank him for his time and hope that this interview will shed some light on his voluminous work. Enjoy!

As I had published this on Echoes & Dust I received some messages from the artist in question, due to a statement I made regarding the number of projects. I considered, based on his words, he would not have a full overview. He disagreed heavily with that tongue-in-cheek remark. Also based on a typo, the term ‘Fantet’ was exchanged with ‘Cantet. I hope to have rectified these here. I also would like to state that, going through many of the pages and identities of the artist, I have not been able to verify many of the statements made. Not only does the artist have many fictional identities, a lot of band members appear to be fictional too.  Due to the elaborate nature of this invented narrative, I have some reservations about how ‘natural’ this is. I decided the music is worthy of attention. 

Escapism, Ordo Fantet and Happiness

How are you doing? How has the pandemic been for you as a Polish artist abroad? 

The pandemic was very epic for me. At the beginning, back in 2019, I had to leave France, back to my parents in Moscow. Also, I had to postpone many of my projects, because my studio was closed for quarantine. I am not allowed to be in my studio, but I am very much allowed to pay taxes on it… In general, I am bankrupt this year.

So, I’m particularly curious about your path towards the artist you are now. The person behind a variety of projects and a whole genre, if I may so. How did you get so interested in this style and medieval times? 

I became interested in the Middle Ages at the age of seven or eight, when my grandmother brought me to her homeland in France. My grandmother has a dad from France (Aquitaine), a mom from Poland. In this story, there is a whole historical novel that stretches from the time of the Napoleonic wars. As a result, for the fact that my Polish ancestors fought on the side of Napoleon against Russia, they were arrested and sent into exile in Russia. So, my genealogy ended up in the land of bears and vodka. On my mother’s side, my German, Swedish and Finnish origin.

Therefore, as a child, I travelled with my parents to many places of their birthplace. I was in France when I saw ancient castles, especially Aquitaine, but not far from Paris there are mesmerizing, beautiful places. 

Who are your musical inspirations? And what instruments do you actually play yourself? 

In Poland, at the age of five, my parents sent me to a music school, violin class. A little later, I myself entered the classical guitar class, and from the age of eleven, I became interested in old stringed instruments such as gittern, viele, rebec, citole, medieval harp and all kinds of lutes. Now, I have dozens of medieval instruments in my collection. 

When I found myself in Russia and transferred to a Russian music school, I became interested in orchestral classical music, especially the Russian school of the “Mighty Handful” represented by César Cui, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. So at the age of eleven, I was already composing an incomprehensible symbiosis of medieval and orchestral music, which I later named Ordo Fantet.

I have always taken inspiration in music from books. At about 10 years old I began to write small stories and poems myself. And after reading a series of books by David Eddings, the Elenium, I myself have already invented my own fantasy universe, which was more like a real historical novel than, for example, Tolkien’s. By the way, I read Tolkien much later.

Regarding musical instruments, I don’t really like the word “multi-instrumentalist”, but I have to write it in the description, because it takes a very long time to list all the instruments I play;) My whole life is music, I wake up in the morning and instead of weights I take guitar or lute, or sit down at drums with tambourines … And then grab kettlebells and swords … ahaha

Ok, so tell me about Ordo Fantet. What is its musical origin and what is the relation to the dungeon synth genre?

Ordo Fantet is symbiotic. A symbiosis of medieval music and orchestral symphonies. Fantet can be in minor (sad) and major (funny). The main difference from other existing genres is the fantasy context. Both in music and poetry. There are huge differences from dungeon synth, or rather the only thing that makes Ordo Fantet in common with dungeon synth is the use of a synthesizer on some compositions. But mostly, Ordo Fantet is performed on live medieval and orchestral instruments. Plus, Fantet uses vocals, both growling and pure male and female.

How big is this genre? You told me that this is really a micro-genre, but what other artists should people check out for example? 

The Ordo Fantet genre mainly consists of my side projects or projects with a girlfriend of mine, a minstrel from France. For example, if in a true Ordo Fantet, no electric guitars with distortion or other overdrive are acceptable, then we have projects where, for example, I mix symphonic black metal with elements of Ordo Fantet, or funeral doom. Most of the artists in this underground genre can be found by the #ordofantet tag for example on the same bandcamp.

You work with numerous alter egos, which fits with the roleplaying that clearly is a big inspiration to you. Is Lovidalf Ranemmak your primary one, and can you tell me a bit more about him? 

As for my large number of projects, with my alter ego, everything is simple. Each of my projects contains some differences. For example, somewhere it is musically, somewhere it is pure ordo fantet, somewhere mixed with dark ambient, somewhere there is a lot of medieval folk, and somewhere it is only in a different conceptual approach. For example, will a dungeon synth on the Elder Scrolls, or other game universes. Or space synth, or the eclecticism of the 60s of America, etc. That is why I always create a new project for my new ideas. I’m a non-commercial, I don’t need all these bureaucratic contracts with labels, and other freeloaders, I work for music, not money.

And I object to sculpting a new genre on each album, like Mortiis, when he had dark dungeon music, and after that there was a pop disco for drug addicts;) I don’t accept that! Therefore, many, including my iconic ones, call me Alexander Dumas in the world of music, because he had an incredible number of books, and I have an incredible number of albums and projects! 😉 ahahah

Lovidalf Ranemmak VI is my main pseudonym, my main character. Here, too, everything is simple, Lovidalf is the name of one of the NPCs from the Elder Scrolls, from the very first part, which is called Arena, I received this game as a gift at the end of 94, from my first computer. Arena is my first love and the first RPG game in my life. Ranemmak, this is my mother’s transformed surname, Reinecke, in my made-up language (Kell-Galluish from my fantasy universe, the main dialect of the inhabitants of Fractria).

Going further on that, I feel by checking your socials, that your commitment to Ordo Fantet goes beyond music to a lifestyle. You seem to really embrace this identity in a day-to-day approach? 

In fact, Ordo Fantet is just music, strange, incomprehensible to many, but it’s just music. But my way of life, yes, maybe it’s already epic! 😉

Maybe I’m crazy, but I live according to the principles of LCSO – (Le Chevaliers Scolastique Ordre) I live in poverty, I don’t pursue fame, I don’t do PR and advertise my work, I just live like a knight-monk, I do reconstruction, sword fencing, I write books and music and play computer games. I don’t need rich apartments, a cool car, I don’t have a car at all, for that I have a gorgeous collection of swords and musical instruments, and this is quite enough for me for my happy life. I’m an escapist.

Which games do you primarily derive inspiration from? 

About computer games. Until 2014, I just adored The Elder Scrolls and the entire universe. But after working a little at Bethesda as a writer for lore, I realized that a lot would change in the future game and I didn’t like it. Therefore, gradually, very slowly, I began to work on my role-playing game, which will be in my fantasy universe – Codex Draggriffe.

You make a lot of music, so how does your creative process look like and what is your way of determining what fits into which project best? 

I write music every day, practically I record only when the material is going to be a full or mini album. It all depends on my mood and state of health. Here, the thing is that earlier for the cover of my albums I had to ask permission to use the art I liked, now from January 1, 2020, when my parents presented me with a graphic tablet, I have been drawing covers for my already released albums.

So now, I draw a lot, although I don’t know how to draw, and the last time I painted was at school. Although, at school, my knights and dragons liked a lot …

I understand you also produce black metal and other types of music, what other projects are you working on and what is currently your primary focus?

Black metal, but not all. For example, for me this genre was the personification of non-commercial and original music. Unfortunately, today this genre has turned into a pile of dung, with its posers and merchants who write music not for the sake of music, but for the sake of populism and money. Unfortunately.

I, on the other hand, stick to rawness and originality in my black metal projects. Landmarks for the black 90s, when there was still gunpowder …

You also frequently address your writing. What sort of writing have you one and where can one find your work? Do you consider your music and writing a ‘united piece of art’?

