Alder
Magic User
Murky dungeon sounds: alderen.bandcamp.com
Posts: 228
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Post by Alder on Apr 20, 2017 13:58:53 GMT -5
There's been quite a bit more activity on the DS reddit in the last year or so. This inspired me to look into the Google search trends: Growth has gone exponential!! Here's the direct link: trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=dungeon%20synthDid something happen? Are we in a DS revival of some sort? A think-piece get published? Did someone get famous? My connection to the genre is 96% listening to it on my own in a darkened bedroom. What's going on in the world at large?
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Post by thekeeper on Apr 20, 2017 14:47:53 GMT -5
There was a Bandcamp article a couple weeks ago that definitely kicked interest up among 'outsiders'. A primer video was also made today. It's kind of created a lot of scuffles in the FB group. There's new stuff every day in the BC tag, but there has been for a long while. It's still really obscure though, still "basement metal nerds playing keyboards" to the majority of people. I don't think the genre is any worse off or anything, still lots of great stuff coming out, I just hope good DS artists don't start quitting because more people like it now from other scenes and are making 'wrongly conceived' DS as part of it's hyped rise or whatever. It evens out by itself .
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Post by Profoundemonium on Apr 20, 2017 15:12:24 GMT -5
The genre was recently suggested for inclusion in the list of electronic styles at Discogs. It generated some curiosity and discussion on the forums and was finally added 4 months ago. However this probably accounts for only a small portion of the growth.
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Post by thekeeper on Apr 20, 2017 15:37:35 GMT -5
A lot albums have also been posted to Youtube as well with the genre name in the video title, some have thousands of views.
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nazgaldracul
Verified Account
Find my DS at nazgaldracul.bandcamp.com
Posts: 106
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Post by nazgaldracul on Apr 20, 2017 18:09:58 GMT -5
I was always a fan of wongraven and the burzum prison albums and stuff like that, but until recently it was always tagged with the dark ambient genre. I found the term dungeon synth not too long ago on the /mu/ board on 4chan after already been making a couple of albums that would fit into the genre through my BM projects. So i think the interest for the genre has always been there, but what we see now is a drastic change in terminology.
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Post by ranseur on Apr 20, 2017 18:45:43 GMT -5
There was a Bandcamp article a couple weeks ago that definitely kicked interest up among 'outsiders'. A primer video was also made today. It's kind of created a lot of scuffles in the FB group. There's new stuff every day in the BC tag, but there has been for a long while. It's still really obscure though, still "basement metal nerds playing keyboards" to the majority of people. I don't think the genre is any worse off or anything, still lots of great stuff coming out, I just hope good DS artists don't start quitting because more people like it now from other scenes and are making 'wrongly conceived' DS as part of it's hyped rise or whatever. It evens out by itself .Damn that video got like 12 thousand views in a day. What the hell.
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nazgaldracul
Verified Account
Find my DS at nazgaldracul.bandcamp.com
Posts: 106
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Post by nazgaldracul on Apr 20, 2017 19:00:07 GMT -5
There was a Bandcamp article a couple weeks ago that definitely kicked interest up among 'outsiders'. A primer video was also made today. It's kind of created a lot of scuffles in the FB group. There's new stuff every day in the BC tag, but there has been for a long while. It's still really obscure though, still "basement metal nerds playing keyboards" to the majority of people. I don't think the genre is any worse off or anything, still lots of great stuff coming out, I just hope good DS artists don't start quitting because more people like it now from other scenes and are making 'wrongly conceived' DS as part of it's hyped rise or whatever. It evens out by itself .Damn that video got like 12 thousand views in a day. What the hell. when looking at the view count one should also take into consideration his subscriber count
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Post by thekeeper on Apr 20, 2017 19:23:29 GMT -5
Damn that video got like 12 thousand views in a day. What the hell. when looking at the view count one should also take into consideration his subscriber count Yeah I think it's a really popular channel
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Post by ranseur on Apr 20, 2017 19:54:59 GMT -5
when looking at the view count one should also take into consideration his subscriber count Yeah I think it's a really popular channel Yeah maybe you're right, I have no clue who that is.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2017 1:04:11 GMT -5
I'm honestly quite amazed at how popular dungeon synth has become. When I first got introduced to this sub-genre, like most people I assume through black metal, I had to dig pretty deep just to find it and hear it. A lot of it wasn't even on youtube. I would have never thought Depressive Silence would be getting released on LP, or those Lamentation demos being reissued. Not complaining though. I'm more than happy to have these gems in my collection.
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Post by unelema on Apr 25, 2017 13:22:11 GMT -5
I am one of the people who has only very recently realized that dungeon synth existed... I haven't even made any yet, though some of the stuff I made with LMMS about six years ago back when I was still doing that may count as such by accident, I don't know... however, I have this pathological fear of liking anything that's too popular, so this new surge is scary to me XD
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goatwolf
Peasant
pennsylvanian hunger
Posts: 14
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Post by goatwolf on Apr 26, 2017 1:40:38 GMT -5
I've been lurking the forums for a while, and decided to finally jump in and make an account.
Anyways, I learned of dungeon synth probably about a year, maybe a year and a half ago. It was kaptain_carbon's posts on /r/metal preaching about dungeon synth that caught my eye.
As a black metal fan, for years I've been enthralled with the more ambient leanings of the genre; Burzum's softer pieces, like Han Som Reiste, Tomhet, and the prison albums; Summoning's use of electronic instruments and the way they evoke the sounds of Middle Earth, as well as various intros, outros, and other non-metallic tracks on albums spanning the genre.
