Andrew: I'm here with Erang right now.
Recently we were emailing each other back and forth a bit, catching
up and discussing the old days, when we decided it might be
worthwhile to make this conversation more formalized and to release
it publicly. Anyone reading this who does not know Erang, well I'm
guessing such a person would be quite new to dungeon synth in the
first place, and fortunately Erang's discography is a great place to
start. His work covers a wide array of the various moods and sounds
one might encounter in this genre, and always with quality and
earnestness. He has been active with the project for a decade
now and I'm quite interested to hear his thoughts, and share some of
my own, about those old quiet days and how things have changed since.
So to kick things off, I'll just
broadly ask how do you feel about the state of the genre today? What
are some good and some bad aspects about it? Do you think it is
thriving or dying overall?
Erang: Well I think the genre is very
well and well alive! Dungeon Synth is very profilic nowadays with so
many great musicians adding their own perspective and background to
it. Definitely not a dying genre I would say, clearly a growing one…
Sure, it is no more that ancient secret artifact from the past we
might find at the turn of an old blog through a dusty megaupload link
but that's not really important in my opinion. I'm glad for having
been there when it was confidential and I'm also really glad for
still being there, here and now. But I'm curious to hear your
thoughts : being the one who coined the term 'Dungeon Synth' itself
in your blog, how do you feel about it today?
Andrew: As just another music genre, I
love it. It's great always being able to find some new high quality
dungeon synth I've never heard before whenever I'm in the mood to
listen to it, and the community is very cool and friendly, and even
the dumb memes can be fun and entertaining. But as something more
than just another music genre, it's basically dead for me, ironically
because it's not dead. For many years I've been struggling to figure
out why it's not the same for me, and recently I've had an
interesting idea about that: I think it has something to do with
identity. For example, what I mean by identity is what you see
displayed by many black metal fans when they wear band t-shirts. What
I interpret that to mean is that they're socially displaying this
aspect of their musical taste, because they believe their
appreciation of the artist depicted on their shirt represents
something about who they are as a person. And the fact that hardly
anyone they encounter while wearing the shirt would recognize the
artist in the case of black metal I think is meant as a display of
individualism, which is definitely something that appealed to me when
I was young, but it's still a social display. As someone who has
always had hermit tendencies, I found in dungeon synth, as a dead
genre, what I thought meant an identity of pure individualism, and
even a glorification of social isolation because it was a scene of
one, even if there might be several other individuals scattered
across the globe who are similarly alone in their appreciation and
identification with this music. Those days are long gone though, now
with possibly over 100 active dungeon synth artists and who knows how
many listeners regularly communicating online and sometimes in
person, it's no longer something I can identify with as being purely
individualistic and solitary. I still catch fleeting glimpses of that
reclusive feeling from time to time when I listen to old DS, and I
still definitely enjoy listening to and making this kind of music
purely for love of the moods and aesthetics, but it takes a great
deal of mental effort to appreciate it as more than just another
style of music as I once did. But even though perhaps it will never
have that same magic for me again, I'm glad for how it has grown and
that it's no longer a dead genre. It's wonderful that so many other
people are able to experience these atmospheric realms of
introspective beauty. And I'm not so selfish as to wish that it was
still dead just so that I can maintain some indulgent identity
attachments that I concocted when I was a teenager.
What are your thoughts about personal
identity in DS? I would say it's still far more individualistic than
most genres, but how much would you say it's a social identity for
people now? What does it mean for how you think of yourself and how
you relate to others?
Erang: Maybe 17 years ago, I wrote in a
notebook "we’re gonna have to learn to watch the things we
loved disappear". Since then I've tried to live by that motto.
