2020

Oublieth – Mornelance [Canada, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Out of Season | 1-25-21

Another Cusp Record! Mornelance was released independently in the twilight hours of 2020 which would then be picked up by the very great and very reliable Out of Seaosn for tape release. January was the first time many people got to hear the work of Oublieth and their solemn worship of classic dungeon synth. Mornelance is for fans of Depressive Silence to the point where some of the synth sounds match the tones of the veteran German act. This is not to say that Mornelance is derivative rather, Oublieth continues the work of Depressive Silence and other classic era dungeon synth with a record that is both reverent to the style yet creating its own grim castles cloaked in fog. Mornelance is a dark fairy tale where wild fey live in spires among the darkness. It is magical and enchanting in its hypnosis.

Sprites Of The Wood – Old Souls [Canada, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Neverwood Records | 1-21-21

This is a Tape Release of a 2020 album by Canadian artist Sprites of the Wood. This tape release came with the latest batch of Neverwood Records releases which is making the early part of 2021 something special. 2020 was a busy time for Sprites of the Wood. From January to December of 2020, Sprites of the Wood released 5 (?) albums (?) all dedicated to the wonder and magic of various fantasy media. While there are a handful of releases dedicated to Tolkien, Old Souls is dedicated to the lands of Myst which I am assuming is the puzzle computer game released in 1993. I could be wrong but even if I am, the music presented by Sprites of the Wood is a magical journey into enigmatic dungeons with solutions that are hidden among its contents. The minimalistic world of the music offers many chances for the melodies to soar high into the sky with a landscape of craft and care.

Lamerak – Lamerak [Canada, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Self Released | 12-29-20

this is once again a Cups release meaning it was released in the twilight hours of 2020 which I am now considering mentioning in 2021. Lamerak comes from the very new and capable Voices of Anuir which was originally a podcast that expanded to a tape label. Lamerak is actually the first tape release for the label followed by Reliquum in January of 2021. For an opening statement, Lamerk is a fantastic record for a label with a lot of promise. From the sweet medieval sounds which drift over taverns in the woods to abandoned ruins of long forgotten kingdoms, Lamerak is an adventure in under 15 minutes with a release that is structured as a narrative arc. There is many styles here displayed as an overture to a bright future for a label that seems to just be getting started.

Siegecraft – Noble Infantry [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Moonworshipper Records | 12-25-20

I am currently going through my holiday purchases and trying to catalog all of the dungeon synth that was released in the waning hours of 2020. though it is 2021 and most of this material lies on the cusp of years, I am going to make a special designation for material released in December of a year and make considerations when discussing the end of the year. This has been something that I have wanted to do for a while and Noble Infantry is one of those records which I want to include in discussions of 2021. From the band of weirdo misfits at Moonworshipper comes a surprisingly tame record whose strangeness comes in blurred edges emanating from a core of classic sounding dungeon synth. There are dungeons and dark shapes which moves through shows. At points, it sounds calm and at other times, it looms over you as a proper ghoul should. This is Mortiis worship but only in the spirt as Noble Infantry attempts to being medieval grimness back into the cusp of 2021.

A Good Mage – A Good Mage Is Hard to Find [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Neverwood Records | 11-6-20

I talked about Neverwood Records before with the release of Covered Brides’ debut. Neverwood is still new with 2020 being their inaugural release in October of 2020. With only months of existence, this Us label has managed to put out dazzling releases that are both comfy as well as alienating and cold. A Good Mage is the former, but maybe both, with a release that is intoxicating with its lofi esoteric immersion. Through this 25 minute release, the listener is treated to a soundscape which is as abstract as it is nostalgic. Combine this with a strong visual design and one has a release that echoes even into the new year.

Merkury – Spatial Illusions [US, Dungeon Synth, Ambient] (2020)

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Faberglade Records | 12-21-20

I would like to mention for the purposes of academic history, this record was self released in December of 2019. Feberglade Records included this release in the Winter 2020 bundle along with other fantastic releases. Spatial Illusions is dungeon synth yet their aesthetic, just visually, put this release in another dimension entirely. Torn between the realms of dark ambient / drone and berlin school electronics, Merkury pays tribute the dungeon synth’s primeval foundations with a record that is enigmatic as well as omniscient. It exists across the fabric of space and time and could easily be the soundtrack the universal changes in the cosmos if not for the omnipresent silence. For fans of Tangerine Dream or just anyone who thinks beyond the confines of prescribed perception, Spatial Illusions exists in extra dimensions.

Warm Smial – Carols for the Hearth in Winter [US, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Wrought Records | 12-11-20

I am writing this on December 29th which is still in the afterglow of the holidays but not underneath its oppression. I think as the years goes by, comfy synth is going to be more pronounced at the end of the year just for its ability to evoke warm emotions and a paralyzing sense of sentimentality. Wrought Records has always done fun things for the holidays in addition to being a consistent producer of fantastic releases since 2019. Aside from the dark ambient to lo fi fantasy releases, fun themed releases like Witch Haunt and Reliquary of Terror would dot the Halloween season. Warm Smial’s second release, Carols for the Hearth in Winter, comes during the end of the year holidays and is perfect for a crackling fire and steeping tea. While comfy synth can feel sugary and disposable, Warm Smial, as well as Wrought Records, manages to command attention and respect with releases that warm the minds and heart so listeners. This type of music is going to be an annual tradition from this moment forward.

Warm Smial’s debut was in March of 2020 which came at the tail end of the comfy synth boom in December of 2019.

トレイル GUIDE – Reflection [US, Dungeon Synth / Field Recordings] (2020)

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Self Released | 12-15-20

Listen, I get it. The use of Japanese on a tape release usually leads to assumptions that it is vaporwave or some sort of hip electronic that you probably will not get. If this release had a fantasy aesthetic to it, it probably would have been a little bit more popular. Reflection is a meditation on nature through a cracked lens of lo fidelity and warping. Through field recordings and the haze of solitude, this release invokes the power of nature to be a soundtrack for for the spirit. This is the second release by Local Forest Society, a US based label, with I believe only one artist, who records albums live in nature with the ambient sounds put to mixed in with the melodies. The idea of this recording process (do not know how true it is) has deep reverence to both nature and the solitary act of recording music where it is just one person and their communion with the wilderness. Despite the idiosyncratic name and aesthetic, トレイル GUIDE continue to forge their own path into nature synth opting to get lost in the woods to finally be at peace.

Grandpas House Near the Sea – Sunny Weekend​/​Mourning Weekend [France, Dungeon Synth] (2020)

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Vicious Mockery | 12-4-20

For as rudimentary as comfy synth can seem, the micro genre within an already micro genre has the ability to evoke powerful emotions. Its sense of nostalgia and sentimentality is not unlike the whole of dungeon synth just without the fantastic framework. Sunny Weekend​ and ​Mourning Weekend were two EPs released by Ancient Void Music, a ritual / ambient music label based in France. While I think both EPs fit in a catalog of ritual ambient and experimental music, Grandpas House Near the Sea’s, an act that seems entirely dedicated to this tale, fits most at home at Vicious Mockery and especially on a physical tape. Broken into two acts, Sunny Weekend​/​Mourning Weekend weaves the tale of childhood fantasy along with the inevitable unraveling of mortality and memories which go into both. The track titles and approach can feel frank and without poetry yet the forthright honesty which comes with these EPs is something that feels cathartic for a style of dungeon synth that is suppose to be be cozy. There is a space for cozy emotions as well as natural sadness which is apart of the march of time.