Yes, my music comes entirely from my books, my universe. But, at first, I still tried to write in French, when in my childhood I lived with my grandmother in France, but later I gave up this idea, because I wrote with a lot of mistakes, to be honest, and now I do not speak French very well, although I know German well and Latin. At one time, I was very fond of studying the Old French language, as well as Hochdeutsche Dialekte. Now all my books and stories are written in Russian and Polish. I still have to print, there is not enough money for this, sponsors are needed. But I myself read my books on my YouTube channel.

You also mention a lot of cooperative works, for example with Swiss musicians on the project Trobar Clus. Do you travel a lot or how do you realize this sort of projects? Can you tell me about your collaborations?

Trobar Clus is one of the projects in which I am introduced as a session musician. In fact, I don’t have as many projects in metal music as it might seem. I can name it.

Ok, so my biggest question is how you maintain all of this. All the pages, all the socials, all the projects. Like, how do you get the time for all this? 

I don’t have enough time. Therefore, I have a work schedule for every day. I have not officially worked for a long time, as is customary for normal people. In my life I worked as a music teacher at a state music school, I was also a teacher at home, for a long time I worked in music stores, where I sold classical musical instruments as well as guitars and synthesizers. I even worked for Bethesda, the one that produced the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series of games.

Now, I will never go to work for the “owner” who has the right to humiliate you, having only the status of the employer, but not the name of the crown or the rank of lord, in Russia, unfortunately, the law on employment is very clumsy, and there is a lot of injustice with regard to payment wages and working day. Therefore, I put all my savings into my studio. Unfortunately, for a year now, my studio has not been working, and now I have really very difficult financial days. Nevertheless, I compose music, drink cheap wine, write book material, wave a sword in the forest and play various role-playing games, I am happy in my own way! 😉

What are the future plans for you as an artist?

I have plans, all the same that have always been. Compose material, for books, for musical projects. And I will continue to draw covers for my albums. I have a lot in my book, taken from medieval and renaissance poetry. Including Dutch legends like Vrouwtje van Stavoren or Beiaard and Grutte Pier! But basically, my main character is a knight monk, his guardian angels in the form of generous hares and Reintje de Vos! 😉 ahahah

If Lovidalf Ranemmak VI was a dish, what would it be and why that?

As for the dish, I can’t even think of anything. But I really love venison meat on a fire under wine sauce with garlic and a lot of French oak wine !!! ;))

Thank you Guido Segers! For your attention to my unpopular person.  For your interview.Take care of yourself from any illness, all the best!

 

 

 

 

Review

Dungeon Synth Digest: Castellan, Stuffed Crust, Aldebaran’s Nebulah, Tir

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Another round of the dungeon synth sounds currently haunting the chapel, the forest, the ancient ruins. This time, the epic journey to ‘Persepolis’ with Tir, cruising the ‘Deep Form of Cosmic Signals & Psychonautic Sphere of Nothingness’ with Aldebaran’s Nebulah, checking in on Castellan on ‘Demo III’, and have a bite with Stuffed Crust on ‘Sacrificial Slice Upon The Blackened Stone’.

Let’s enjoy some dungeon synth.

Dungeon Synth Digest

Tir – PersepolisTir - Persepolis

Tir never seems to be truly satisfied with his work, and ‘Persepolis’ is once more a Redux version of an earlier release. Building on the carcass of ‘The Vanished Civilization of Xattoth’ (recently released on cassette by the ever-impressive Heimat Der Katastrophe label), Tir takes us into the shadows of the past. Clocking over 57 minutes, this is truly a journey. Tir doesn’t use an overly rich amount of sounds but relies on strong melodies en good sound. You can instantly feel this as the rhythm of ‘Daemon of Desert (Ahzi)’ swells. The music is sonorous, deep and slow, never going to briefly over what it has to say to you. I like to compare the music of Tir to breathing, as it waxes and wains with a patience, that feels particularly organic and natural.

Yet, there is also a melancholy in the sound. Certainly, a song like ‘Summoning Alborz’ has a more pressing urgency and tension to it, and ‘Righteous Viraz is even playful, but at its more pensive moments Tir feels like reminiscing. The extended version of ‘The Stone Thrown From Cinwad Bridge’ and ‘The Song of the Cosmos is Heard from Persepolis’ are illustrative of that. The record is diverse, that is definitely true. It can lean towards lighter sounds, with a classic notion, on songs such as ‘Empire of Stars’, or dwell in darkness that feels like black metal. Particular shout-out to the contribution of Varkâna on ‘Forgetten Prophecy’.  This is a masterful record, full of atmospheres, places and ideas to wander through, to get lost in, to forget yourself in… among the ancient, crumbling stone of Persepolis.

Artist: Tir
Origin: Turkey
Label: Brilliant Emperor Record

Castellan – Demo IIICastellan - Demo III

There is a lot to like about Castellan. For one, the music is great, but I also love how the music is packed up into adventure modules. Dungeon synth is about nostalgia for imaginary places, and D&D references to embody exactly that. This story is about princesses, dragons and a once peaceful green valley. I don’t need much more. Castellan uses that 8-bit sound, which I particularly enjoy. There’s a level of abstraction to the games of those eras that fully activates the imagination. Music does a lot to make that feeling resurface, particularly opener ‘Doom of the Savage Kings’. Majestic, yet basic, with those regal, clean synth tones. I just love this sound. The cavernous notes on ‘The Illusion of the Decapus’ for example, are monumental. Oh, so just to be clear, you get two versions of each song. One ‘clean’ and one 8-bit. Both ‘sides’ are great, this rules.

Artist: Castellan
Origin: Norway
Label: self-released

Aldebaran’s Nebulah – Deep Form of Cosmic Signals & Psychonautic Sphere of NothingnessAldebaran's nebulah

You can always wonder if things are or are not dungeon synth. I guess Aldebaran’s Nebulah isn’t but that doesn’t stop me from including it here, because this is my blog. Also, I think it has become abundantly clear that dungeon synth is an umbrella term more than ever, and encompasses a broader concept. Wintersynth, goblinsynth, comfy synth, why not space synth. And with further ado, this record from Poland. I get Berlin School vibes from this set of synthy drones and astral projections, which are also a bit Jean-Michel Jarre of course. There’s something creepy in the music, it’s that obvious prelude to darkness in the depths of space, where one last signal can be traced from a lost vessel. Some fool goes to investigate because… don’t they always? We hear the pulsations of the astral depths, the soaring sounds of planetoids moving by, the droning of an approaching ship. It’s a magical journey to the great cold beyond. Synth has many dimensions, and so does space, greatly conveyed on this strong release.

Artist: Aldebaran’s Nebulah
Origin: Poland
Label: Vicious Mockery Records

Stuffed Crust – Sacrificial Slice Upon The Blackened StoneSTUFFED CRUST

This record is pretty much what I would imagine if you particularly labeled it ‘American-Italian Dungeon Synth’ and that’s fine. It’s wacky and wonky as is vividly illustrated by opening track ‘Willy’s wacky pizza party’. There’s some black metal stuffed into this, but that’s what you get when the pizza stays in the oven too long I would assume. I do not approve of stuffed crust by the way, I find it the most abhorrent addition to a food that is good as it is. It just didn’t need that, you know? Anyways, the second track has a bit of that black metal screaming, but still feels very comical due to the sounds. It’s not a serious record, you got that right? But it does blend the stuff nicely together, as ‘extra cheese and good times’ really embodies that comfy synth sound in turn. The constant changing, yet consistent pizza-focus is in itself admirable.  A song like ‘pizzazzzaazzz’ could just as well be from some forest synth group, that’s how well done it is. My favorite is the secret bonus track, ‘gabberoni pizza’, with some true gabber beats. YES!

Artist: Stuffed Crust
Origin: USA
Label: WereGnome Records

195 Metalbands (Interviews), Interview

Varkâna: Iranian Underground Dungeon Synth

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Music is what connects us from the far ends of the earth. No community embodies that as strongly as the dungeon synth community, which interacts through online platforms, enabling acts from far away places to emerge. Varkâna is one of those unlikely acts to find on your path, experimenting with dungeon synth and its cousin dark ambient to create sonic experiences from his homeland Iran.