It is a bit strange because Erang's music and the Land of the Five
Seasons are deeply rooted within Nostalgia but, to me, the feeling is
clear: I'm not mourning nor longing for some golden age. I strongly
cherish my fond memories but I use them as a positive strength of
inspiration! Concerning personal identity it is a mixed feeling and I
can only talk for myself. I strongly believe that, specifically in
art & music, it is very important to keep some mysteries... to
let the shadows cover some things in order to maybe let other
unexpected things reveal themselves. I'm a real fan of David Lynch
works and I completely share some of his views about art. Like when
he says in a little provocative way: “I don't know why people
expect art to make sense. They accept the fact that their own life
doesn't make sense.”... I think it is truer than ever in our age of
social media where everyone (and famous people) expose themselves. I
use social media a lot for my music, of course. And it could be a
useful tool. But it is always a thin line, in my opinion, between
sharing your art and saying too much, revealing too much and killing
the magic... You know, I perfectly remember as a teen when the DVD
appeared in the market and they started to put bonuses into them: you
had full making-of and movie's version with the Director commentary,
etc. .. and I remember that, even as a teen, I hated that! Of course
with some movies it could work but, most of the time, it killed the
magic. When you have a beautiful movie that deals with fantasy and
then you watch a making of and you have a shot of the set behind the
scenes where you see an actor still half dressed in a wizard with
sunglasses and texting on his smartphone, it simply ruins the magic.
On the other hand I love to chat online from time to time with people
from the community through private messages... Because I'm a pretty
solitary person and, "in real life", nobody shares the same
interests as mine about Dungeon Synth or even Black Metal and all
that things... I'm not playing in a band and I don't like to watch
live shows so, from time to time, it is really pleasant to chat with
people you share some things with. I would even add that the fact
that they are "strangers" really adds something to it to be
honest. A modern version of "pen pal friend" like, for
instance, you and I have... Do you have people around you in real
life that appreciate Dungeon Synth or even know about it?
Andrew: That does sound like a
healthier relationship with nostalgia. Dungeon synth has always been
about nostalgia for me too, initially probably for the music of 90's
video games I grew up with, but now it seems like I'm just being
nostalgic for past nostalgia, which is a bit silly. Also I definitely
agree that seeing too much behind the curtain can dilute the magic
and mystery of art a bit, and intentionally limiting one's exposure
seems like an effective strategy. Leaving room for the imagination is
pretty important for music like this, and that can be pretty
difficult in this hyper-online world where people want that constant
dopamine drip-feed of new content and information (myself included).
About people in real life that
appreciate/know about dungeon synth, my close friends know about it
just from me talking about it and will generally listen to music I
make and give a bit of feedback. A few times I've gotten together with people
from the local black metal community where I live (Alaska). Those experiences were enjoyable and I found them all to be
very good folks and quite a few really talented musicians for how
small of a "scene" it is. Through those meetups I
befriended a couple people who I continue to hang out with a handful
of times each year, and they were aware of dungeon synth prior to me
meeting them and eventually even dabbled in making it themselves.
It's very nice being able to converse about this stuff in-person,
though I've yet to meet with someone who has really gone all-in like
many folks I've spoken with online. Interestingly, pretty much every
black metal fan I've spoken to seems to have at least a passing
awareness of dungeon synth, though most seem pretty ambivalent about
it. Still, it's wild to think I could go to a black metal show almost
anywhere in the world and expect that at least a few people will be
familiar with DS. It's also hard to know how I should discuss my own
contributions to it, but it feels weird not to at least mention it
haha. I'd be really interested to see how the conversation would go
if you were to casually start talking about DS with someone in real
life who was really into it, and then you happen to mention you're
the one and only Erang, or whether you just wouldn't bring it up at
all.
Are there any current artists or recent
releases you're particularly excited about? How much attention do you
think should be given to a single album to get the most out of it?
With so much dungeon synth available, do you think it's necessary to
make an effort to engage more deeply with individual works,
potentially missing out on the abundance of other quality DS
material that's out there, or can one just always listen to new stuff
they have not yet heard and still have the full experience?
Erang: I think I would not mention it
in a discussion. Because if the person in front of me really cares
about it or appreciates my music, that would ruin the magic. And if
he or she doesn't care, then there is no point really in bringing it
up in the discussion. It's funny because I don't like to tell I'm
doing music or talk about it when I meet people. There are of course
close friends who know about it but apart from them I avoid talking
about it. Not that I'm shy but it's just too long and complicated to
explain to people who are not into that kind of things you know. So,
sometimes, when there is a discussion with different people and
someone who knows me says, pointing at me "he makes music"
you always have the other person asking "oh, and what genre are
you playing?"... So I usually just reply "well it's like
Lord of the ring soundtrack but played with old Synth".. Which
is far from true but easier to explain I guess... Concerning current
artists I won't be very original here, the top musicians on bandcamp
are there for a reason: Sombre Arcane, Fogweaver, Hole Dweller, etc.
