13-12-2020

STORMWIND FANZINE

AWFUL NOISE INTERVIEW 

SW: All hail brothers. It seems like a Grindcore/Brutal Death Metal monster is growing in Australia, step by step. What are the reactions to the new split named Segregation?

AN: So far the responses have been positive, I’m sure someone out there hates it and we’re glad they wasted their time on us.

SW: So after two split work with other brutal bands, I think it is time to release an EP or maybe an album. What are the plans for the near future?

AN: We have an album recorded, just had some shit go on behind the scenes that needed to be attended to before any form of progress was or could be made. The 2nd split was done as a way to get something out there and keep us somewhat relevant especially during the pandemic. Also our first split didn’t go as planned so “Segregation” was making amends on that.

SW: I see the split also released as a cassette. It was something unexpected that such a glorious return from cassettes. Even for the brutal music and now there we go. What do you think about the cassettes? Is it still really a good way to reach the fans or just a nostalgia?

AN: Yeah tapes are still selling well in underground metal/punk. It’s a bit redundant but that just fits in fine with the grinders I guess. 

SW: If there will be an album in the near future, what would be the concept of the lyrics? Are you taking the lyrics seriously or it is just a supporting element to brutal music?

AN: The lyrical theme in general is a mix of societal observations, the human condition, political and religious ideologies and it’s all tackled with a dry, sarcastic sense of humour.

SW: I believe the cover art is very important for a release. What do you think? Is it just music that matters or the music and the visual art are pieces of one body?

AN: Yeah, totally agree on that especially if you want people to wear your shirts, you need a killer design. We have only shown off the back piece of our album art but I can guarantee the album art is absolutely amazing, and bit different compared to your typical death metal/grindcore affair. We had a local artist Nick Draney do the art and killed it!

SW: Do you think Australian metal scene is some kind of a parallel earth for the rest of the planet or it is known and connected to other countries?

AN: I’d say the scenes are similar exempt we have drongos, bogans and bastards. Plus any international act(s) can hug koalas when they’re not touring so yeah that’s something. 

SW: Could we expect some live shows in Melbourne in 2021?

AN: Fucking oath. We played Ausocalypse in Bendigo and would love to hit up Victoria again. Could knock out Melbourne, Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong in a weekend I reckon.

SW: Are the bands on the split releases friends of yours or they are just bands selected by the records label? If they are friends, do you have any new future projects with them?

AN: I personally reached out to all the bands. First split was done through Ungrateful Dead Promotions and our second split was released through Grindhead and Huffing Asbestos Records. We’ve got a very good relationship with Grimenity and Mendacity. 

SW: Which one you personally prefer as a collectors item? LP, CD or Cassette?

AN: CDs for sure. I own at least 3000 of the bastards.

SW: These are our questions mate. Thanks for being part of this interview. Any last words?

AN: Cheers mate, enjoy our new album single “Synchronized Drowning”, out on December 25th. 

https://www.facebook.com/awfulnoisegrind/ 

https://awfulnoisegrind.bandcamp.com/music/ 

VETRAHEIMR INTERVIEW

10-01-2020
STORMWIND FANZINE
VETRAHEIMR INTERVIEW

SW: There we go! Thank you for accepting our interview. Now please tell us about the process from the creating the project to the first recording of Vetraheimr.

V: The first EP I did was mostly to test new ground. Making a project under the name Dungeon Synth was something new to me even if I did that type of music already as a kid in the early 90’s. Writing and recording at home by yourself is also a nice thing as you don’t have to be in a band situation arguing about ideas and planning rehearsals.

SW: You released an album named “The Renegade” and I listened to it couple of times. The first thing I noticed is, it is a dungeon synth album not with only a synth but with also acoustic guitar parts. It even has some beautiful flute melodies which are so charming. Maybe we shouldn’t call this album just as a dungeon synth album. What do you think?

V: I am not very concerned if it is dungeon synth or more. I think it is not necessary to label music except for making people find things easier that share similarities and makes sense to them. It is probably wider than dungeon synth but I have never thought about it. I am only interested in creating melodies and songs. However it is not real acoustic guitars, its acoustic guitar sounds on the keyboard.

SW: You also released a compilation CD which includes the early recordings. This one is different than “The Renegade” album which sounds more dungeon synth. It seems that your creation goes to more brave and new path with the album. Please tell us about your creativity process from first recordings to the Renegade album.