Now, the freedom to make music is different in some places. Varkâna may hardly deal with themes and subject matter that is controversial in the Persian realms, yet creating music is an act of rebellion in itself I found out. We spoke, at length, about dungeon synth, the underground and his own projects (find out more here).

Dungeon Synth from the Persian Realms of Djinns and mysteries

First, how did you get in touch with dungeon synth music? And what was it that made you fall in love with it?

My first exposure to Dungeon Synth was Mortiis, I used to be an avid Black Metal fan and it was around 8, 9 years ago that I stumbled upon Mortiis and Summoning of course as a teenager and I just fell in love with the way it sounds and the amazing use of synths, I remember I always wanted to hear more keyboard and synths in Black Metal and here it was the perfect creation.

Later on, I found Depressive Silence and fell in love with it immediately, Forest of Eternity is definitely one of my favourite DS tracks of all time and a huge influence to me, alongside Paysage d’Hiver‘s Die Festung the use of synths in that record is just mesmerizing.

What I love about Dungeon Synth is first of all the amazingly supportive community which I’ve not seen in any other scene, also as a musician I always looked for a platform to make a certain kind of ambient ritualistic music and I think that would be impossible without incorporating Dungeon Synth elements. There’s this thing about DS that makes it distinctive from any other genre, the fact that this wide range of sounds from video game music to dark ritualistic drone music unifies under the same banner as Dungeon Synth is just amazing and it’s something you don’t always get when dealing with other genres.

Ok, based on your answer I want to back up a little because I hear a lot of conflicting stories about music accessibility, censorship and metal from Iran. How available is extreme metal to you and how much freedom do you have to create your own?

So let me put it this way. You need a VPN-connection. A lot of stuff is censored here and if you use your regular connection, it just doesn’t work and you get nothing. There’s that, but once you have VPN you can use Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music… Whatever. You can’t buy music though, you can’t do that. You can pirate music though, and listen to it and that’s still good. 

When it comes to making music, you can probably get away with it. You can’t release music though, especially if it’s extreme metal. You can’t have a gig like play live music. You can record though, there are many studios. These are home studios because there is a massive underground in Iran. It ranges from hiphop to black metal, but it’s all underground because it is not allowed. Yet, you do it anyway, because you don’t give a fuck. 

You mentioned the singer of From The Vastland, who left the country due to a lack of freedom (ed. though not listed in the question, I mentioned my interviews with From The Vastland and Avarayr). He is right, freedom doesn’t exist here. You’re constantly exposed to propaganda and surveillance. But it’s not like 1984 here, they are not constantly on top of you. You can still make your music in your own house. Most artists I know do it this way, which is why all my projects are either duos or solo projects. It’s hard to get a band together. 

What is it that defines dungeon synth for you, as in if the style had borders, where would these run?

There’s a couple of things that make dungeon synth what it is and are inseparable from the genre. The first one is the extensive use of synthesizers and keyboards which the familiar atmosphere of the genre is shaped around that. The other thing is the DIY aesthetics that are all over the place.

Musically, to me, anything from the 90’s RPG video game soundtracks to Old Sorcery and Varkâna is considered Dungeon Synth although I wouldn’t consider Varkâna pure Dungeon Synth, it’s something more like post Dungeon Synth (of course that’s not a term) but you can get the general idea. 

To me, original pure  Dungeon Synth is Depressive Silence and Mortiis and then comes stuff like Old Tower which is newer but it’s definitely still Dungeon Synth. I have no opinion on the new Comfy synth stuff that recently appeared, I haven’t really listened to it.  

But yeah I think Dungeon Synth is really a vast genre and isn’t limited to just a few things like other genres there’s really no defining exactly what is considered Dungeon Synth although it’s easier to classify some stuff than the others.

Where does it originate from and can you tell me a bit more about what it is that makes this genre so compelling to you? What is its charm?
As you may know, dungeon synth has roots in black metal and dark ambient. This happened in the late eighties and nineties, like Mortiis. There’s also this label from Sweden called Cold Meat Industries, which signed acts like Mortiis and Aghast. They had a significant impact on forming the genre. And Burzum, the first two albums Varg recorded in prison are also are very big.
What is compelling to me… As a teenager, I listened to a lot of folk and metal music and when I found out about dungeon synth, I was blown away by the way it sounds, artists like Depressive Silence and Mortiis. Not just because it was medieval, but because it’s the only synth. The atmosphere the synths create is something so different to anything else. There is other medieval music you can listen to, but none has the charm that dungeon synth music has. It’s very graphic, and you can picture yourself in its setting and it seems it is meant to be that way.

Varkâna hails from a land of beauty

You’ve mentioned community. I’m curious about what makes the community so special. As I’ve been a member of the Facebook group, I’ve noticed for example that it sort of ‘self polices’, but in a democratic way. It has its little upheavals, but everyone is very involved and the focus is also very much on being non-political.

The great thing about the community is how close everyone is to each other, everybody supports each other’s projects and are willing to do all they can to keep the genre going. 

Also, I think everybody tries their best to keep the drama to a minimum but of course, it’s inevitable at some points.

The DS scene uses the possibility of online in combination with that small scale. There are clear ‘boundaries’ on what fits in and what doesn’t. Or do you feel that’s a wrong assumption? I mean this in both genre stylistics as well as things like politics and ideology.

In terms of politics and ideology, I think you will find that artists’ beliefs vary like in any scene (such as hardcore punk) and I’m sure there are artists and fans out there with some unsavoury beliefs, but they wouldn’t be accepted into the wider community of the scene like most DS artists. For the most part, it’s about the music and the general atmosphere we want to portray/embody. Honestly, DS has no agenda in terms of a united opinion on politics or political ideology. The community is open to all kinds of people and is very open-minded, freedom of expression is generally encouraged and artists’ interpretation of what DS is, or can be, can vary greatly like any genre.

Well, in terms of the music, I think it’s a positive thing that the music is filtered and the community is mainly focused on the actual genre. In the case of the next topic, I think being “PC” is a new trend in media that you can see everywhere with the DS community being no exception. Whether it’s a good thing or not, I’m not in a place to say but that doesn’t make it necessary for individuals and artists to be an advocate for such destructive ideologies as Nazism. Naturally, many only want to cause controversy and stir the pot and don’t actually subscribe to the beliefs they “promote” in actuality.

When you discovered all this music, how did you convert it to something that is your own? You’ve had quite a few projects going, most notably Varkana, which taps into something distinct.

I have lived in Iran for my whole life, so naturally, I have been exposed to Persian folklore, mythology, traditional music since birth. Thanks to this, I feel like it subconsciously influences my music, most notably Varkâna. I use thematically Persian elements in my album/song titles and themes, but this just flows naturally from within me without being forceful. I have always listened to a wide range of eclectic music, so I have drawn inspiration from everything from film scores, Mortiis and Depressive Silence, early electronic and synthesizer music, hardcore punk, shoegaze, post-rock, classical music, synthwave and so on. Similarly to how my “Persianness” is expressed in my music, my music taste also presents itself in my music very organically and the influence is most definitely the foundations of my music.

Had dungeon synth in some ways helped you to explore your ‘roots’ if I can use that word? And how did you figure out in what way you could implement them in your music?

I must say that I was always a massive mythology nerd and read about Persian mythology, history and Zoroastrianism well before I got into DS. but for me, DS and Black Metal are the most fitting ways to incorporate all these readings and concepts into music.

To me, it seems that what you put into the music thematically will dramatically change the way music sounds. Most DS is originally heavily reliant on Tolkienesque, western high-fantasy and RPG’s, so to me, there’s a different flavour to your music. I would argue it’s similar with black metal, where the feisty Norsemen or Celt fantasy (I even heard a Viking metal band from Tunisia) has been sort of played out. How do you feel about the idea of bringing something new to the genre and shifting the frontier as a way of saying?

Well, personally I really enjoy the fact that my music is unique and this approach to DS is not commonplace. But also there are some people who believe this is inferior (especially Cosmic Terror) to the original sound that you’re expecting to hear when you have DS in mind. Again one should keep in mind that DS is a cluttered genre as I mentioned before so it’s kind of hard to keep track of what “true” DS is.

