It think for the most part I have been impressed with the folds in this tape design as it looks like something that has been sitting in a chest for a few decades in some dusty yet mysterious attic. Hole Dweller’s third part of the lofi Flies the Coop series. While this artist has many sounds, Flies The Coop is a love letter to warm aesthetics and worn music that sounds like it is coming from that attic we just talked about. Hole Dweller’s legacy within this genre is marked not only seemingly effortless releases but also the excitement of the community who wants to return to immersive comfort synth. It is hard not to keep underscoring the influence Hole Dweller has had on this genre and community and flies the coop III feels like the opening credits to its eventual documentary.
I was not aware of new Fief (outside of the collaboration with Erang this year) until Out of Season handed me a purple promo tape. Damn, did I not know about something this monumental or was this a secret? Maybe both? From 2016 to 2019, Us based artist Fief releases five, roman numeric titled albums which would not be exaggerating each becoming apart of the dungeon synth lexicon. There are many reasons for this success not even mentioning how easy this music fits into RPG playlists. First and foremost I feel it is due to Fief’s presentation of medieval ambient but in an accessible, almost sober manner. there is fancy, sorrow, and joy all wrapped in plainly delivered songs. Even though the titles are grand spectacles talking of whirling blades and stained glass visions, these stories are told by a bard over a reasonable cup of ale at a commoner’s tavern.
I have been excited for L A N D S R A A D’s series ever since the first release and the potential promise of 6 albums all based around Frank Herbert’s sci fi epic Dune. What makes this series even more impressive is the embrace of cosmic and Berlin style electronics giving the subject matter the proper stage in which to present its tales. From the opening overture of ” Withering in the Blaze of Infinity,” L A N D S R A A presents deep escapism and crafted tribute to something that lies beyond the realm of traditional fantasy but would be of interest to anyone who wanders in. For anyone who has read the series, God Emperor of Dune represents a … small leap in terms of narrative which is only fitting to these growing melodies which sound like they are infinite and forever present. Come for amazing melodies stay for neck high waters of science fiction lore.
Last year, I wrote a review for Ubmria’s Homecomer which was published in the first issue of Fantasy Audio Magazine. I had been aware of this Spanish artist ever since 2020’s The Sleeping Wizard. Writing the review for Homecomer and talking to the artist has revealed a dense imaginary world where all of the albums are set. This world, which doesnt have a name nor map is the state in which various characters tell their stories. The Boreal Lands are the northern part of this map and here we visit and meet an array of mystery. If you are ever curious about the locations, click on the track and get a blurb sized fact about the Boreal Lands as if it was a tour guide reading information about your destination. The cinematic music of Umbria only further enhances this worldbuilding with each track a scene from a dramatic story. Inspired by soundtracks and progressive electronic of yesteryear, Umbria not only makes an album but another chapter in a book of mystery and wonder.
So this might have just come out right as I was publishing this digest so this might be me stopping the presses and writing about this. Örnatorpet is a project from Sweden and since 2018, has enchanted audiences with a unique blend of medieval surrealism as if asleep in some quiet corner of a castle. This feeling is only enhanced on Fordomdags with dark fantasy artwork by Luciana Nedelea. Where as 2023’s Evigt främmande, evigt fjärran explored dark dungeon music and the influence of Mortiis, Fata Morgana, and Wongraven, Fordomdags embraces a magical soundscape yet still under the long shadow of darkness. The result is something entirely bewitching which is befitting a modern classic in the making.
If you did not know, this is the sixth volume in a planned 10 tape series musically illustrating all of the plants of Middle Earth. It is a massive project undertaken by Ithildin which has been occurring at the same time as other projects of equal caliber. I have been writing about Ithildin since before this project and have always quietly clapped when each installment is released. It is not the quality of this series as a whole which is impressive, since that is already a given rather this series also being completed while the artist is releasing other things this year is truly a wonder. Arda’s Herbarium, Vol. 6 comes in the same year as the Music For 18 Magicians, a single track progressive electronic wonder which came out of nowhere, as well as Shadow of the Past, a return to the dark fantasy elements of the project’s early years. I don’t think i expect anything from this artist since they seem to have given and continue to do so in the future without much asking.