V: The first two EP’s was like I said in the first question merely to test the ground. It just happened to sound like it did because I felt very comfortable to make it sound in the way it is. After that I always have to bring something new to each recording to not just repeat the same thing as I think it would just create a big loop. The interesting thing is to figure out how to evolve and go further with new untested ideas.

SW: What are your influences for creating your music? There is a vanderer or a traveller image on both compilation and first album covers. Probably they are the same person. According to the cover art, could we think that you are that person travelling all around the world and having some inspirations for your music?

V: My choice for cover arts are mostly to symbolize a lonely journey that is not always understood by other people. It symbolize myself and how I experience the world. A lone wolf on a journey seeking. More than that I will not say as it is personal.

SW: Are you in fantasy fiction novels? If yes, which books and writers are your favorites?

V: I am afraid to say that I am not in to fiction or fantasy novels mainly because I can’t focus enough on reading made up stories even though as much as I would like to be able to appreciate that. My imagination is in the music that is open to interpretation.

SW: Do you have connections with any other dungeon synth musicians? Please tell us which musicians are your favorites.

V: I can’t say that I have real connections with other dungeon synth musicians. Just some acquaintances online. As for favorites I in general scroll on bandcamp to find different things to discover. It was Fief that got my interested in making something myself. But then I don’t know if that is really considered pure dungeon synth either but it is not important.

SW: What are your hobbies? I am asking this questions because I want to know if there is a connection between your music and your personal interests.

V: I like movies and to collect them even though I don’t buy much anymore. I used to have 2.000 movies on dvd, blu ray and VHS but got rid of half of it as it took too much space. Aside from that I sometimes like to play some retro games like nintendo and sega to unwind. I also like spirituality and meditation. I lift weights regularly too as I like strength training and have done so since I was 15 years old.

SW: After releasing “The Renegade” you also released a digital album named “Unchained” Will we have a hard copy of this release as CD or LP?

V: I am speaking right now to someone that has offered to release it on CD but unfortunately it will be released later this year but it is coming.

SW: Now please tell us about “Unchained” Where are the stories of the album coming from?

V: With “Unchained” I wanted to go more epic and include more diversity in the songs and bring in some electronic music vibes that merge with the acoustic sounds. I am very happy with the result and feel that it is a powerful beast. The meaning of the album is that the beast is unleashed. As for the stories, song by song I want the listener to imagine their own fantasies and for them to experience it in their own unique way.

SW: These are our questions mate. Thanks again for answering. Any last words?

V: Thank you very much for interview and your interest in my music.

https://www.facebook.com/vetraheimr/
https://vetraheimr.bandcamp.com/

ALGIZ DAWN INTERVIEW

04-10-2019
STORMWIND FANZINE
ALGIZ DAWN INTERVIEW 

SW: All right, let’s start mate. First of all, thank you for accepting our interview. So we have two albums and one split. They are all released as CD and Cassette. What was the reaction of the Dungeon Synth scene all around the world? 

AD: At the start it was fairly slow, I shared it among friends and online, people began to pay attention when I put it on bandcamp and started sending physical copies. Out of Season approached me and released ‘Askeladden’ with the b-side ‘Astral Monastery’ – once those sold out I re-issued it under Skaventhrone. A musician from Indiana who I’d been in correspondence with had some great tracks I really enjoyed, we decided to co-release the Ash Nazg / Algiz Dawn split ‘From the Isle of Mist’ – some of these songs I’d written as early as 1999, it was good to get them out there. Lastly, ‘Purple Clouds in Kingdom Sky’ was a collection of darker, more focused material which I release in September last year.

SW: When did you start to make Dungeon Synth music and what was the inspiration for going on path of this genre? 

AD: I began composing music in the mid-90’s, I wanted to create ambient music that had a ‘medieval’ sound to it, combining celtic reels and ‘new age’ synth sounds, similar to fantasy soundtracks such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and computer games like Zork, Myst, and Riven. I was 15 when I composed the first Taur Nu Fuin material under the name ‘Nightenland’. Algiz Dawn was a continuation of the ambient material I’d been writing with a lighter theme, less ‘darkness’ and more nature inspired. I wanted to create a sound that feels like you’re floating in space, ‘Asleep, Being Carried By The Wind’ is the closest I can think of that has this feel to it. ‘Lightships Over Bifrost’ was inspired by my vision of extraterrestrial life – but let’s not get into that 😉 

SW: Please tell us about the first album and second album. What are the stories behind those beautiful melodies? It will be our pleasure to hear all the details so that will help us understanding your art better.

