Erang
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Posts: 130
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Post by Erang on Dec 21, 2016 10:06:33 GMT -5
A sentimental note here...
This afternoon I was in a Dungeon Synth marathon listening (playlist: Elves&Dwarves, Gentle Fish Mumbling, Iamí, Barak Tor, Dwalin, RaevJäger, Valscharuhn, Verminaard, ElixiR, Wintercry...) and I just needed to express here again my love to this genre & music!
To me, the paradox of Dungeon Synth is one of the (many) reason of its beauty: as codified as this musical genre might seems at first ("obligatory" fantasy setting, same medieval sounds & chords, etc.) it offers in fact so many freedom for a musician that it's a real pleasure to create within it.
When a new album or new artist pops out, you never know what to expect and everyone of them express their "Dungeon Spirit" with their own DIY sounds & feelings and a unique atmosphere... it's always a new adventure and a virgin territory to explore!
This is so refreshing and inspiring!... so I was wondering: what do you find in Dungeon Synth that makes it unique to you?
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Post by Ananoriel on Dec 21, 2016 11:03:15 GMT -5
The whole atmosphere, it reminds me often of old RPGs I love to play. And it helps me a bit to escape the reality, to a fantasy world, or a medieval setting. What also is important in Dungeon Synth are the melody lines, they get often stuck in your mind. And it is very calming to the mind. It is not too busy, just more calm. Which can be enlightening when you are listening to metal a lot.
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RævJäger
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Sword & Trickery
Posts: 27
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Post by RævJäger on Dec 21, 2016 12:37:37 GMT -5
This music is the portal to the Wonderland of Escapism, very different and very beautiful. For everyone is a unique place: sad, dark, light, inspiring, depressing etc. Everyone will find comfort place in this Realm. And the artists are like Demigods, every artist creates his own part of a Realm.
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Post by thekeeper on Dec 21, 2016 13:07:59 GMT -5
It's kind of a difficult thing to pinpoint. Even though there is a lot of dark, dusty, ancient sounds in dungeon synth, a lot of it is very innocent to me. The vast majority of DS being composed by single artists in their bedrooms, letting their imaginations go wild, but still expressing specific emotions through such an abstracted fantasy medium (typically, some DS is less fantastical than others), is something I can really appreciate. Archaic and crude sounding keyboards, medieval melodies from games, books, and other records they admire, tapes dubbed from home. It's a warm sounding genre to me (even though winter-synth is a thing), playing with a melancholic outsider purity. This is why I typically like more lo-fi DS, you get much more of the personal feel.
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Erang
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Posts: 130
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Post by Erang on Dec 21, 2016 13:54:57 GMT -5
"single artists in their bedrooms" this is also an important aspect of this music to me as well.
non-professional people, alone, who express them through music...
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Post by shadowcloak on Dec 21, 2016 17:29:19 GMT -5
Dungeon Synth is how I escape the nihilism of the modern world and go to a world that is built on my own ideals and visions. There is nothing degenerate there. Only magic, solitude, sorrow, valor, mystery, and legendry.
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Post by andrewwerdna on Dec 22, 2016 6:05:49 GMT -5
One thing I love (which I worry is changing) is that, more than any other genre that I've heard, you can almost always trust it to be made in good faith. What I mean by this is that you don't have to question whether the artist believes in his vision, because quite frankly what other reason is one going to make dungeon synth? It won't get popular, it won't make money, and it certainly won't get you laid. In fact, there's a good chance you'll release an incredible work of art and it will never get a single response. So, that means almost every dungeon synth album you listen to is loved by one person at least: the artist. Because these albums are made primarily for the artist's own journey, there is no pandering corruption to be heard.
So in short I'd say the purity of the music is what's most unique to me, it's sacred to me.
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Post by Verminaard on Dec 22, 2016 6:34:12 GMT -5
To reply to you, Andrew, I don't think you have to worry about that changing -- I think that everyone out there who makes dungeon synth truly has a passion for it. Otherwise, why would they be creating music for this particular genre? As you said, this is not exactly a lucrative scene we're in here in terms of material profit, but it abounds in friendships and passion which is worth much more to me.
To answer the question for myself...well, I thought it would be an easy answer, but it turns out that it's actually not. I guess I'll say it like this -- I have always loved stories of fantasy. Stories come in many different types -- books, RPGs, and, in this case, music. Music is the language that I am most fluent with to weave my own fantasy stories, so that's what I use. I find dungeon synth to be a place where I can simply enjoy tales from far off realms and forget about the troubles of the world, just as I would playing an RPG or reading a book.
EDIT: I'm happy to be in your playlist among such great company, Erang!