I would like to ask you something more about which different projects you’ve got going on now and what each of them is about.

I’d say Varkâna, Sun Addicted Family and Beam Keeper, but SAF and Beamkeeper are kind of on hold right now and Varkâna is my main project. I’d say Varkâna is a form of extreme transcendental music that relies heavily on being “Iranian” and delves into Iranian mythology and theology. SAF is a more modern approach to black metal and shoegaze and is heavily influenced by Surrealism, Space and our very own existence and at last Beam Keeper is a form of appreciating the 80’s films and music.

With Varkana, you’ve just taken a different turn with a Lovecraft inspired record. Where’s the connection thematically there? 

Well, I always really liked Lovecraft and his writings and I thought maybe I can turn them into a Varkâna album, I felt like the atmosphere would be perfect for a new and different release something that still sounds like Varkâna but it isn’t, thematically to me this is the most experimental Varkâna album and I don’t think anything like this is gonna happen any time soon. But musically there’s new stuff coming that I think will appeal to both new and old Varkâna fans.

Varkana logo

How would you define dungeon synth, if any definition can be made? 

In my opinion, Dungeon Synth can be found in many things (film scores, retro video game music etc) as long as there is a certain feeling, sound or aesthetic quality to it. It is not so much about there being a checkbox per se, but more a general ‘vibe’ or atmosphere.

This means that there is a great deal of creative freedom allowed in the genre, with little to no pigeonholing in what defines something as being DS or not. There are all kinds of Dungeon Synth being made all the time in different themes, from Dinosaurs to Space for example.

Looking at contemporary DS, you can see a lot of growth and expansion in terms of the different branches of the genre, There are noticeable differences in the subgenres within, with the original medieval/ dark ambient sounding DS, rooted deeply in Black Metal only being the starting blocks. Many acts don’t even subscribe to the traditional notion of BM style DS, and nowadays more and more fans are coming to the DS scene without prior interest or exposure to BM. Over time, Dungeon Synth has changed from an offshoot of Dark Ambient and Black Metal into its own distinct genre with its own intricacies and varieties within itself.

What future plans do you have currently as an artist? And are you willing to shed some more light on those hinted-at releases?

Well, I’m currently recording a new atmospheric black/doom album with Eve Hodgkins of Eternal Obsession on guitars and some other musicians including my old friend Harpag Karnik, the album is thematically similar to Ahrimanic Chambers and Rite.

If Varkâna was a dish, a type of food, what would it be and why?

This is a very tough question, I think it would be Persian but something that’s a bit more westernized haha. Like some sort of chicken kebab maybe?

 

Interview

Sidereal Fortress: Artistic Freedom & Dungeon Synth

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Dungeon synth is a strange beast and each artist would appear to have his or her own views on it. Sidereal Fortress, which happens to be the name the artists wants to use for the interview too, looks at it with a wide-open view as part of ambient music. It allows him to approach the genre freely and create a quite diverse range of records, all worth listening to.

This interview started after I wrote a piece (that would appear to have gone slightly unnoticed) on comfy synth, the new threat to the purity of the dungeon synth genre. Or, if you look at it like Sidereal Fortress, a new dimension of a fascinating style.

Read on, and enter the world of Sidereal Fortress.

Sidereal Fortress – of crypts, forests and valleys

I wanted to first ask you about Sidereal Fortress, how did this project get started and what made you go into dungeon synth?
…as I explained in other interviews, Sidereal Fortress was born like a reaction. I used to be a creative musician, so when I felt that creativity was going outta sight from my playing, I immediately turned to something that could stimulate me without boundaries. Ambient Music, and especially Dungeon Synth, was the key. I found out that this style of music we used to listen to in the 90s…you know, Pazuzu, Burzum, Mortiis etc…had a ‘scene’, a following, and…yes, also a name, haha!

Tell me a bit more about your background as a creative musician? What sort of music did you make and what sort of education/training do you have?
About my background. I have been studying the guitar for many years, listened, and collected Metal stuff for all my life…so, not such a different background from other Dungeon Synth artists…

You mention here that you found freedom in dungeon synth (or ambient music in general). What sort of freedom do you mean by that?
Creative freedom, of course! Notice that listening and mastering Ambient Music takes your relationship with Music to another level. Higher? lower? I don’t know. But it’s DIFFERENT. Your musical perception and sensitivity get expanded, your mind and ears get open extremely wide. No school will ever teach you that…

Is that maybe also, because it is such a highly individual process? I mean, more than anything the music is your creation as such.
Absolutely! And no one makes the rules for you.

But also, dungeon synth is slowly closing ranks, there’s an ongoing debate on what is real dungeon synth and what isn’t. That’s why we already see discussions about winter synth or comfy synth, which I believe are cut from the same cloth. How do you experience that, since your music has been classified in the latter category?
Oh, that’s a long one. Ambient Music is closing ranks just if YOU want your ranks to be closed. Sidereal Fortress is actually a multi sounding project, I don’t pay too much attention if my stuff is True DS or False DS…you know, today I could be inspired by some raw, droning black metal stuff like Paysage d’Hiver, tomorrow it could be by Blackmore’s Night, just to give an example. But: most of all, I let the inspiration in from emotional states (including nostalgic), from hiking in the woods, from visiting abandoned villages and places…you know, all that can really stimulate the imagination. And you know what? I never felt so close to music as I do now. Dungeon synth and related stuff can really break every boundary of your creativity and imagination, giving back to music its very essence, making it become a real form of art. Not a scholarship or consumer product.

And continuing my initial line of questioning: What did you set out to do with Sidereal Fortress and what sort of stories inspired you and did you want to tell in turn to your audience?

Let’s look at the thematics because though you talk about freedom, there is consistency in your music and the direction you take it in. Sidereal Fortress is not an experimental project in that sense, but what is the story you are telling us?
Ah, I know what you mean. Anyway, a lot of ‘free form’ tracks are present in Sidereal Fortress…listen for example to my album The Hermit’s Hole. Also ‘La grotta di Merlino’ from the Vette Inquiete album is an actual free form one. The experimental approach you’re speaking of is, indeed, more present in my ‘kosmische’ project Il Generale Inverno. Sidereal Fortress explores most fantasy and traditional scenarios, instead.

Since my first EP, ‘Ruins’, my way of Dungeon Synth is inspired by places I visited, most ancient sites, abandoned medieval locations, woods, mountains etc…since there’s plenty of them in Italy and in Europe. The Hermit’s Hole, Vette inquiete” and also The Lost Woodsongs EP” are all inspired by obscure or fictional facts from Tuscany, the region where I live. With Vette Inquiete, I tried to translate into Music some less known Tuscan folk tales (you’ll find all of them explained in the beautiful tape edition that HDK released in 2018). The Hermit’s Hole, which I consider my only actual full-length album to date, is an even more intimate and spiritual journey in that sense. Just to make it clear: those releases are NOT intended to be part of a trilogy or series….they came straight from the heart and surely I will keep being inspired by the secrets of my homeland!

Italy, obviously, has a rich and long history. Are there particular eras or topics that inspire you?
Most still recognizable heritage that we have in Tuscany, meaning castles, towers, etc, comes from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, so they’re obviously the ones that most inspire me. But I also have a particular interest in Etruscan and pre-Roman sites and history! 

How did you get in contact with Heimat Der Katastrofe?
I don’t remember exactly…but surely it was because they listened to my ‘Ruins’ EP, back in 2017. They offered me the opportunity to write and record an album for their catalog, so I made ‘The Forgotten Tomb of Yshnak’ and the rest is history. Lately, another great label named Ancient Meadow Records contacted me and offered a tape release of The Hermit’s Hole plus some merch like stickers etc…they’re doing an awesome job, I’m so proud of this collaboration!