AD: I’ll get into more detail about the debut – but will explain the second album, and the e.p. ‘From the Isle of Mist’ were three seafaring journeys, I’d composed some of them a long time ago, with a vision of maritime travel in the dark ages. It’s as close as I got to composing ‘celtic reels’, I was going for some kinda Clannad/Secret Garden/Deep Forest type production for this.
‘Purple Clouds in Kingdom Sky’ – this is a tale I’ve been working on for quite some time, the track titles were based on a vague back story :  

The Purple Clouds - are like 'The Nothing' in the Neverending Story, a mysterious evil that is taking over the land. A decaying forest, and twisted looking castle, similar to the one in Dark Crystal. The purple fog, acts as an omen of the kingdom's end. 

There are characters too, a dying King, whose presence helped the land survive, but he's weakening and his people are abandoning him. A mischevious 'Cluricaune' who has done a deal with a cloaked enemy to bring down the kingdom, and reclaim the land for an unknown evil force. The Cluricaune has been promised a land of his own once this evil force has claimed victory.

A Goblin who is trying to defend his home and the forest from the evil overtaking it. The goblin is friends with giant ravens who help him and his kind flee when the evil becomes too strong. A stinky toad that belches and excretes purple mist, the toad represents greed.
A goddess of the forest who is dwelling below the ground, waiting for the evil to be vanquished and she'll arise to reclaim the woods and destroy the castle (this happens at the end), every song kind of narrates parts of this story. ‘The Arrival’ is basically the happy ending of this tale. 

SW: What does the word Askeladden means? Is there a connection between the album name and the stories that you are telling in the album?

AD: ‘Askeladden’ or ‘Ashlad’ is a Norwegian folk tale that really struck a chord with me. As a child I was a bit of an escape artist, explorer, outsider, and often ‘went missing’ on various adventures. My imagination would create other worlds to explore as well, usually in the forest near my house, which is a vast nature reserve. I guess that explorative nature developed in my creative works too, the earlier Algiz Dawn compositions reflect a bit of that ‘lost child’ sentiment.
‘Perihelion’ is basically a sun-worship festival song, and ‘From Under The Soil’ is about the circle of life, I put a jazz swing at the end – I was inspired by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for some of this music. ‘Astral Monastery’ is another imagined world which I would compare to Soria Moria – also in Norwegian folklore, similar to Askeladden.

SW: I see there are two versions of the first album “Askeladden” and I was totally charmed with the first edition. Anyways the second edition has a good cover too but what was the reason for changing the cover art?

AD: I originally incorporated Theodor Kittelsen’s artwork to accompany the story, however, it had been used by too many other artists, someone pointed this out (very rudely) on a forum and had dismissed my work. So I used photography from my own explorations in Uppsala, Sweden, and redesigned everything.

SW: The second album “Purple Clouds in Kingdom Sky” has fantastic cover art. Who drew the cover art?

AD: To assist the vision and story for this record, I’d asked Silvana Massa to create two pieces of art to accompany the story, and Damien Lee to illustrate some characters. I’ll continue this story in later works. Silvana and Damien pretty much ‘complete’ the visual and storytelling nature of the album.

SW: Do you have plans of releasing the albums on LP? Neon purple LP for “Purple Clouds in Kingdom Sky” would be amazing, wouldn’t it?

AD: I really want to release alot of things on vinyl, my record label ‘Skaventhrone’ may do so at some stage, it’s just extremely expensive and not many artists have the budget for such things. We’re working towards it though. And yeah, I really do like releasing cassettes in all kinds of colours and brilliant artworks to match, so naturally we’d do the same with vinyl releases.

SW: If the cover art of “Purple Clouds in Kingdom Sky” was a real place, what would be your role in that universe?

AD: Excellent question! So if the ‘Astral Monastery’ is the good castle, a realm of retreat and meditation, spiritual awakening or ‘nirvana’ – the dark castle of the latter album, would represent corruption, decay, death, insanity, and evil. But it’s not beyond saving. In the story, the forest goddess saves the planet.