They all make very good music with a unique vibe in my opinion. Then
you have the numerous works of Adam Matlock: not a recent artist, the
least we can say, but always worth checking. In France we also have
some very strong projects going on: Dame Silu de Mordomoire, ElixiR,
Necrocachot, Akerius, the works of John Lordswood, Descort,
Arathgoth... you're right, too many to names and I forgot dozen of
others beautiful acts. But, you know, you speak about an effort to
engage more deeply with individual works... In my opinion, this is
not only because of the hundreds of existing projects but rather
because the way we "consume" media nowadays have so
drastically changed since the apparition of Internet, streaming
services and, more than that, mobile. We're constantly under a non
stop flux of art. Music, Movies, Images... at first, with Internet &
file sharing, you had almost everything in your computer. Then the
mobile came and you had everything but in your pocket, 24/7, always
with you. However the days are still 24 hours so it became physically
impossible to experience art the same way you used to, maybe 10 or 15
years ago. When I was a teen, I don't remember precisely, but I guess
I must have had 6 or 7 CDs a year... So I had the luxury of listening
to the same album for months. And because Internet didn't exist, I
was experiencing it alone in my room, without being connected. I have
vivid memories of a young me lying in my bed in the dark, spending
evenings listening to one album. So it really was a different
experience. However, the huge downside was that, precisely, I didn't
have access to very underground or obscure music... I mean, there was
only one shop in my city with alternative / underground music so it
was very limited. And, definitely, without Internet, Dungeon Synth
would have never been a thing and Erang never existed. So I have no
regrets for the past. It was just a different way to experience
things...
Andrew: Though I personally am not all
that interested in physical releases, I think a good argument in
favor of it would be to focus one's attention to those particular
works and single them out for more listens than would be given to
just mp3s or streaming. That hasn't really been my experience with
the tapes I've bought over the years, but I could imagine that
approach working for some people.
Speaking of being overwhelmed with too
many options nowadays, I feel like that is even the case when it
comes to producing dungeon synth. For me one of the most fun parts of
making music is spending countless hours tinkering with a synth or
VST, trying to discover and develop new sounds, and unfortunately I
often get lost in that stage of the process and never move on to
composition. For me, in recent years, the only way I'm able to really
get past that and still enjoy going deep into timbral explorations is
by limiting myself to just one instrument per album (along with other
strict limitations). While many artists in this genre just rely on
presets (nothing wrong with that and is the case for nearly all of
the foundational albums), I know you like to create your own samples.
I'm curious to know how much you use presets and prepackaged samples
vs. how much you develop your own sounds? Do you just do sampling or
do you ever experiment with making synth patches? And also do you put
any limitations on yourself so that you don't get stuck in that part
of the process, of trying to find the next great preset or develop
the next inspiring new patch/sample?
Erang: Limitations in art has always
been a great (if not the best) way to improve creativity. I guess
that ‘limitations’ in life itself (being biological or even
politics) is what push us to create new things. This is how I
interpret the quote from Picasso « When I haven't any blue I use
red. ». Like, using what I have in front of me without caring. A
punk / DIY approach that was the same in Black Metal and Dungeon
Synth and that I use everyday. So, to answer you, I use what I think
fits the song at the moment I’m doing it or what comes under my
hand. If it’s a preset then I go for it. If it’s a manipulated
sample then it’s the same. I like to create sounds but I won’t
spend a day tweaking knobs : what I prefer the most is composing
melodies. But it’s very hard to reply because each song is a world
of it’s own with its own approach… That’s why my albums are so
diverse I guess and not a monolithic piece of cohesive art (which I
also like and admire you know). Really, the rule is that there are no
rules. If I self impose some limitations to start the track and