I’m interested to learn a bit more about the conversion process of those impressions and the inspiration into the music. How do you go about this? Is there a ritual or personal process you go through?I’m absolutely instinctive. Meaning that, in case of inspiration, I must immediately record the main idea just to fix it and capture the emotional state/moment as it is. I don’t see this process as an actual improvisation, I call it ‘straight composing’, do you like this definition? 

This is the only way to give people true inspired Music, not artifacts. My other project Il Generale Inverno is even more extreme in that sense since it’s actually full free-form improvisation.

So it’s for you really a matter of getting to your equipment when the inspiration hits you?
Ahahah, yes, when it’s possible. If not, I record the main idea whistlin’ at my phone.

I’m curious how you feel about the term comfy synth.
Comfy Synth…mmm…initially, that thing made me laugh, just because it seems to be the bright side of dungeon synth…but exploring that subgenre a little bit, I found out that it has its own sense: it’s not the opposite of dark ambient, it seems to be something like the nemesis. CS is just a shortcut neologism to identify a style of ambient music mostly based on the ‘nostalgic’ feel…hence topics like grandma’s rocking chairs, little peaceful animals like the ones in Enid Blyton’s novels, etc. Notice that some of my albums like ‘Racconti del Focolare’ and ‘Alpestre’ have curiously landed in the Comfy Zone…I think it’s because of that nostalgic pulse. Anyway, those albums have been released long before the term ‘comfy synth’ was crafted…

Well, I mentioned your project in a bit I wrote related to the genre. I forwarded the thesis, that it is not the opposite, but a different form of finding ‘escape’ to an imaginary realm. How do you feel about that idea?
It’s more or less what I said above: telling it’s just ‘dark ambient vs bright ambient’ it’s somehow reductive. Also, I heard a couple of albums that showcase very good compositional skills…so I think taking a listen to comfy synth is definitely worth it.

Each artist I spoke to this far has indicated that the community is one of the most important aspects of what they like about dungeon synth. How do you feel about that?
I don’t know what they mean exactly… Maybe they’re talking about feeling at home inside the DS community because there are no pop-stars among the artists, and every DS addicted frequents the same two or three closed groups. What I like about the DS community is that there’s respect between artists, almost no jealousy or other ridiculous stuff. That said, it’s not so different from other music-related communities…

Well, that’s something. So what sort of equipment do you use to make music?
I’m currently using two controllers and an Italian toy-synth from the 80s to which I added a line-out jack. Sometimes I also use a Yamaha acoustic guitar, a classical one, and rarely also some of my old strats.

Are you a bit of a gearhead?
Not that much, to be honest. I recorded my first EP ‘Ruins’ by using just a USB portable controller, believe it or not, ahah! Then I obviously improved my synth stuff buying two better devices…you know, to have more dynamics, an onboard arpeggiator, a basic mixing section, and other things. This allows me to make also improvised stuff like I’m doing with Il Generale Inverno. The toy synth is a curious story: I casually found that little monster at a fair, for just 5€…it’s a Bontempi, a legendary Italian brand from the old days. And, despite being just a little toy, it has very good sounds!

Dungeon synth is now more popular than ever. Cassettes sell out in minutes for example. Where do you think this is all heading?
Oh, this is a hot one!!! I know many artists do not agree with my point of view, but I think there’s an ‘underground hype’ out there. Music is losing its primary role, in favor of the collecting hysteria. There are beautiful albums, even little masterpieces, that go completely unseen…but when they get a repress by this or that label, they got sold out in 2 minutes. Curious, ah!? OK, labels have more visibility than an independent artist, but this sounds to me almost an apology…

Do you feel it disrupts the artistry? Have you felt this has affected your visibility as an artist?
Let me tell you this: if you feel that hype, marketing, and other shit like that is somehow affecting your art or artistry, well you’d better stop acting like an artist because you’re not. All this stuff regards making music as a job or a source of money raising, not art. Desmond Child maybe does not agree with my view, but I could understand him, haha! To answer the second part of the question, I’m not in the position to complain about my project’s visibility and other things like that, because Sidereal Fortress seems to be respected and welcomed by most of the community, including well-known labels. So I’m a pop star now, haha!

I gather you have your own dungeon now, as a wealthy star in the DS underground?
I’m more interested in doing my music the best I can, trying to keep the quality high. DS has that amateur, underground feel we all like…however this can’t be used as an excuse for masking an objective low quality. But returning to your question, in 2017 when I released ‘Ruins’ I noticed an interest, people were buying my digital EP, though I hadn’t any Facebook, Instagram, or label promoting Sidereal Fortress…it was exciting to see that, and still, it is! I’m obviously thankful to all those who support my projects!

How important is stuff like artwork and the creative side of a physical release to you?
…to be honest, when I started Sidereal Fortress I was focused 100% on Music and I didn’t give graphics and artworks a lot of importance. But yes, with time I learned that artwork is part of the concept and must reflect what you’re going to hear in the tape, cd etc. Then I started practicing with graphic software and I improved my skills a bit. However, we still have to keep in mind that we’re here to make music, not paintings or theater…

About the music, what is the purpose of your work, or in other words, how do you hope your listener enjoys your work? Is it about musicality or atmosphere?
This is the most difficult question I ever had to answer in an interview, really! The most important thing for an artist is always to go straight to the heart of his audience, to touch their feelings and emotions…no matter if with musical skills or just a sound texture. With Sidereal Fortress, I try to be balanced between the two…if you listen to The Hermit’s Hole from start to end, you’ll realize how much it depends on the single track: both  ‘Through ancient woods…’ are super-easy and quite repetitive tracks, but it’s exactly how I wanted those songs to be! At school, you learn that easy Music is almost shit, but the reality is a bit…different!

I read in Dungeon Synth Zine you were considering ending the Sidereal Fortress project?
Yes, I ended Sidereal Fortress one year ago after the release of ‘Odissea’. Back then I felt like I’ve told all that I had to tell with that ‘brand’. But thanks to some estimated DS artists and also some close friends, I found myself reconsidering Sidereal Fortress. That led me to publish The Hermit’s Hole with my usual moniker…and it has been the right move! That album got the interest of Ancient Meadow and a very good overall feedback…yes, I think it’s my best release to date.

Which artists or releases are currently inspiring you or which would you really recommend as you consider them to be particularly good?
Mmm…the dungeon synth scene is moving such fast that it’s really hard to find hidden masterpieces. Also, it’s quite rare that I make my DS Music getting inspiration from other DS. Morphic Sun is a less known artist that I’m following with great interest.

What future plans do you currently have for Sidereal Fortress?
Honestly, I don’t know. I have a few recorded tracks that maybe will be included in my next album, but not in the near future. Dungeon synth is the quintessence of introspective music like dark ambient and cosmic music are…but they’re also a research of the perfect dramatic and obscure symphony. The making of The Hermit’s Hole lasted almost one year, but things could be even longer…or shorter…who knows? By now, I will join the new chapter of a well-known compilation with an unreleased track. You’ll see…

If you had to describe Sidereal Fortress as a dish, like a type of food, what would it be and why?
Without any doubt, it would be a dish from the Tuscan tradition, possibly a mountainside one. Just because my region, as I told you before, is my main source of inspiration. Though I also did some ‘off-topic’ albums like Odissea and The Forgotten Tomb of Yshnak.

Maybe I will choose the ‘cinghiale alla bracconiera’, that we can almost translate as ‘the poacher’s wild boar’ in English!

 

Review

Lóndrangar – Lóndrangar

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Lóndrangar awakens from its slumber

How lovely it is to discover new dungeon synth artists emerging from a country not particularly well known for its imagination. It’s ok for me to say this, as it concerns an artist from the Netherlands itself. I’m not sure what it is – our lack of wild places, the country’s flat nature, or a simple disconnect with the mysteries of our past. All of these seem to be well part of the Dutch condition, yet here and there magic appears, for those willing to see it. Lóndrangar is a project that has been slumbering in the forgotten past but now has reawakened.