SW: What are your future plans for Algiz Dawn? Will we have new melodies soon?

AD: I’m working on something right now actually, it’s taking a bit of an interesting turn, not so much ‘Dungeon Synth’ as the previous release, there’s a dark 80’s pop element to it, with a nod to Dead Can Dance, and a larger focus on heavy bass synths, percussion, and keyboard leads. It still has the airy ethereal feel in some tracks. I guess I’m composing more ‘songlike’ music for this one. I imagine ghosts dancing in an abandoned amphitheatre at night, and try to make music for them.

SW: That’s all mate. It will be our pleasure if you have something to add.

AD: Explore your imagination, be inventive and creative, dream of new worlds, be fascinated by nature, and always strive to create peace in your own and other’s lives.  

https://algizdawn.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/algizdawn

Photo by Out of Season

BALROG INTERVIEW

30-AUG-2018

STORMWIND FANZINE 

BALROG INTERVIEW 

SW: Hi, thank you for accepting our interview. Well, we have a very beautiful presented dungeon synth album here which named “The Shadow and The Flame” Congratulations for the good job. May you please tell us about the process of music writing? 

BAL: Hi ! Thanks a lot, I'm really happy that you enjoyed my work ! This album is for me one of my greatest work to date. I wanted to reach something really specific for this album in terms of atmosphere, translating my very personal interpretations of the Lord Of The Rings, as well as other Tolkien's works. Of course, "The Shadow And The Flame" had to be an improved successor of my first album "Khazad Dûm", which was more minimalist. To date, this is my most complete work, talking about the shape of sounds, the textures of my synths and the variety of medieval instruments used.

SW: Tolkien world is a very big and charming one which gives influences to the dungeon snyth musicians. My question is, why most of the dungeon synth musicians are prefering to have the influence from the dark side? No one is writing songs about humans, elves or dwarves. If there is, I didn’t see it. What makes the musicians prefer the dark side of the Tolkien world? 

BAL: I think that what makes Dungeon Synth so particular and attractive is the mysteries that could be hidden in a big and obscure castle for example. Its roots came from Black Metal, and most of the synths sounds that introduced this new "genre" were quite dark, to fit with the rest of the albums; even with an inspiration from Tolkien's world, so it were more accurate to write about this side of the story. But some Dungeon Synth projects have written about more luminous things, like Uruk-Hai who talked about almost every aspects of Tolkien's universe, or Sirion for his album "Quenta Silmarillion". For my part, I recently published "Night Settle On The Mountains", that deals with dwarves in the Hobbit story, and I still have some unpublished demos about more joyful things.

SW: Do you have new projects these days for the dungeon synth music fans? What are the plans for the future? 

BAL : For now, I am working on a new EP that might appear very soon. Some demos might follow, before a new album. I prefer testing new sounds in my demos before using them to create a whole new record. I'm also thinking about creating my own musical videos, and maybe a few shows.

SW: If you were a character in Tolkien world, which one it would be? 

BAL: Easily Morgoth. To me, he is one of the most thoroughed character in the books, as well as the most charismatic and feared by everyone.

SW: The album has twelve songs plus a bonus track and they surely all have a story to tell. In which chronology are the songs line up? 

BAL: Starting the introduction in Udûn, the next song directly introduce the Balrog and how I imagine him. The other songs are put together in a coherent set of sounds to my ears, and each one deals with a scenery that marked me greatly in my readings.

SW: Will there be a chance for Balrog fans to see this beautiful album on an LP version? 

BAL: I received a lot of requests about this format, I'm of course thinking about this too. It would be beautiful to be able to give this album the chance to be pressed on a vinyl, but for now I'm still looking for a label interesting in doing it !

SW:  Which one you prefer for your collection. LP, CD or Cassette? 

BAL: In my collection I own many cassettes, it's my favorite format, I find it particularly beautiful. We have the chance in the Dungeon Synth scene that a lot of labels still release a great amount of tapes like back in the days, and each one is unique and original. None of them disappoint on the quality.

SW: Ok, now I will choose a song and I will let you to tell us the story behind. “The book of the last knights” What’s the story behind? 