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Post by jondexter on Dec 22, 2016 7:39:36 GMT -5
I think this music holds true power and healing qualities within it for those whom know how to tune in to it so to speak - far more so than any other genre of music. I say this because to me it is literally the bastion of mystics - in fact as a genre i believe it is obsessed with mysticism. This is what makes it unique to me (and why I will always love it).
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Post by nahadoth on Dec 22, 2016 21:10:45 GMT -5
I am always interested in music with transportive qualities, or with narrative ones - a lot of styles can do this for me, but dungeon synth and its related genres does this the most consistently. I think this is the sincerity that others on this thread have talked about before - when artists in this style are evoking worlds, landscapes, scenarios, it is because they have a clear picture of those things in their mind that they're trying to convey through the music, and that is admirable and immensely satisfying. Plus, much of this music is relaxing, which is always a bonus.
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Tyrannus
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Knowledge is Night
Posts: 806
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Post by Tyrannus on Dec 28, 2016 21:44:48 GMT -5
"single artists in their bedrooms" this is also an important aspect of this music to me as well. non-professional people, alone, who express them through music... My favorite genres all possess these qualities. DS, Black Metal, and Noise Music often are just solo artists working at home. I love it. I love this feeling! I find the work of solo artists recording at home is some of the most authentic music out there
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Post by Nacht on Dec 31, 2016 10:10:53 GMT -5
I actually stumbled across an article by Toilet Ov Hell from 2015 and I think the author put into words what I think makes this such a draw for so many fans of metal.
I love the feeling of just diving into this mysterious genre of music. I think there's a level of very genuine artistic integrity involved which is always essential for me, because no one makes or listens to music like this for commercial gain, or without really understanding the kinds of ideas that motivate it. Scrolling through blogs, browsing rough rips of demo after demo of cassette tapes released by mostly-anonymous musicians in the 90s, often hand-printed etc. That's the kind of genuine DIY spirit I adore.
And of course musically, it just transports you away from the modern world, doesn't it? The good dungeon synth, anyway. It has a magical and surprisingly timeless quality to it.
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Post by lusitano on Feb 21, 2017 17:51:08 GMT -5
Dungeon Synth always sounded to me as music that is deeply personal, there's often a sense of mystery to the songs, regardless of length. An aspect that seems to be almost entirely removed from the whole genre is, something as simple as money. There's no corruption, it's magical music that one person writes from the heart, and it's honest. Thankfully, it's also a genre that allows for virtually infinite freedom of creativity, you can do anything with this genre, a lot like you can do anything with metal and classical music, both extremely versatile genres. But unlike those two genres, Dungeon Synth possesses unparalleled authenticity like no other, you can bet that in 99% of Dungeon Synth releases, the author believes in what he did even if no one else does, and that is something beautiful.
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Post by Pilgrim's Shadow on Feb 25, 2017 11:43:56 GMT -5
Dungeon Synth always sounded to me as music that is deeply personal, there's often a sense of mystery to the songs, regardless of length. An aspect that seems to be almost entirely removed from the whole genre is, something as simple as money. There's no corruption, it's magical music that one person writes from the heart, and it's honest. Thankfully, it's also a genre that allows for virtually infinite freedom of creativity, you can do anything with this genre, a lot like you can do anything with metal and classical music, both extremely versatile genres. But unlike those two genres, Dungeon Synth possesses unparalleled authenticity like no other, you can bet that in 99% of Dungeon Synth releases, the author believes in what he did even if no one else does, and that is something beautiful. You took the words out of my mouth! I discovered Dungeon Synth really not long ago. Since i discovered it, i feel as if i have another home to run, music so true, so pure, a place to escape the darkness of reality. It influenced me, i know i want to do this music, it brought me a boost of inspiration, mostly in writing (and D&D of course ). I never heared such pure expression in music before, and i am happy there is a community where all the people here understand me
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Alder
Magic User
Murky dungeon sounds: alderen.bandcamp.com
Posts: 228
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Post by Alder on Apr 20, 2017 13:50:33 GMT -5
One thing I love (which I worry is changing) is that, more than any other genre that I've heard, you can almost always trust it to be made in good faith. What I mean by this is that you don't have to question whether the artist believes in his vision, because quite frankly what other reason is one going to make dungeon synth? It won't get popular, it won't make money, and it certainly won't get you laid. In fact, there's a good chance you'll release an incredible work of art and it will never get a single response. So, that means almost every dungeon synth album you listen to is loved by one person at least: the artist. Because these albums are made primarily for the artist's own journey, there is no pandering corruption to be heard. So in short I'd say the purity of the music is what's most unique to me, it's sacred to me. The genuine nature is also very important to me, as well. (and also what got me to fall in love with older RPGs, which is partly how I "found" DS). Could you expand on your worries about this changing? I'm curious - is there anything in particular that makes you fear this? Something you've seen or heard out in the world?
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