Yellow Morel Orchestra already wins due to to the name. The fact it has great music by two stellar musicians is even better. Yellow Morel Orchestra-Live from Woodhaven is a collaboration between Fernmage and Moss Knight with their music pushed to an even more costumed presentation. Yellow Morel Orchestra is not the musicians rather the band of mushroom musicians the two encounter in the woods and the music is the thing they heard on their walk. This fun bit of whimsy is also packaged with things you would expect from dungeon synth and many you would not. There are moments in the record where the music is encased in soplemn horn and string sections where one forgets the genre of music they are listening to. Live from Woodhaven is not just a split, nor is it just a collboration, rather a score for a play that is achingly beautiful and robust in it its craft.
I remember listening to Darken Wood’s 2020 release VI many times. I did this since I uploaded the Mp3s into Roll20 to play during my RPG campaigns. I didn’t upload anything else and just let those melodies run through many hours of storytelling. I feel Darken Wood would be pleased as VI, along with all of the other numeric titles, are apart of a cryptic story which has been running through numeric titles for years. Darken Wood’s music has always been both mystical and dark never really settling on one theme. It took me a while to get used to all of the numbered albums not having sequential art, the creator’s penchant for using both vintage and contemporary artists for the covers gives this project an intimate soul which blends with music which radiates quality.
Since I apparently also missed a longer release in April of this year, we are going to be talking about both releases from everyone’s favorite pipe smoking gnome. I remember first reviewing Deep Gnome and laughing at the absurdity of a person taking pictures in the forest dressed in a cape making music about gnomes. It was almost comical and irreverent. Since 2022, this artist has showcased an immense display of talent and craft in the music. Castle in the Clouds had its art created by a Korean tattoo artist which seems to split the difference between whimsical and alternative. Deep Gnome is a realm walker who resides in both a dreamland and punk rock basement shows. The music continues to become a fused artifact of both of these worlds.
It is currently November 25th 2024 and I am talking about a seasonal release from Weregnome. It is okay since the season of Autumn and the shadow of Halloween can be all year round. Don Your Vegetable is a surprise release from Weregnome being announced a few days before Halloween. Its entire theme and existence is in tribute to Over the Garden Wall, the 2014 animated movie which has become a seasonal tradition for cool people. Weregnome has built its legacy on being unpredictable with perhaps dozens of releases they keep in their pockets to throw at people. The 55 copies, which are now sold out, represents 55 lucky people who won some weird lottery they never knew was coming. Above all else, Weregnome exists to create art when we are not looking only to leave things on our front door step as they hide in the bushes.
Perhaps my favorite aspect of Lored Legend is I have no fucking idea who is in this project. Looking at the Bandcamp page reminds me of being in a dream and trying to read text and it all being jumbled. In all seriousness Lored Legend is a Us based artist who does collaborations with other artists who might or might not really exist. Wyvern Keep is a split…collaboration..amalgamation of songs by Lored Legend and KletTtermax. Wyvern Keep is a day dream of melodic fantasy synth and woozy lofi dreamhaze which can be concocted by none other than alchemists from a separate reality. This is dungeon synth but after you wake up from a sleep and try to write down all of the things that happened in your dream.
Autumnal rehearsals. Homemade cassettes. Recorded directly to tape. Sold Out. When I saw the cover of this releases along with the previous text, I knew it was going to be a hit. Tree Gardener embodies the spirit of dungeon synth. Improvisations and rehearsals recorded directly to tape and then sold in editions of ..14. While this aesthetic is easy to make into comedy, Tree Gardener’s intimacy in its music provides a small space for gathering and communing with the spirits. Tree Gardener’s attention to ambience and love of field recordings makes these releases an esoteric gift from the creator to the audience as if they are imbuing each tape with the essence of the woods.
“Spellseer is a medieval synthesizer music project, inspired by the chivalric sounds of 90’s RPG and RTS games.” It is 1999 and you are at home in front of a CRT monitor wandering around the map with exotic music and a color palette of yellow. This is the world of Spellseer, a US based synth artist dedicated to recreating the feel of old CRPG with a penchant for adventure and leveling. Shifting Sands is level two of said game where you have left the green kingdom and find yourself among the mystic sun. Shifting Sands is nothing but a fantastic journey whose adventure I would very much like to continue into the next level.
Library of the Occult has always been interesting to me since they have a solid aesthetic. 60’s – 80’s era haunted aesthetic that is both spooky and hip. Bradley Thomas Turner newest record sees the wonderful genres of surf and psych put into a costume and sent trick or treating around the abandoned neighborhood. This is vibe which can only come through a rich and detailed knowledge of instrumental music and pays homage to surf rock, library, psych, and soundtrack music which sits in dusty crates waiting for a hip person to come and buy it at discount.