BAL: Great choice, because "The Book Of The Last Knights" is the first song I recorded for the album ! I composed this one as a rendering of the feelings of how you read a battle in a Tolkien book. You know, this kind of feeling as a child when you first hear a story about knights or chivalry. It's really epic in your head, and I wanted the listener to understand how I was blown away when reading those scenes, so that's why it is one of the most dynamic songs of the album. The song ends on a wasted battlefield and how the last knights still standing there perceive it. That's also why the next song, "The Swords In The Old Tomb" is very sad, because it deals with the feelings of loss and damage after the battle.

SW: What are the reactions for the album from all around the world and mostly from which country the fans are connecting to you from? 

BAL: Well, it seems that the fanbase is patriotic. Even if I received a lot of positive feedbacks from almost all around the world, most of my devoted supporters are in France or Europe. A great friend of mine who create videos about the world of Tolkien also used many of my songs for his channel in French. It's called "Glaz" so if you understand french, you can give it a try !

SW: Do you have connections with some other dungeon synth musicians? 

BAL: Yes, I'm on the scene since the very beginning and most of my friends / contacts are also a part of this wonderful genre. I worked with Erang and Uruk-Hai in the past, and more recently with ElixiR, The Inquisitor or my friend of Master Scarecrow. Many other ones of course, and I work with a lot of musicians and labels since many years for my other projects.

SW: These are our questions. Thank you again for accepting us. It will be our pleasure to hear if you have any last words. 

BAL: Well, thanks so much for your interesting questions ! I'd just want to thanks all the people who support my music, that's something really heartwarming for me every days. I wish Tolkien were still here so I can thanks him for his amazing works that still inspire people nowadays.

https://www.facebook.com/BalrogAmbient/
https://balrogofficial.bandcamp.com/

KRAMPUSNACHT INTERVIEW

30-AUG-2018

STORMWIND FANZINE

KRAMPUSNACHT INTERVIEW

SW: All hails to the punisher of misbehaved children. All hails to the dark side of Christmas. Stormwind is proud to have you for an interview. Please tell us where did this original idea of making Dungeon Synth music referenced on Krampus character come from?

KRA: Krampusnacht is the sole musical expression of the goat deity known as Krampus, which is me. So not a ‘character’ as such, but the living embodiment of the cryptid you are speaking directly to. I find the use of the word ‘Christmas’ offensive, but I guess I’m kinda used to it now *shrugs* So yeah, hails, and I hope all is well in Australia, some friends of mine live down there, the Bunyip, Akurra the snake, Jimmy Barnes, and Chopper Reid.

SW: May you please tell us about your creative process? Do you walk around the neighbours houses at night and watch misbehaved children when it is Christmas time?

KRA: Look mate, I’m not some kinda pervert, and if I’m looking through anyone’s window it’s not for their kids, it’s for their worldly possessions, see what I can rip off when they go hit the slopes for their winter holidays. However, if any of those little shits scream all excitedly when Santa delivers his lame gifts under the plastic tree, I start feeling a rumble in my tummy. Might get a bit peckish, may have a gobble.

The music I make is usually derivative of existing melodies and songs, but I at least play and re-record them to my own style, unlike ripping the midi file straight off the internet and pretending I sequenced it like that ElixiR guy’s Harry Potter album *vomits* - and, I suspect a fair few other artists who will all be exposed eventually.

SW: Is this a one album concept project, or shall we hear new material from Krampusnacht?

KRA: I’m currently working on a new album in time for December 6th, you know, Krampusnacht. This will incorporate music from around the world, used during various culture’s festive celebrations, and maybe the music of Lloyd-Webber and Tim Rice’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ – without consulting any composers, arrangers, or representatives of the cultures I’m appropriating, because you humans keep mis-representing cryptids, so fuck you!

SW: Does the winter season, especially the Christmas time, have an effect on your creativity?

KRA: Ah the fucking ‘C’ word again. I think even Jesus is sick of it. Anyway, definitely. The entire season tests my patience, dealing with all the St Nick worshippers, it stresses me out. Since the Roman Catholic Church shifted the date of Yuletide celebrations to the end of the month, after the night of the 6th, I usually get really fed up with all the commercialism, the shoppers, the shitty humans getting all excitable and fat, so, I hide away in my cabin, with vague memories of melodies I’ve heard playing at the supermarket, and rework them in my own style, which just happens to be dungeon synth. 