Toner Low might be the last band I’d associate with dungeon synth, but member Daan started Lóndrangar a lifetime ago, back in 1997. After only a short period of a year, it became dormant and had been until we had this global pandemic raging around our globe. And there, we have it, the self-titled debut after long last. The songs are completely new though. And if you were wondering, Lóndrangar is named after an eroded volcanic rock formation on Iceland’s west coast.

Though the songs are new, the feel is very old. Lóndrangar hits the right spot for the lovers of old-school dungeon synth. Repetitive, epic strings and a gloomy, melancholic atmosphere all the way. It really doesn’t take much for ‘Ruins Forgotten By Time’ to grip you, but with a title like that, what else did you expect? Yet, it takes us back to the earliest recordings of Mortiis and Cernunnos Woods, and I’d like to mention Wongraven here too as this is the same primitive sound I hear. Slowly the music waxes and wanes, with multiple layers working in harmony to set a mood more than tell a story. But that’s early dungeon synth for you, I believe.

‘Darkening Skies’ is a bit more threatening, slightly more urgent. There’s a swing in the sound, that allows you to imagine the fluttering on the wind, the meandering of rivers and the dripping of water over rugged rocks. The song becomes softer over time, as the synths take on an emulation of the wind, that wistfully blows over the land. It’s full of longing for a different time, now forgotten. ‘A Call Upon The Ages’ takes a darker route. It’s a more subdued swan song to a great debut album. Even if it was 23 years in the making, Lóndrangar makes it all worth it on this classic slab of DS.

Review

Dungeon Synth Digest: Toadlickers, Hole Dweller, Vervamon & Borg

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Get your dungeon synth digest with Toadlickers, Hole Dweller, Vervamon, and Borg. Some good stuff to get into your system. Ok, maybe not all as dungeon synth as it should be, but it fits. And it’s cool so… enjoy.

Header image: Temple of Mokva in Abkhazia, an ancient working temple. According to legend, the king of Leon refused to pay the builder, claiming the surroundings were not visible from the tower. After the builder climbed up to look at the surroundings, and prove the king wrong, the king removed the ladder to let him starve. The temple was looted by the Turks and rebuilt in the 19th century. 

Toadlickers – Hangover Songs

Origin: Goblin-town
Label: Knekelput RecordingsToadlickers

I’m not sure if you could call Toadlickers dungeon synth, but it’s definitely using the format to amplify its comical storytelling. Ok, so let’s imagine a goblin tavern, deep under the surface of the Forgotten Realms or any other fantasy realms. Drunk goblins roll around, frolicking and fighting, gobbling food and tittle-tattling in guttural tones. Then the band called Toadlickers starts playing. The rhythm is a bit martial, repetitive, but also jolly and a bit incoherent. Fighting ceases, and the noisy masses rise to their feed to do the goblin dance. Yes, you can think about the Labyrinth movie with David Bowie as the Goblin King. Opening track ‘Now I want to lick some toads’ is an instant classic, as is my favorite ‘Too Many Mushroom Candies.’ It sort of sounds like the famous ‘Silvester Anfang’ is being played by… well, drunk Goblins. Smash your tankards, hop without a care around and sing along with Toadlickers.

Funny thing is, there’s a long-standing dichotomy in fantasy with there being good and evil. But what if these are just perspectives, and evil creatures are just as many beings that want fun, fulfillment, and a lot of liquor?

Hole Dweller – Flies the Coop II

Origin: USA
Label: Dungeons Deep RecordsHole Dweller

This ‘demo’ release by Hole Dweller can be called the last of an era. The act released a new EP recently, and the sound has changed remarkably. Good on Hole Dweller, less good for the fans of these iconic releases. This demo fills the hole between the first and second release (‘Flies the Coop’ and ‘Return To Roost’). Adventuring? No thank you, would Bilbo have said. However, the protagonist of Hole Dwellers’ pastoral dungeon synth saga responded with a resounding yes and has gotten himself into an adventure. The music is filled with joy and passages that speak of the tranquility you will find in the realms of Middle Earth. Some jokes are for insiders, like the title ‘The Hospitality of Elves is Nearly That of Halflings.’ It’s what makes this record such a lovely endeavor to retreat into.

I particularly relish the song ‘With a taste of Miruvor’, which has a slow beat, and repeats it’s energizing sounds. It soothes, but also breathers live back into you as you listen. Hole Dweller likes to create ambient sounds, like a woodpecker hammering away on a tree trunk, the sound of the wind, and a hazy sound to the synths that playfully unfold the songs. As an act, Hole Dweller, much like Toadlickers, offers new pathways for dungeon synth to explore without ever really deviating from its original journey.

Vervamon – The Path Through The Evergreen Forest

Origin: Netherlands
Label: Knekelput Recordings

Vervamon is too old, too cold. Dungeon synth, produced between 1999 and 2010, but finally released into this scene ready to devour ay original material. Vervamon debuted this record during the North-East Dungeon Siege live stream, with this fantastic video (below). So all in all, this is a release that captures some original atmosphere and sounds.

So, that makes Vervamon the sound of the ancients and it is highly distinct from most music you’ll find labeled dungeon synth from that era. It takes great stylistic liberties, even approaching religious music in the tonal arrangements on opener ‘Snagdaa’. I read ‘Snaga’ for a while, thinking this was a Gemmell reference. ‘The Path Through The Evergreen Forest’ is, however, more of a narrative than a record. Tracks like ‘Dwalende Gedachten’ contain a lot of samples and less music. When it comes up, it guides the listener to the next installment. I particularly like ‘Sneeuw en spar (eerbetoon aan de duistere troon)’. Maybe because it is a tribute to Darkthrone. I like Darkthrone a lot. My favorite track, however, remains ‘Woundmannen’. That’s the one from the video, but it’s also the most consistent and powerful.

‘Ancient Shores’ ends the old work on this record, the last two tracks are newly released. They didn’t do much for me, it was too much the sort of dark ambient you can play in the background. It sounds but doesn’t have the same storytelling strength. It makes me think of some of the tracks created by From The Bogs Of Aughishka. That’s good. It’s a fascinating journey, but not for purists… or the weak of will.

Borg – The Sacred Mound (by J. Morlak)

Origin: Sweden
Label: Self-releasedBorg The Sacred Mound

Borg is a relatively new kid on the blog in the dungeon synth landscape, but ‘The Sacred Mound (by J. Morlak)’ is far from an early release in his works. Sure, the artwork stands out like a sore thumb, referencing early 90s paint/WordArt craftsmanship, but the music is surprisingly handsome. We discussed earlier the jolly tavern sounds of Toadlickers, and Borg in a way is similar. It’s synth-driven folk music, with a highly immerse vibe. Certainly, it sounds Nordic, with bold and clean sounds, but enriched with various percussion sounds, it’s a joy to listen to. Some songs really feel magical, but also from remote worlds we know little about. ‘Palace of the Amfibian Lords’, for example, feels oriental (using the term very broadly to indicate some sonic influences here), where other songs play with nature sound imitations (such as ‘Gently Sway The Forest in the Wind’).

I’ve been curious to find out more about the title, as there’s a name mentioned there, but I haven’t been able to link that to ‘The Sacred Mound’, which does happen to be a 1993 Icelandic family film (I would hope to watch it, but can’t verify it as yet). Letting go of that, it’s a fantasy record that tells tales of the magic that is in nature and transforms the way we think about dungeon synth as a musical form. It can be playful, like the title track, or epic like your Northrend entrance soundtrack in World of Warcraft, in ‘Bows For Strings And Arrows’.

Review

Seregost – Halls of a Nameless King

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Seregost is first and foremost a work of love. Love for the genre of dungeon synth, love for the fantasy and music that has inspired it. Words of thanks are levelled at names such as Basil Poledouris, Gary Gygax and Robert E. Howard, but also at Mortiis. The grandmaster of the dungeon synth genre will likely nod in approval of this spawn of darkness, building on his creativity.

‘Halls of the Nameless King’ follows the narrative of a man wandering into the halls of a forgotten castle. We call him The Wanderer, who discovers mysteries untold and enemies fierce in his journey into the depths of hell itself in this forgotten castle. 

