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Post by addlebery on Mar 28, 2019 21:11:40 GMT -5
Hi all, I'm a writer based in the US and host of an experimental music program since 2013. I've been a fan of dungeon synth for some years, and have browsed through these forums a few times before. I love this genre and don't want to include any misrepresentations in my essay, which is why I'm reaching out for some input from you all. This essay is part two of a three-part series I have planned around genres of music that use phantom nostalgia (among other things) as an emotional core. If you're interested, you can find the first essay of the series I wrote on hauntology and the death of the Caretaker here. I'm going to post a few questions--feel free to answer as many or as few as you like. I know that I'm not an established member of this community so I don't want to be an intruder, but I have been a fan for some time, so I hope that this doesn't feel meddlesome. Questions below! 1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? 2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? 3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? 4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? 5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? 6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? 7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? 8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? 9) What do you think about the current state of DS? 10) Anything else you'd like to add?
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Post by stormcrow on Mar 29, 2019 3:37:38 GMT -5
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? 2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? 3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? 4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? 5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? 6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? 7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? 8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? 9) What do you think about the current state of DS? 10) Anything else you'd like to add? 1) yes. Sidereal Fortress / Il Generale Inverno 2) been part of the "scene" since 2 years only. I like to switch from fantasy-DS to introspective/minimalist stuff. Today's gear is made of VST + hardware. 3) Yes, they know about it, and I don't care what they think about. 4) I knew about Mortiis, Pazuzu and other stuff back in the 90s....but I can swear NO ONE was labeling them as "Dungeon Synth" at that time. I returned to black metal quite recently, so the "Dungeon Synth" scene popped out quite automatically. 5) escapism. 6) Not exactly. Never been a RPG player or so. I am interested in hiking through Medieval and other ancient ruins, abandoned places, archeological sites etc, instead. 7) "religion is the opium of the people" (K.Marx) 8) no way: politics must be kept apart from my music. However, I appreciate when other artists do it. 9) too crowded, but really grown up in terms of quality and contaminations. 10) "my best album is the next one" (Sidereal Fortress)
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Post by thekeeper on Apr 9, 2019 11:33:02 GMT -5
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? I started into dungeon synth with Caoranach, but I consider Cloak & Daggere and Foolish Fire my 'main' projects since I've put Caoranach on hiatus. Deepforest is another DS-related project of mine, but I don't consider the music strictly DS, moreso DS-influenced ambient tape music. I also run the Path of Silence label.
2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? Since 2013. I've used a variety of instruments, digital and physical. Most VSTs I use emulate Korg, Yamaha, or Casio keyboards. Physical keyboards are Casio.
3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? In terms of people not actively involved in the scene, my family and friends have heard my music and like it well enough, particularly Caoranach since it's the folkiest and least brooding.
4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? I first heard the term in 2011 attributed to Forgotten Pathways, which still stands as an all time favorite of mine. I soon found Andrew Werdna's blog, and I went all in from there. Prior to my awareness of the new term, I've been a fan of the Burzum prison albums for years. Upon getting into the revival scene in the early 2010s, there weren't very many new artists making this music, but Lord Lovidicus and Erang played huge parts in inspiring me to create DS of my own. Those days were sparse!
5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? Depends on the artist I'm listening to, but I think an abstracted sense of nostalgia is felt often felt. Not really pointed at any events or memories in particular, but it's a recognizable feeling, almost nostalgic for something that never was. Night and nature also go hand-in-hand with DS most of the time.
6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? I'm not too into the Sword & Sorcery stuff, but I enjoy a fair share of fantasy movies. I don't read very many high fantasy books besides Tolkien and Book of the New Sun stuff, but I'm always open to something good. I would would say the majority of video games I play are RPGs. I'm a huge JRPG fan.
7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? It would take far more time than I'm willing to commit to properly explain my spiritual beliefs, but even then, I'm not sure I'm 100% clear on them myself. I wouldn't say they affect my listening experience, but they do thematically bleed into my music at times, some projects more than others.
8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I don't have any terminology at hand that I'm comfortable using to describe my political beliefs since they're always evolving, it'd be hard to be accurate. They don't affect my own music or my listening experiences.
9) What do you think about the current state of DS? I think the genre is in a very good place. I believe we're settling down from a huge wave of releases from the past couple years, and we've found a good balance of experimentation and tradition. The genre keeps moving forward and people are much less heated in arguments over just what it is we are doing or how the genre is defined. More people are connecting in person. More shows are taking place. It's a good time for DS.