ignite the inspiration, I quickly drop them if I feel that the track
needs something else. That’s why some of my tracks are sometimes
Hi-fi while others are completely lo-fi, etc… I’m not doing music
to follow rules. I already have the everyday life for that…
However, I think the main limitation I have comes from the software I
use to make music. It is a very old and outdated thing from 17 years
ago maybe but it has the right balance of constraints to my taste :
you can still run many modern VST into it (at least if they are not
very heavy and in 32 bit only, no 64 bit at all.. I can’t use
Kontakt for instance) but you are limited in the number of them you
can use because it will crash. Same for other things.. and also,
that’s the weirdest one : you can’t click « undo », there is
none… I’ve never understood why this feature isn’t programmed
into it because « undo » existed a long time ago but, still, this
feature isn’t possible in my software. Which means that, when you
experiment things in it or try arrangement or melodies, you can’t
try too many different paths or you have to rewrite it completely
everytime... So you have to go straight to the point and I like it…
Andrew: I think that is a very
sensible and efficient approach, just being comfortable to use what
you have right in front of you without the concern that there might
be a better sound to be found or developed. I think that's
downright necessary for composition. So far the only luck
I've really had in developing all the patches in an album from
scratch is by first creating the composition with the Roland Sound
Canvas VA VST (which I'd strongly recommend for beginners, has all
the classic bread and butter sounds), and then routing that midi data
into my synth and tweaking knobs to create the patches while the
performance is playing. Several times I've attempted to just
create a whole bunch of patches that I can have at-the-ready for the
composition stage, but I always quickly lose momentum with that
approach. It's cool to hear how you use such an outdated DAW,
that it can't even run Kontakt, arguably also being a bit outdated at
this point. I remember you mentioning in the past that you
use soundfonts as well, which I think are a generally overlooked
treasure trove of sounds from pre-VST era, and I imagine are
well-suited to your archaic software environment.
Erang: Yes I massively use soundfonts!
They are perfect for so many things, having a cool balance between
lo-fi / good quality. More than that, to briefly stay on the topic of
limitations, the fact that they have very few articulations and
velocity (even none most of the time) is in fact often a benefit when
they are well made. In the sense that, because there are only here,
one, two or three samples at most for the velocity, the person who
made it often chosen carefully the samples that have
the most character and tonal/timbral interest. So it is less
realistic but more effective. In my mind it is really like pixel art:
you have a few blocks to express a face or an emotion so you really
focus on what is the most expressive rather than realistic. Like
impressionism in painting versus a hyper realistic picture. The
beauty often lies within fog and shadows... That makes me wonder if
you're as much interested in other media? Painting, movies, video
games... ?
Andrew: For paintings I just have a
surface appreciation of some obvious names, like Beksiński,
Goya, Doré, etc. and haven't done much extensive
investigation beyond that. For movies, I'll say I'm not much
of a movie watcher these days. For instance, I'd say the
original Matrix is probably my favorite movie, but I have no idea
whether the new one is even released yet, and probably won't get
around to watching it for a while even when I know it is available.
I tend to gravitate more to the format of episodic stuff. Here's an
interesting experience as an example: A long time ago I decided to
buy the DVD of Mirrormask, which is a movie I love because surreal
dreamlike movies are my favorite, and I ended up getting a collection
of three Jim Henson produced movies, including also Labyrinth and the
Dark Crystal. Labyrinth I also love and is one of the
earliest movies I remember watching frequently and getting really
attached to as a kid. The Dark Crystal on the other hand, I
had never seen, and upon watching found it very cheesy and boring.
Fast-forward to recent times, the Dark Crystal show on Netflix
comes out and the DS community is very enthusiastic about it.
I decide to give it a shot because of all that hype, even though I
bounced so hard against the movie, and it actually really hooked me.
