In a forest clearing amidst a small crowd, beautiful live music, birds chirping, the smell of trees and a whiff of incense coming from the stage, the quiet periodic buzz of the fog machine, the view of the musician between mossy branches, it is somehow both serene and yet a sensory overload. The most striking thought in my mind at this moment is imagining all the distinct vast rich inner worlds of creative experience I am surrounded by in this unique setting. What deep unknowable wonders of dreaming have brought us all here to such a place?
I'd never been to any music festival before, but the circumstances of this particular Dungeon Siege West made me feel compelled to attend. It was a very new experience for me, and so I can only really comment from my own limited perspective, but I found it to be quite fun and profoundly beautiful in many ways. It was a camping festival in a forest. I did not camp on festival grounds, but rather with a few friends at different location, so I definitely enjoyed being out in nature the whole time, but I do wonder what it would've been like to mingle at the firepit before and after the shows. Finally having a chance to talk about dungeon synth in-person with people who are as immersed it in it as myself was so exciting! Sorry to anyone I may have awkwardly rambled at, but I appreciate everyone there being so cool and friendly.
I wish I could speak specifically about the various artists that performed, but I wasn't able to see all the shows, and at times there was so much going on that it was a bit hard to focus, but I really enjoyed each one that I saw. My general impression was that the lineup of artists did well to showcase nearly all the myriad styles that make up the scene, traditional dark dungeon music, darker blackened dirges, upbeat fantastical pastoral style, dungeon noise, experimental modern dance styles, kosmische musik/berlin school, and more. And I feel like all of the artists exemplify their different approaches, if not singularly defining them. I was especially interested how some artists performed live vocals and even sang, an aspect of dungeon synth that still seems to be evolving and not fully established. I was impressed by the sheer virtuosity of instrument-playing at times, with some missed notes and a few small mishaps here and there which only served to make everything feel more real and immediate. And just the largeness of the sound and dynamic shifts in energy, sometimes providing a visceral rhythmic intensity that one would rarely expect from this genre. I cannot do it justice except to say that it was so impressive and inspiring.
I feel like attending this Siege has caused a permanent change in the way I see dungeon synth. Being able to now attach faces and personalities to this art in such an embodied way seems to give it much more weight in my mind. And I think maybe now when I try to appreciate new music, whether the artist performs live or not, I will be trying to imagine what it would be like for them to do a live show. There was a time when I insisted on dungeon synth being purely an isolated individualistic outsider genre, that the audience should barely be an afterthought. Since then I've consciously understood for a long time that the reclusive obscurity is not a necessary aspect of dungeon synth for most people, but I have not been able to fully appreciate it personally except through that lens. Now, after having such a good time at this festival, I'm starting to wonder if perhaps, even for myself, it has counterintuitively been about trying to connect with others all along? I still have a lot to process, but for the moment I'm feeling quite inspired to make music and maybe start blogging regularly again. Thanks to the artists and organizers for all their hard work creating such a memorable event.
I'm left with an image that keeps recurring in my mind, of the sky in the main field at night as I was leaving the festival grounds, a vast panoramic pitch-black border of trees surrounding the field and reaching high enough to majestically frame the sight of the stars, a dark portal of nature containing an endless cosmic expanse, pierced by the bright silvery moon hanging just above the treeline.
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