After learning about dungeon synth proper, I quickly fell in love. From the somber and contemplative to the bombastic and triumphant; from clean and modern sounding material, to the icy cold of early demos, I found exploring this 'new' genre to be a rewarding journey. I haven't bought any physical copies of any DS yet, and I'd love to buy more DS on Bandcamp, both physical and digital, but for my lack of funds.
I found this forum about two months ago, and since then, when I visit, I've been lurking and learning, expanding my horizons, and taking it all in.
Perhaps one day I'll record tracks of my own. I've come up with a couple riffs and progressions on the keyboard at my friend's house, but the time isn't quite right yet. Once I have more free time to learn, study, and experiment, more money to spend on equipment, and the right inspiration, I'll have to cook something up, and I'll be sure to share if I come up with anything good.
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Post by kaptaincarbon on Apr 26, 2017 6:05:38 GMT -5
Anyways, I learned of dungeon synth probably about a year, maybe a year and a half ago. It was kaptain_carbon's posts on /r/metal preaching about dungeon synth that caught my eye. Welcome!
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goatwolf
Peasant
pennsylvanian hunger
Posts: 14
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Post by goatwolf on Apr 26, 2017 8:56:47 GMT -5
Thanks Kaptain! I really like the general vibe on this board. With such an obscure topic as dungeon synth, the community feels really tight knit. It's cool seeing the interactions between artists and fans, and of course seeing the artists as fans of other works. I haven't really experienced that in other places. I'm glad the popularity of dungeon synth is increasing. It's not a genre that has mainstream appeal, so I feel the other fans share something of a similar mindset. A Romantic worldview I guess you could call it, looking upon the world with a sort of yearning for a return to nature, a connection to an idealized past that might have never really existed. Listening to this music is a sort of escapism, allowing the mind to wander through an inner world of forests and fog, castles and ruins, snow and ice. It's a genre that really lends itself to visual imagery. Listening in a dark room, allowing the 'theater of the mind' to play out scenes with the music as the score. The community may be growing, but the genre is something that appeals to fans of things like Dungeons and Dragons, Tolkien, black metal, fantasy RPG's and naturalism, all of which sort of share a similar thread of a rejection of the banalities of modern living in favor of something that feels more 'authentic'. I don't know, I'm kind of rambling here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's good that the genre is catching on. I don't think the genre really lends itself to the 'wimps and poseurs' crowd, if you get what I'm saying. I think certain types of people are predisposed towards enjoying this sort of music based on their interests and personalities, and if more people catch on and find out about dungeon synth, that's a wider base to support artists' efforts, and a larger pool of potential dungeon synth artists. That might just be me projecting my own experiences onto others, but even if so, I feel there's at least some kernel of truth in what I just said.
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Post by thekeeper on Apr 26, 2017 9:47:51 GMT -5
Thanks Kaptain! I really like the general vibe on this board. With such an obscure topic as dungeon synth, the community feels really tight knit. It's cool seeing the interactions between artists and fans, and of course seeing the artists as fans of other works. I haven't really experienced that in other places. I'm glad the popularity of dungeon synth is increasing. It's not a genre that has mainstream appeal, so I feel the other fans share something of a similar mindset. A Romantic worldview I guess you could call it, looking upon the world with a sort of yearning for a return to nature, a connection to an idealized past that might have never really existed. Listening to this music is a sort of escapism, allowing the mind to wander through an inner world of forests and fog, castles and ruins, snow and ice. It's a genre that really lends itself to visual imagery. Listening in a dark room, allowing the 'theater of the mind' to play out scenes with the music as the score. The community may be growing, but the genre is something that appeals to fans of things like Dungeons and Dragons, Tolkien, black metal, fantasy RPG's and naturalism, all of which sort of share a similar thread of a rejection of the banalities of modern living in favor of something that feels more 'authentic'. I don't know, I'm kind of rambling here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's good that the genre is catching on. I don't think the genre really lends itself to the 'wimps and poseurs' crowd, if you get what I'm saying. I think certain types of people are predisposed towards enjoying this sort of music based on their interests and personalities, and if more people catch on and find out about dungeon synth, that's a wider base to support artists' efforts, and a larger pool of potential dungeon synth artists. That might just be me projecting my own experiences onto others, but even if so, I feel there's at least some kernel of truth in what I just said. Welcome aboard the board. There are definitely shared interests among DS fans at large. I think more people these days, though slowly, are being drawn in from elements outside the metal-culture facets. I'm fairly certain the vast majority of DS fans are into black metal, but it's becoming just a little bit less BM specific, at least since 90s tape culture. I've heard from a handful of people that they came to DS from an admiration of VGM, which I suppose is still along the lines of a romanticized but more materialized alter-reality. DS appeals to a good number of people from industrial and dark ambient backgrounds as well, the 'dark electronic' fans. A fair share of EBM has some pretty DS sounding keyboards and sometimes even medieval elements. I wouldn't go as far to say "everyone can find something they like in DS" because DS is still a very niche and deeply underground genre (we have like, what, four or five journalistic op-eds, compared to something as niche and inaccessible as musique concrete which has books of academic literature? DS is still unpopular), but you can observe now how more people than just hardcore fantasy BM fans are becoming interested. I think that's a kool thing though, more variations in style but it's all still pretty 'dungeon synth' in sound and (arguably) concept.
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