We start with ‘Through the Darkwood’, which allows us to traverse through an ominous landscape. Subtle baselines hint at a threat from beyond and calm, repetitive melodies dance between the trees. The wind rises, blowing up a fierce gale when sturdy bassoon-like synths herald the emergence of the crumbling towers. Voices sing in awe of its solid might. Behold, the castle is here. ‘Silent stands the stronghold’, keeping its secrets, and repelling you with its stone might. We have become the wanderer. 

As we enter the castle gates to ‘An Ominous Enclave’, the synths become less ethereal, more solid and sonorous. The listeners are taken through the old keep and the music builds up the tension gradually, giving that vibe that something may be very much amiss, or perhaps not so much. In the ‘Chapel to a Forgotten God’ we have some more light in the music, though perhaps it is only the illusion of might from ancient ritualistic symbols in this room. The organ sounds do bring a sense of humility to you as you step through these ancient halls. But suddenly, ‘Hidden Passages Reveal’, which the subtle bass flow and the gentle keys manage to convey very successfully. 

Yet as we enter the ‘Hall of the Nameless King’, the sound swells to a more regal tone and atmosphere. But here, something stirs and the adventure comes to a climax. The drums sound, the synths herald ‘Behold, the Warlord’ and more is yet to come. The music becomes more adventurous here, more building towards a crescendo. But this is a false ending, as a ‘Stranger Things’ like end leaves you hanging on for more yet. 

Artist: Seregost
Origin: ?
Label: Knekelput 

Interview

Vaelastrasz: Azeroth Dungeon Synth Mastery

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Dungeon synth is a music style, bubbling under the surface of contemporary music. Born from video game soundtracks, obscure synth music and black metal introductions, it has grown into a whole different underground world. Vaelastraz is one of the mysterious creators, offering his otherworldly sounds to the faithful.

Vaelastrasz is one of the acts that have expanded the scope of dungeon synth from dusky crypts, dusty tombs and crumbling ruins, to otherworldly phantasies. His special focus is on the famed Warcraft video game branch, but his music is much darker than the often light-hearted atmosphere of the game itself and delves deep into the mythopoeia of its universe.

Vaelastrasz has been kind enough to share more about his music, vision and genre, where he is one of the rare artists who actually play live and who has in fact performed at the first (as far as I’ve been able to discover) dungeon synth festival. Join us in the dark reaches of Azeroth.

I wanted to start by asking you who Vaelastrasz is and how the project got underway? How did you get into dungeon synth?

There’s a lot to unwrap with my origins. Referring to the character it’s based on, Vaelastrasz is a notorious raid boss from the classic version of World of Warcraft. Notorious in the sense that his difficulty was able to make raiding guilds disband, garnering the nickname “The Guild Breaker”. Lore-wise he was a member of the Red Dragonflight, a faction of dragons that wish to protect life on Azeroth, before being corrupted by the Black Dragonflight.

As for the person behind the project, well, I’m just a small musician from the suburban hellscape that is the Washington DC metropolitan area. I started toying around with making fantasy ambient music around early 2016 under a different name that housed basically any idea that I threw at the wall at the time. I didn’t think much of it until I got a message from a Dungeon Synth artist named “Shelter Ov Shadows” who encouraged that I release this music under a different moniker to garner more attention.

I picked Vaelastrasz for a couple of reasons. The main one being that within the world of “Dungeon Synth”, it astounds me how little to no representation Warcraft seemed to have back in 2016 and even now. How is it that one of the most popular fantasy-inspired Video Game franchises of the 21st century gets no love while there are projects for Elder Scrolls and Dark Souls? Maybe Warcraft isn’t “dark” enough for people to write music for, but nevertheless I’m still dumbfounded by its exclusion.

How I got into Dungeon Synth is oddly enough through my love for Drone Metal. I was familiar with the genre, but never really enjoyed most of the albums I’d listened to at the time. Whether it be Mortiis or Burzum’s prison albums, I never initially had a strong standing on the bigger hits of old school Dungeon Synth. It wasn’t until I discovered this duo from the UK, Trollmann av Ildtoppberg, that made me fall in love with Dungeon Synth. Their combination of deep bassy drones and minimalist synth work made me more immersed compared to any other Dungeon Synth album. Listening to “The Forest of Doom” for the first time was quite the experience.

What I got from that music is that you can create more by doing less. Trollmann were inspired by the Fighting Fantasy books but listening to that music made me think of different worlds, universes, stories, etc. I wanted to do something like that.

I was curious if you are still a Warcraft player, having myself played these games and read their books since the beginning. On the side, do you know Aardtmann op Vuurtopberg? 

I still like to play Warcraft 3 when I have the time. I am privileged enough to still have the original games and not have to look at the horrid remaster that Blizzard put out recently. As for World of Warcraft, I never cared for it after Wrath of the Lich King as the games had gone downhill since in my opinion. I try to play a little bit of each expansion for the sake of it. I thought Mists of Pandaria and Legion were fine, but the rest I can do without. Their recent expansion, Battle for Azeroth, is a boring heap of dogshit for all I care. I tried playing Classic WoW when that became an option, but I had become so encumbered with other events that the nostalgia quickly wore off by the time I reached level 11 or so on a character. You can’t relive the past.

Haha, yeah you’re not the first person to tell me of Aardtmann Op Vuurtopberg’s existence. I’ve only ever listened to one of their albums, “De Berg van Verdoemenis”, and didn’t think much of it. A nice little tribute if anything.

What do you think about the connection between DS and video games? Many people talk about the connection with black metal, which is obvious, but for me, the link to video games has always been the first thing that stood out. Yet, also here it is a matter of nostalgia for old RPGs.

I’ve always thought that it was very apparent with how Dungeon Synth and video games, especially video game soundtracks, tend to overlap. You listen to an older release like Middles Ages by Caduceus and you’d think it was some Black Metal fan trying to recreate the Donkey Kong Country soundtrack. I know a lot of non-Black Metal fans who enjoy Dungeon Synth because to them it sounds like a soundtrack to an unreleased video game.

Which always brings a hilarious crossroads within DS. There’s a lot of traditional people who vow against video games have it strictly be “Ambient Black Metal”. Then there are people who were raised by tabletop games and RPGs who would rather let the past be the past and let go of the Black Metal roots. It’s pretty funny. One should always find a balance between the two in my opinion.

What sort of equipment do you use to create your music?

I usually run rather cheap Casio keyboards that you can get at big retail stores and run it through a Hotone reverb pedal. Most of my albums were done with the CTK-1100, but now I have the CTK-2550 to mess around with. For live shows, I tend to have a couple more pedals with me, more notably a Ditto Looper and the Electro-Harmonix Freeze pedals to help me with loops and drones.

You are one of the few ds artists that play live. What made you decide to take it in that direction?

Initially, the first couple of live shows that I did around 2017 were at the request of my friends, but as my peers started to seriously get into performing live with their DS projects as well as the rise of the Dungeon Siege music festivals, I had a growing urge to really want to bring my music into a live setting. Dungeon Synth live is completely new territory for a lot of us in the Dungeon Synth scene and we have our own special ways of showing what can be done.

Over here, we have not had such events. Can you describe what a dungeon siege event is like? In general and what it is like when you perform?

Dungeon Siege, specifically Northeast Dungeon Siege as well as last year’s Dungeon Siege West, are these annual Dungeon Synth-oriented festivals in the US. A bunch of artists and fans from around the world come to interact with other like-minded DS fans. It’s truly an amazing experience to play with and hang out with other Dungeon Synth acts. I feel a lot more comfortable performing in front of people who truly understand the craft.

But these events are usually more than just music, right?

Yes, there’s also pre-show tabletop gaming sessions on some nights and an array of vendors and labels.

Do you think touring with a band in a different style would work? For example, a package with a black metal band, or is DS a different audience?

It really depends on the style. If it were a Dungeon Synth and Black Metal tour, which I believe Mayhem and Mortiis are planning on doing that exact thing in the future, then those would work fine with each other. I used to be in a Funeral Doom band and we toured with a Thrash Metal band. Suffice to say that there was at least one show where they definitely did not want us because we weren’t their thing.