You keep saying it’s winter, but I know in Australia during December-January, it’s summer, so I try to avoid most of the southern hemisphere during this time. I have a very furry coat.  

SW: Please tell us about the reactions from the Dungeon Synth community, to the album.

KRA: Mostly good, there were some pissed off nerds who thought a ‘holiday’/’christmas’ themed dungeon synth album was an abomination to their precious genre. However, they failed to see the point. This is not a fucking CHRISTmas album, these are not originally Christian songs, they originate from folk melodies, pub songs, reels, chants, nature worship, pantheism. Not churches! 

So the 2 people lamenting the so-called ‘death of dungeon synth’ can munch on my giant goat-demon 3-headed phallus. 

SW: Did you watch the movie Krampus which was released in 2015? If yes, do you think that movie shows the real horror of Krampus?

KRA: It’s certainly a faithful representation of my loyal cohorts and their general distaste for the period. That said, they’d never be caught dead in such gauche footwear. What sort of practicality do loops above ones foot serve? Otherwise, it was certainly an entertaining and rather inspiring piece. I’ll be sure to utilise some of the guerilla tactics those characters displayed before the years end.

SW:  If you see Krampus in your house near the fireplace when it is Christmas, what will the first thing be to say?

KRA: I’ll look in the mirror, and say “This is not my beautiful house!? This is not my beautiful wife!” Then leave. But actually, I’ll be in my own fucking house at Christmas. Avoiding all the cheerful frivolity, fulfilling mail orders and putting coal in people’s letterboxes.

SW: Are you also interested in the bright side of the Christmas and Santa? If yes, then will you also create a music about the bright side too?

KRA: NO! 

SW: What does creating a dungeon synth album mean to you? Is that a way to Express yourself?

KRA: Well, I really wanted to redefine the music that’s often associated with Christmas, it should be taken away from Christmas and re-paganised. Even the most popular Carols, Hymns and narratives around the Christmas story were taken from European pagan traditions. That was my original intention. I heard later that some people on an internet page were talking about doing this first, and Krampusnacht ultimately beat them to it, without even engaging them. 

Also, sales for this particular release were good too. The self titled album helped pay my high rent up here in Greenland over the winter period, my regular job shuts down for a month and a half, and I’m out of work for a bit. The energy bills and rates went up, and last year, I was clocking in enough dollars every week to shout myself some expensive whisky and a few cigars with my holiday pay, and the album sales just sweetened the deal. Hey I’m getting older, I’m allowed to treat myself now. So thanks to everyone who supported the debut, I even sold an album in Dubai! I hope the follow up/sophomore album will share a similar success, complete with a cassette release. I’ll leave it to my record label Goblin Terror to deal with that shit though, I just make the music, I don’t control where it ends up. 

SW: These are our questions. Thanks for being a guest to Stormwind pages. It will be our pleasure to hear if you have any last words.

KRA: Well, don’t mind me for correcting a few spelling errors on the way, hey English is my second language too! I probably made a few grammatical errors anyway. I’ll take a closer look at your zine once I learn how to type with these hooves. If you need any pictures, I don’t have any current ones – but there are plenty of historical images of me on google, just please only use the public domain stuff, or the pics from bandcamp, not someone else’s precious artwork. 

Thanks for your questions, please remove Christmas from your calendars and replace it with Winter Solstice, Yuletide, the Wild Hunt, Mōdraniht, Krampusnacht, Hogmanay, Kwanzaa, fucking Yaksmas, Snowflake Day, Snoggletog, Prixin...anything but Christmas!

Thanks, Krampus. 

https://krampusnacht.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/krampusnacht666/

BAVINGR INTERVIEW

30-AUG-2018 

STORMWIND FANZINE 

BAVINGR INTERVIEW 

SW: It is our honour to have Bavingr here on Stormwind Fanzine for an interview.  Thanks for accepting us. Please tell us about the roots. When did you start to make dungeon synth music and what made you to got to this magickal path of the music world? 