10) Anything else you'd like to add? Listen to Erang - Tome I
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Post by Pilgrim's Shadow on Apr 12, 2019 8:38:44 GMT -5
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name?I am much more of a fan then an artist, but had my share of dabbled experiencing under the name Pilgrim's Shadow. Released few tracks through compiliations. 2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use?
Iv'e been dabblnig with making of DS music for around 2 years (since 2017), using digital instruments and an electric piano. 3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it?
Very few. Not sure they actually like it, but say that they do. 4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to?
I learned about the term "Dungeon Synth" not long ago (around 3 years i think), but have been listening to the music for more then 10 years. I loved small projects with obscure albums that very rarley poped out for me through the internet, but the "Bigs ones" were Burzum, Summoning, Druadan forest, etc. I think that today's DS is something quite different then these examples i gave. 5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS?
Hard to tell because it is a diverse genre, and associations change from artists to artists, and from time to time. Very general: Fantasy, Mystery, Spirit. 6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do?
I am in love with fantasy, alwayes had. I consume this wonderfall art throguh books, Tabletop RPG music, specific kind of video games, and a lot of visual arts. I don't like most fantasy movies however. It is something that alwayes go with me in the back of my mind, and integral part of who i am. I think that the DS music is a natural attraction to people like this, which i consider most of us in this community. 7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening?My spiritual belief is Chamomil Tea, which defenitly affect my listening. Seriously though, i feel that everyone has a different definition to the word "spiritual" and alwayes find it difficult answearing questions regarding it. Well i guess a simple enough answear would be: I love nature. I love hiking and working in an agricultural jobs. It affects the music i make and my listening. 8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening?
I believe we express out "political beliefs" (worldview) in every sentence and descition, so i'd say - yes. I also enjoy listening to projects which express their political belief knowingly, even if i disagree. 9) What do you think about the current state of DS?
I am not involved enough in the community in order to answear that. But i am drowning in an ocean of releases both old and new, and almost every time i listen to a release - i love it. So i'd say the current state is very good, but can't think of a time it was different. 10) Anything else you'd like to add?
This: thedeepforest.bandcamp.com/album/blackvalleyAlso, i have wrote an article about DS 2 years ago. My opinions have changed since then, but it might be helpful in your essey. dungeonsynth.proboards.com/thread/348/lists-chaos-dungeon-synth-articles
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Post by Naginah on Apr 15, 2019 14:44:50 GMT -5
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? I am the bard half of the project Sombre Arcane.
2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? We started in December 2016/January 2017, although we weren't aware of DS until a few months later. To quote a friend from the forums we are "the center of a venn diagramm with dungeon synth on the left and a neo-folk ambient on the right". I play the Kantele.
3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? There are a few people in my personal life who truly like the music. A good deal of friends are just happy that I am happy, but find the music a bit nerdy.
4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? I first heard the term in Spring of 2017 after showing a friend from the crossover group High Command the music that we were working on. At the time High Command was on the label Haftvad which has some DS projects on it. So he heard it and said "oh so basically Dungeon Synth". I went home and googled it and my life & wallet has not been the same since. We had been listening to Mortiis and Secret Stairways during our D&D sessions but I was unaware that there was a genre of music. The first artists I listened to was Mortiis, Secret Stairways, Depressive Silence, Murgrind, Tyrannus, Nahadoth, and Ranseur.
5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? It depends on the style but usually a medieval or high fantasy setting. I let the music bring me wherever it will.
6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? I've been a part of an ongoing 7 year AD&D campaign, that alot of the music we have written thus far is directly inspired by. Orb of the Moons also plays that game alongside the Wizardly half of Sombre Arcane, Phranick. My favorite fantasy books are Malazan Book of the Fallen. You can't go wrong with any of the Elder Scrolls games. I watch any fantasy films I can, even if they are painful to watch (I'm looking at you MTV Shannara Chronicles adaptation). I find the worst fantasy shows are still more interesting to me than most other things.
7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? We are all connected.
8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I do not affiliate with a party, but on most issues I side with "the left". I don't think they effect my music or listening. I don't purposely listen to racists, but that's bigger than politics.
9) What do you think about the current state of DS? I'm very excited by it! There has been incredible and exponential growth since I became aware of the genre, and from what I understand this explosion started a few years before that. I'm excited to see what happens and how things evolve. It was a lot easier to keep up to date with every DS release in 2017 whereas it is an incredibly daunting and seemingly impossible task now, but that's not a complaint. We have at least one music festival now and I expect to see more before not too long!
10) Anything else you'd like to add? Hail Live Dungeon Synth! Hail the DS community! I've now had the honor of meeting quite a few folks from the forum and the social media groups in person and the majority of the experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. I'm quite happy to have stumbled in and found a family in DS.
