I first heard of Jenn through a mutual friend who had reached out about Siege but I was already aware of her! She was one of the first DS acts I encountered when I started exploring the genre more with Fiadh and was how I learned about Berlin school and analog synthesizer performances in general. Jenn’s aesthetic and overall vibe has always been not only fierce as hell but extremely professional – it’s clear that this is someone who takes their craft seriously, and while Fiadh is a deeply unserious label at times I felt that this was a great opportunity for me to rise to the challenge of matching her professionalism. I was also, and still am, thrilled to see a woman take the lead in this scene and really be a pioneer in the touring synth-music space which you don’t really see often. Touring, and planning your own tours and shows, is a brutal business, and as another woman chewed up by the industry I have so much respect for how she handles it. While I am not personally involved in the SM scene, I think this is a music/performance/lifestyle crossover that actually makes a lot of sense to me and I am always happy to see more opportunities for sex-positive discussion!
– Fiadh Productions
Over the course of my time in music, I have gotten to know many dungeon synth (DS) artists either by interview or through seeing them at live shows. Since 2023, I have seen a lot of artists and maybe some of them many time. I feel I have seen and talked to Jenn Taiga the most since we always seem to end up at the same shows mainly because this artist is always up for driving ridiculous distances. In fact during Texas (none of us live even close to Texas), Jenn recounted all of the dates and locations for her US tour which begins at the publication of this article. I think it might have been around Albuquerque which I started to think ” wow that is a lot of dates in a short amount of time.” For those who have been around Jenn and seen her play, chaos seems to be always in the back pocket of this artist as she continues to carve her mark not only among the DS scene but the underground music as a whole. She does so with a ridiculous amount of gear, ones that always bring synth nerds to hover around the stage after her set, as well as elaborate performances — some which cause people to leave early.
For as much as DS promotes idyllic escapism, Jenn Taiga’s music can often times feels aggressive and confrontational. Jenn’s music is a mixture of Berlin school synthscapes and dark ambient, influenced by things like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ashra, and if you are super cool, the work of Redshift. Jenn’s music have moments of fantastic frolicking while also taking brooding turns. If anything can be said about Jenn’s music it is unexpected and one that stands in front of the listener forcing them to assess the situation. This feels at odds with a genre that is purported passive escapism as Jenn’s music puts transgression at its focal point. For anyone who has been around Jenn, transgression or the mere act of surviving by a thread, is apart of her existence. This is perhaps how I have come to understand her work by photographing many shows and seeing the reaction of the audience during her pain sets — special performances where her and a partner engage in sadomasochist performance art.
Performance art is easily misunderstood and even easier caricatured by those who don’t understand. The history of performance art, especially in the 60s and 70s, has roots in feminism and queer activism allowing artists to have agency in how their art is communicated. Performance art often is not a casual affair with the very act of watching something in a non traditional space feels confrontational. Jenn’s special performances often begin in the traditional sense with her playing but from the very beginning another person is on stage, often bound to a chair or other apparatus signaling to the audience that something non traditional is about to happen. This unease of not knowing underscores Jenn’s performance as she plays her music and is something that has become, for me, intertwined with the music. There are many harsh truths in life and music for Jenn does not feel escapist rather exhibitory. I don’t feel Jenn Taiga is entirely her pain sets, in fact she even told me her special performances during this upcoming tour would be related to one event during dungeon siege west. This special extension is just another dimension for an artist as one who cares little for tradition and would gladly trade the unease of an entire room for a chance to say something important.
Sanguine Descent, the new record from Jenn, is not a performance rather something you can interact with on your own. Still though the new release even with the cover made by Misha Mono indicts and logo by Silver and Steel Art indicates a darkness held at bay just for a moment as the monstrous figure looks as if they are about to escape their tangled confinement. Sanguine Descent expresses these moments of unease through synthesized crescendos and moments of intense reflection. Songs like ” A Last Kiss Wounds Deeper Than A Blade,” a 12 minute descent into some lower tiers of the underworld is brooding but also calming in its emotions much like one would be after getting over shock and accepting the road one must take. Over the course of my time knowing Jenn I have come to view her releases as a carousel of expressions rather than anything conclusive. Sanguine Descent is an expression of things from the last few years and this current tour will be an expression of her as an artist in this moment. While we enjoy getting a full picture of an artist to understand, I would urge you to listen to this release as a snapshot and if you can see Jenn during one of her shows, even if it is out of your comfort zone, to do so. Doing this will allow you to capture a fleeting moment of a person who is constantly moving thinking and feeling and will probably be in someplace new tomorrow.