I guess the best way to put it is that the two styles really need to have some sort of overlap. If you were to do a Dungeon Synth tour with some sort of Tech Death Metal band than people would probably eye the crowd and ask what the hell was going on.

Do you feel there are limits to what is dungeon synth and what isn’t? As an example, Fief sounds vastly different to me the traditionalists. I have seen many discussions on the ‘purity’ of the style. How do you feel about this?

In regards to experimentation or branching outside of the norm vs the pure, traditionalist, old school-inspired acts, I think there needs to be a steady balance between the two (just like what I said regarding Black Metal-inspired vs Gaming-inspired Dungeon Synth). I think there are many ways to experiment with Dungeon Synth, but some people are way too over their heads when it comes to seeing what other genres they can mash Dungeon Synth with. There’s this small thing brewing with people trying to combine DS with Hip Hop, calling it “Dungeon Rap” or “Crypt Hop”. I don’t think it’s Dungeon Synth, just people trying too hard to incorporate fantasy ambient melodies with poorly made Memphis Rap. I have some friends who dig it and create it though so more power to them, but it’s just not for me.

But pushing the limits is good. People want to keep at it with the old ways but by the time that you’ve heard the umpteenth Les Legions Noires ripoff or the same minimalist pad-heavy Winter Synth ambient tunes, then it becomes tiresome and boring. Something fresh needs to happen every once in a while. A lot of these purists have the right idea that we shouldn’t veer off from the path, but some of them have this inane unwillingness to accept even the slightest of change.

I agree that Fief is a fine example since they seem to play around more with folk influences compared to other bigger names in recent Dungeon Synth. It’s different enough to carve out its own little path within the genre, but not different to the point where self-indulgence takes hold on an artist. Mainly due to the fact that folk music and Dungeon Synth are extremely compatible with one another.

Can you define what DS is? What are its base characteristics?

What is DS? That’s the million-dollar question right there, haha. I guess my naive definition of what I think Dungeon Synth is is that it’s a branch of ambient music, whether it be fantasy ambient or dark ambient music, that has some sort of narrative or story behind it. You’re supposed to be immersed in whatever world that a Dungeon Synth album or song is trying to invoke, like an epic adventure to slay a dragon or being entrapped within a desolate cave.

Now how one goes about doing that is all up to them, whether it be artists inspired by Black Metal, Folk, Classical, Darkwave, etc.

DS has really emerged into daylight the last two years, and although events like Dungeon Siege have yet to make it overseas, how far do you think this can go?

How far will this go? We’re gonna get a Dungeon Synth act headlining Coachella. My money is on Diplodocus. But in all seriousness, there is a pessimist side of me that feels that the bubble will pop eventually and the general interest of this will wane down. However, the scene itself feels like a giant family. A really weird, fucked-up family mind you, but a loving and caring one too. I can’t predict the future of where Dungeon Synth is going to go, but if it does end up declining then I can at least say that I’ve met a lot of amazing people within it. The real Dungeon Synth is the friends we made along the way.

I wanted to take this back to your last album. Can you tell a bit more about The Birth of Naxxramas and the story this record shares?

The Birth of Naxxramas is kinda like a concept album where there’s a different melody representing a tier from the raid Naxxramas, as well as the last song being a call back to one of my earlier albums, “The Plaguelands”. On that album I had a song called “Naxxramas” but I thought that something as big as Naxxramas deserved something more than a song.

The melodies were leftover recordings I had made for the album before that, “Adventures of the Red Whelpling”. I wanted that album to be my big album, but it didn’t garner an immediate huge reception among people. As much as I love Birth of Naxxramas I don’t like the fact that the album was only really fueled by pettiness and anger that my previous album wasn’t as well-received. At the time it was much-needed motivation, but looking back my head was in the wrong space because of certain people saying that Whelpling was underwhelming to them. At the end of the day, I still have no clue what people want or expect from me when it comes to making music

The first track, Frostwyrm Lair, was originally a 17-minute track that was supposed to be on Whelpling, but I never liked the 2nd-half of the song. I thought the intro could lead to something better so I scoured through the remaining recordings that I had from the Whelpling sessions to see what ones I could work with. After that, it was sort of like playing a matching game. What goes next? Which melody should come after? Can I place this melody here? Once I got all the pieces connected everything else came naturally.

The ghostly crooning was provided by my dearest companion and fellow Dungeon Synth artist Mors Certa. I typically don’t collaborate with other Dungeon Synth artists mainly due to weird trust issues. Even though I mean no disrespect to them and I just said that some of them are like a family to me, there’s just a weird mental block that I have when it comes to working with other artists. Mors Certa and I, however, had grown really close at this point that I decided to ask if she’d be willing to provide her voice for a couple of parts on it. I didn’t want it to be anything big since she was busy with her personal life so I only asked her to provide a lovely little choral section for her parts and it turned out well.

Previously, there was a note with this album, stating it was possibly the last one. You’ve dropped two more since, what made you consider ending the project there?

At the time I felt like I just wasn’t good enough or on par with other artists. I’m a competitive individual that wants to strive to be better each time and when I see peers rise above and garner more love, it either lights a flame or makes me feel defeated. I’m easily influenced by what I see posted online and the less I see of me, the more I feel that people just don’t care about the project. Artistic fulfilment should be the goal, not whether you get more than 10 people supporting you on Bandcamp, but unfortunately, that was where my mindset was at the time and still goes to sometimes.

But I ended up making more music because melodies keep on springing up in my head. I don’t want to keep them in my head forever. I have the need to make music whether or not people are really listening to me. Truth be told, there’s no way I can ever announce an album to be my last album. If I ever do announce it, then my mindset that day was probably filled with the insecurities that I just vented about. If I were to ever release a final album then I would never announce it as such. I would just simply release it and quietly walk away

Well, you have announced a new record actually, so what can we expect from it?

The same meal with a little different seasoning. Keeping up with repetitive melodies and drone, but trying to experiment with a little bit more just like my previous releases. There’s a couple of songs that were mostly inspired by stuff like Om, which means I’m messing around with bass-driven melodies. My new album, “The Temple of Ahn’Qiraj”, is of course based off of the zone of the same name and trying to capture the atmosphere of a desert ruin with an ancient being inside of it all has been a challenging and fun task.

It’s definitely the most psychedelic album I’ve done, but it’s not like I’m making this acid trip-filled experience, haha. This project has always been an experiment of what I can do with drone and Dungeon Synth. This will definitely fit in well with the rest of my discography.

As the Warcraft storyline deepens and expands, do you find there is enough inspiration left for you there for more?

Absolutely. One of the reasons why I picked this project was because of my initial love for the Warcraft universe and lore. It’s deep and rich enough to make more music for. There’s a lot of areas and personalities that I haven’t touched upon yet that I would like to explore more of. I’ve made two albums concerning the Old Gods (Yogg-Saron and N’Zoth) which is about to be three upon the completion of my recent album and I’d like to make other “biographical” albums so to speak. For example, I’ve always loved Kael’Thas and would love to make an album about him. Arthas is an obvious choice as well, but I’ve already made the Plagueland albums and Naxxramas so I don’t want to go back to that well just yet. I’ve always wanted to do a piece about the history of the Defias Brotherhood, but can never get the feeling of it. There’s a lot more to explore and make with Warcraft.

So to close, what future plans do you currently have? Are you planning to tour when all of this is over?

The future is very unpredictable, especially now with the current pandemic. I am a rather spontaneous individual when it comes to what I want to do with the project, so, for now, my plan is to just focus on releasing the new album and see what happens. As for tours, I’m not entirely sure but I do hope other acts come through here sometime soon so I can have a chance to play with them.

If you had to describe Vaelastrasz as a dish, what would it be and why that?

Haha, I don’t know if I can think of any specific dish or meal to really describe what I do. You know what? I’m the stick of gum that doesn’t lose its flavour! You can keep on chewing and chewing, but I assure you I won’t turn into a soft, flavourless gob haha