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Post by poppet108 on Apr 28, 2019 11:40:47 GMT -5
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? I am indeed! I make music under the name Poppet, although I also release some DS under the name Xanthar.
2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? I have been making DS since early 2016, realeasing a lot of it on soundcloud. I thought for the longest time I was making black metal, but I wasn't. For my recording, I usually use garageband and play the soundfonts they have there. Occasionally I will use my Casio CTK 2400, and for vocals I will use a Blue Snowball. I will also occasionally use my MIDI controller - an Oxygen 49.
3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? Most people who I've told about my music thought it was incredibly weird and bizarre, but I myself am incredibly weird and bizarre, so...
4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? I first learned about the genre when listening to Daudi Baldrs by Burzum. I was listening to more and more fringe black metal at the time, and I really liked how the music acted as a non metal version of metal, if you will. Chaucerian Myth was the first 3rd Wave DS artist I really delved into, and after that I binged Mortiis, Erang, Digre and eventually Xynfonica.
5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? I'd say dark and uncouth fantasy in general. There's a level of unorthodoxy when it comes to DS, and I rather like that when its used to its fullest.
6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? I've written some weird lovecraftian fantast novels before, and I collect books on religion and the occult constantly.
7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I have spent a lot of time learning about Tibetan Buddhism and Kabbalah. Both of these are strongly reflected in my music and my album art. In addition, while not a Sufi muslim, I have attended multiple Sufi ceremonies, which inspired me to create my album Sufi Synth: Hymns to Conquer the Ego
8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I am a leftist - generally influenced by Marx and Engels. My music in a lot of ways draws from a sort of dialectical materialist/monistic view of the world. There is a level of alienation between "real" instruments and synths, and I think the bizarreness of my music reflects it.
9) What do you think about the current state of DS? DS is great so far, and it's only going to get greater, as the music becomes more and more well known in the underground.
10) Anything else you'd like to add? listening to DS makes it hard for me to properly appreciate other electronic music, although I've found myself listening to more and more of it. In addtion, through DS I've found out about amazing black metal bands like Midnight Oddesy and Departure Chandeleir, which I might not have were I not super involved in the scene.
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Post by theswordthatsang on Aug 31, 2019 3:24:48 GMT -5
Hey! How did the essay turn out? I'm quite curious.
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Post by theravenkeeper on Feb 23, 2020 23:00:06 GMT -5
I donβt know if this is dead or not, but I thought it would be fun to add to!
1) Are you a dungeon synth artist? What is your artist name? Ravenkeeper.
2) If so, how long have you been making DS music? What style is your music and what equipment do you use? Iβve been ((officially)) doing Dungeon Synth since March 2017. Iβd personally put it under a βlabelβ of Dungeon Synth, Dark Ambient, acoustic fantasy music. I use a variety of equipment, i stay quite basic for the most part - I use an AudioBox and a variety of recording/editing equipment.
3) Also if so, do other people IRL know about your music? What do they think about it? Theyβre supportive, mostly because they know itβs a type of therapy for me, some D&D players I know/known have really enjoyed the Ambient series I do.
4) When did you first learn about the genre? Who were the first artists you listened to? Erang - Another World Another Time was the first Dungeon Synth i ever heard, I was completely mesmerized by the beauty of it and it still stands as my favorite release of all time (in any genre).
5) What are your immediate associations when you think of or listen to DS? Depending on the artist it varies - but mostly Fantasy/Medieval relations.
6) Do you engage with or create fantasy or medieval media (books, games, films, etc.) elsewhere in your life? If so, can you describe what else you do? Im currently working on a set of books revolving around my project (Ravenkeeper) I actually spent the past few years making it into a story, very reminiscent of Tolkien & The Witcher, but with hints of mythology.
7) What are your spiritual beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I consider myself more or less an atheist, I believe in energies rather than gods. Iβm a very firm fanatic in paganism (more precisely; Norse Pagansim or Wicca). My music was built on my love for Odin and the Diablo game series haha. I would say there is affects on the music, but only revolving around Norse mythology.
8) What are your political beliefs? Do they affect your music or listening? I keep politics out of music 110%.
9) What do you think about the current state of DS? To be quite honest I just returned from a hiatus but I have been lurking in the darkness ((so to speak)) and it seems to be quite well. I donβt think itβll blow up like other genres, and perhaps thatβs a good thing. This is a very personal and very meaningful genre to many people (myself included).
10) Anything else you'd like to add? Never stop being creative and never let your imagination stop.
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