7/5- Chicago, IL @colesbar
7/6- Minneapolis, MN @zhoradarling
7/7- Fargo, ND @parachigo4
7/9- Missoula, MT The ZACC
7/10- Seattle, WA @jules_maes_saloon
7/11- Pe Ell, WA @dungeonsiegewest
7/13- Eugene, OR John Henry’s
7/14- Reno, NV @hollandreno
7/15- San Francisco, CA @theknockoutsf
7/16- Los Angeles, CA @coyotestudiosla
7/17- Las Vegas, NV Founder’s Club
7/18- Albuquerque, NM @longhairrecords
7/19- Denton, TX @auracoffeedtx
7/21- Jackson, MS (TBA)
7/22- Atlanta, GA @boggssocial
7/23- Asheville, NC @static_age_record_store
7/24- Chattanooga, TN Kingston’s
7/25- Cincinnati, OH @cometbar
7/26- Huntington, WV @truckincheesy
KAP: What Has happened since the last time we did an interview in 2021?
JENN: Jeez, so much has happened since 2021. Where do I begin? Well I went on two tours, both of which were exciting and rewarding for me. I’ve played at a few Dungeon Sieges, as well, and released two albums- Siege and Kytonic Meditations. On a personal level, I moved from western Mass to Philadelphia, and from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh where I’m planning to stay for the foreseeable future. It fucking rules here. I haven’t released anything since Kytonic Meditations in November 2022. Almost three years, that feels so glacial in Dungeon Synth time doesn’t it? I had been having a really hard time recording since my life had been in a seemingly constant state of utter dogshit. That’s kinda what inspired this release, actually. Everything felt like a never-ending chain of descending spirals, ya know? I get through one shit phase, another one kicks up right as I think I have a chance to break, another one kicks up; and each one hits worse than the last because of the compounding psychic damage of everything before it. That cycle, that *descent* if you will, is something I wanted to try and capture in musical form. It was a particularly interesting experience for me, since I’d be trying to write about whichever last *bullshit occurence* happened while also dealing with another one. It’s kinda funny in a way, at least if you’re the type who likes to laugh at suffering.
In your press kit you asked promoters not to use the word “experimental” . Why is there an aversion to this word?
I’m not averse to the label, I’m just not an experimental artist so the term is inaccurate in relation to me. It’s confusing to me that so many people try to call me an experimental musician, so much that I have to ask people not to. I love experimental art and am friends with many experimental artists and musicians, so I feel like it’d be unfair to them to let folks use the term to describe me. I just, well, don’t experiment when I make my music so it’s not applicable to me yanno? Am I splitting hairs? I really hope I don’t sound like one of those jagoffs who try and say shit like “OH that’s not dungeon synth, that’s fantasy ambient” or whatever.
I don’t think many people realize the preparation that goes into one of your pain sets. What was the best reaction you had to one of these performances or maybe one that surprised you how much the audience reacted positively?
I’m scaling the frequency of these types of sets down to big fests or special occasions. The best reactions are when people really “get it”, you know, my putting transsexual bodies and intimacy on display as an act of protest to the bigots who’d see us dead. Folks come up to me (or “us” when I’m performing with a partner) and explain how much it means to them, mainly other trans and queer people. I also get people who tell me they’re inspired to get back into their SM practices, or that they’re finally going to take the leap in pursuing for the first time, or just that it makes people feel happy to see bloodplay presented to a large audience in a way that’s done *right*, that’s all super affirming and is a big part of why I do what I do.
Your sets seem to be made for the live performance, how do you feel about Ds becoming more and more of a live experience. Do you have any advice for people nervous about playing or looking for some theater to go with their sets?
– It warms my fucking heart to see live DS become much more of a thing. While booking this tour, I’ve had tons of venues and bookers and such respond to my inquiries being excited about putting in a dungeon synth show, and having one or two locals in mind. It’s kinda mind blowing, right? Like, I’ve been gigging this stuff out since 2015 and how things where then compared to now is like night and day. My biggest advice to folks would be to focus on learning how to play your set before looking at any sort of theatrical bits. For a while, there was a big concern of people going to perform and doing these big stage displays with costumes and such but not actually playing an instrument and just letting their laptops play the album. That shit sucks so bad! Really thankful it’s not as prevalent anymore. Just focus on playing, and if your approach is mainly software focused, playing as much of your parts without leaning on backing tracks. Use trigger pads, MIDI splits/layers, all that shit. It makes a performance more dynamic, and you playing your part *becomes* a visual in and of itself. You can add non-musical bits to your performance from there, in ways that’ll make sense for your music and your playing that won’t feel forced or pretentious.