BAV: I’d heard the term “dungeon synth” on the No Clean Singing blog, Google led me to a Bandcamp round up article which mentioned Fief, Old Tower, Sequestered Keep etc. I started to make dungeon synth music in February this year, so I’m extremely new to it! There were two albums in particular that really inspired me to create my own music: “Ruins” by Sidereal Fortress & “Midvintersagor” by Örnatorpet. Both were self-produced first albums and I thought “I wish I could do that... hang on, why don’t I?!”. Listening to the tracks on “Ruins” I learned about how to layer tracks and build them up, whereas “Midvintersagor” is just pure magic and beautiful melodies.

SW: What does the name Bavingr mean and which language is that? 

BAV: It doesn’t mean anything, it’s a made up word. I spent quite a long time trying to come up with a name that hadn’t been used before. I am an obsessive user of Last.FM, which tracks all the music you listen to and compiles charts of your top artists, albums etc – it’s great but there is no artist disambiguation – so I might be listening to the excellent Spanish DS artist Morannon, but the Last.FM thinks it is the German black metal band. I didn’t want that to happen to my music. Google “Båvingr” and all you will find is my music.

SW: When I check the song titles, I see a prologue and an epilogue which means that this album tells us a story. What is the story that you are telling us in your melodies? 

BAV: There’s no “story” per se... I was inspired by the painting of J.W. Waterhouse (pre-raphaelite artist). He painted three pictures of the goddess/witch Circe, a character from the Odyessy by Homer. The three main tracks (“Offering the Cup”, “Circe Invidiosa” & “The Sorceress”) refer to the titles of these painting (pictures are included with the digital album). The prologue “Homer” is about the blind old poet in ancient Greece, the epilogue “Waterhouse” is about the painter, now an old man.

SW: I see you are prefering to present your music on a cassette. I believe cassette is the most fitting format for dungeon synth music and I am glad for your choise. Is that the same specific reason for that? 

BAV: Well, when I first discovered this music I was a suprised to see that people were listening on cassette. Late one night I ordered tapes by Silencio Permanente & Deorc Weg and that was that, I had the tape collecting bug! I actually enjoy the process of making tapes, doing all the art, EVERYTHING myself, like the old days of bands trading demo tapes.

SW: Are you in fantasy role playing games? If yes, which games do you play with your friends and does it have a positive effect on your music? 

BAV: No, not at the moment. About 7 years ago I “discovered” the Call of Cthulhu RPG and was playing in two groups, a local one and a Skype one. In the local group we played the “Dark Ages of Cthulhu” supplement, which would, I think appeal to DS people.

SW: Do you have plans to release your album on LP or CD? Please let me tell my opinion first. A limited edition hand numbered Picture Disc would be amazing. What do you think? 

BAV: Unfortunately not LP – the costs are prohibitive, plus I don’t have a turntable! I’d consider putting out a CD as that is something I could easily make myself. I quite like the CDs in DVD boxes that Eldest Gate Records put out, and conversely the mini-CDs that Masked Dead records release. The mini CDs fit about 20 minutes of music on, so that might be nice for an EP, but for a “normal CD” I’d be thinking more along the lines of a compilation.

SW: What is the reaction from the dungeon synth fans to the release? 

BAV: Great and unexpected! I was lucky to get my tracks on two compilations: GIBDUS (Great British Dungeon Synth) and Dawn of the Dungeoneers (Dungeon It!).  I was also very happy to get reviewed in Skaventhrone issue 3! I have shipped quite a lot of tapes so far, all around the world – this is because of my “infinite tapes” policy – if people want to own a tape, I’ll continue making them! So I think this has helped the EP’s profile...

SW: We have also two bonus songs at the B Side and they surely have their own stories. I must say that I really want to hear the story of “The Brazen Tower” What are the stories behind this two B Side songs? 

BAV: “Tre war Venydh” is inspired by the legend of King Arthur. Merlin helps Uther Pendragon infiltrates the castle of Tintagel using magic and seduce Ygraine, fathering King Arthur. “The Brazen Tower” is the story of Danae, whose father was warned that his daughter’s son would one day kill him so he had a tower of bronze constructed in order to imprison her. There’s painting of this by Edward Burne-Jones in my local museum.

SW: Are you working on new material which will follow Bycirce? 

BAV: Yes, any free time I have in the evening is spent on my music. I’ve got a stash of finished or semi-finished tracks at the moment. I recently released a single “Fells and Tarns”, inspired by my homeland of Cumbria in Northern England (a beautiful, wet, weird place full of mountains and lakes). I’m working on music for the 2nd GIBDUS and Dawn of the Dungeoneers compilations as well as working on tracks for my own follow-up, I don’t know whether that will be an EP or album.

SW: These are our questions and it will be our pleasure to hear if you have any last words. 

BAV: Just THANK YOU! I’m amazed that someone would want to interview me about my music, it means a lot. The DS community as a whole has been great and supportive especially the people on the forum and my GIBDUS/Dungeon It! comrades. 

https://bavingr.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bavingr/

OLD SORCERY INTERVIEW

26-MAY-2018

STORMWIND FANZINE

OLD SORCERY INTERVIEW

SW: Thank you for accepting our interview. As you know social media has a massive affect on promoting albums but you don’t have a facebook page which is most popular platform these days. May I ask why you are not in social media? 

OS: I have plenty of musical projects, all of which promote themselves on social media. However, I don't feel the need to promote any more Old Sorcery there than I do on the Dungeon Synth -forum, I think that the followers of a sub-genre like this want to have that kind of discovering feeling, you know? The whole genre kinda draws it's influences from the past glorious times, the tape-trading scene and the real underground movement. 

SW: Debut album hit the scene just like a bright moon in the sky. As I followed on social media, dungeon synth fans paid so much attention to the album “Realms of Magickal Sorrow”. Please tell me about the reactions of the fans. 

OS: Yeah, I was overwhelmed by the reaction. My first plans were to dub the cassette myself, like 5 copies to my friends or so. Turned out, after the digital release, that people all over the world wanted my album on cassette! This amazes me. Old Sorcery is music made for myself exclusively, and I am very glad that so many people enjoy it as well. 

SW: The album cover is magickal itself. Who is the artist and please tell us about the creation process. Do you give the idea to artist or artist listens to music and creates his/her own ideas? 

OS: Actually, it is an old oil painting by an unknown artist. Can't shed anymore light on the matter... As far as my new release goes, the split with a fellow dungeon synth artist "Haxan Dreams" titled "Dreams of the Old Kingdom", the cover is made by   Abhot'h Xelpunanic from Haxan Dreams. 

SW: I see that the album has CD and Cassette versions both. However the cassette version was very limited and it has come to sold out situation fastly. Do you have plans to make a re-issue for the cassette version? 

OS: The tape version was limited to 100 on Garavluth Records. Maybe on the future, we will see a re-issue. Don't know yet. 

SW: Somehow the dungeon synth fans prefer cassette versions of the albums rather than the CD versions. What should be the reason for that? 

OS: Well, my own reason for that is the sound. It sounds OLD, worn, organic! 

SW: Please tell us about your dungeon the place that you are creating your music art. 

OS: As I am writing this, I am listening to the "Mark of the Devil" -soundtrack LP by Michael Holm. To describe this "dungeon" would take away some of the mystery that I want to create with Old Sorcery. 

SW: Are you also interested in 8bit computer synth? If yes than do you have favorite musicians or songs written by a 8bit computer? 

OS: Can't say that I am. I love old synth soundtracks though, from the 70's and 80's. 

SW: So after a succesfull debut album, fans will accept more of your music. Are you having plans for a new release and if yes what are your plans to move the success to a new level? 

OS: I recently released a split album with Haxan Dreams, a very limited tape release that is sold out. We will repress it soon. I don't care about the success really, but I think I am ready to delve deeper into the majestic mountains, endless forests and castles at the end of this year so, a new album will definitely emerge in some point, whenever I feel ready. Right now, I am extremely busy with my other projects. 

SW: If the castle on the debut album cover was real will that be a place that you want to live? Imagine that it is real and you are living there. How would you spend most of your time? 

OS: I would take long walks in the corridors and the forests surrounding the castle, order more wine from the servants and listen the walls whisper sad stories from the Dark Ages. That would be the time of Old Sorcery, of Old Ways. 

SW: These are our questions. It will be our pleasure to hear if you have anything to add.

OS: Thanks! 

https://oldsorcery.bandcamp.com 
https://www.facebook.com/OldSorcery/ 

Additional information: 
After the interview released at 26.05.2018, Old Sorcery also released Lp version of the album "Realms of Magickal Sorrow" which was available at 24.8.2018. It is limited to 199 Black and 99 Gold LP