I enjoyed it so much that I was really craving more after I
finished, so I went and rewatched the old movie and found that now I
fully understood it and thought it was great as well. Also
worth mentioning that I grew up on the Harry Potter books and movies,
which I was lucky to experience them being released right around when
I was the same age as the characters, and surely that influenced my
appreciation of fantasy, as it did many of my generation. And
then when the Lord of the Rings movies came out that directly led
into my love of fantasy, which then led me to falling in love with
CRPGs like Gothic, Morrowind, and especially Neverwinter Nights,
which then led me to D&D. For video games, there's too
many games I love to mention, but I will say my favorite games are
ones where I can be creative and sort of tell my own stories, such as
Neverwinter Nights I already mentioned, which I will say is pretty
mediocre if you're judging just on the base campaign, but the real
action was in the toolset. I was a bit too young and
unfocused to ever actually finish creating a playable module, but I
sunk countless hours into learning the toolset and playing other
people's modules, and playing an online server that enforced strict
rules about staying in character which were some of my fondest gaming
memories. I've also loved Minecraft and the Sims both since
the very beginning, for similar reasons being sandbox games largely
just driven by player creativity. And I want to mention point
and click adventure games as well, which are some of my earliest
gaming memories, wandering through the atmospheric pixel art
landscapes of Lucasarts worlds like Monkey Island and Loom before I
could even read. I still really enjoy that old pacing of
wandering around, diving through dialogue trees, and solving
inventory object puzzles, and will play some modern takes on that
formula, for example Wadjet Eye games I quite like. I've even
dabbled in designing some of my own point and click adventure games,
made some prototypes and have ambitions for a big proper game, but
haven't gotten there yet. I remember you saying in other
interviews that you did some gaming in the past, but I can't recall
any specific games. I'm curious what were the games that give
you nostalgia now?
Erang: I guess I’m a bit older than
you. Being born in 1982 the very first video game I’ve experienced
was at my neighbours house on the ATARI 2600. I remember we played
Outlaw during an afternoon… Then my father bought a computer : the
AMSTRAD CPC6128 and, a bit later, an ATARI STE 1040. So my first real
memories of games come from there. On the Amstrad I played a lot of «
Sabotage » and « 5th AXE » (a french game) and also SKATEBALL (a
futuristic game of violent football). I also have memories of a weird
french game called « Orphée ». Almost all of these games were
unplayable to be honest. The difficulty was way too high and the
controls usually sucked. But, back then, it was really cool to play
them just to evolve and move on the screen you know ? On the Atari
Ste 1040 it started to become a bit more « serious ». Graphics &
music were better. I loved point n clicks like « Operation Stealth »
and many games on them. Speedball, Strider, Prince of Persia, Captain
Blood… but, more than that, I really loved « Another World ». The
animation, the atmosphere… For me it was like playing a movie. I
couldn't believe it back then haha. « Another World »… sounds
premonitory I guess… but all of that was the prehistory, really,
and I can’t say that I’m really nostalgic about the games
themselves but more about that time of my life. So, if we really
speak precisely about games I loved, it is definitely on the SNES for
me. That console, really, was a game changing for all the teens in
the 90’s. Because it was really the first console where the balance
was right : graphics, music, playability, fun, etc. Everything was
right for the first time in my opinion. I loved many games on it but
if I had to make a Top 5 of my SNES games, that would be (in no
particular order) : Zelda III, Secret of Mana, Donkey Kong Country,
Bomberman and Mario Paint. And if we speak about music, those sounds
and the compositions as well are still a big influence and source of
inspiration for me. Just between Donkey Kong Country and Secret of
Mana, their soundtracks are so rich, vivid and beautiful... or
very sad & deep at some moments... Here again, the technical
limitations of the console really improved the creativity of the
musicians. Just on the track I was working on today for the
big album I'm going to release for my 10 years anniversary,
there are sounds specifically inspired by SNES games. Even
samples from them... After that I made the biggest mistake of my life
and sold my SNES with its games to buy a N64 around the age of 17 I
guess. Back then, Retro Gaming wasn't a thing and the SNES just
seemed outdated... So I played a bit with it (only Mario 64,
Mario Kart 64 and GoldenEye... Mario 64 which has, with the track
Dire Dire Dock, maybe one of the best video game music ever...) and
then I moved onto other things and stopped playing video games. Only
very recently I downloaded BRAID and FEZ because I was very intrigued
by them. Love the aesthetic of both and really enjoyed playing
BRAID... But I've never been the kind of gamer that finishes games or
plays them well: I'd rather just love to wander into them... For
instance Mario 64, at the time I mainly just loved wandering through
the levels and just walking into it doing stuff but not necessarily
what I was supposed to do in the game...
Andrew: I must admit I've never heard
of any of those 80's games you mentioned. I just searched
each on youtube to see what they looked like to play, and while not
the kinds of games I could load up today and really enjoy, I can
definitely imagine them being exciting as a new type of experience
back then. 5th Axe has a really cool art and animation style
that would not look out of place in an indie game today I think.
Orphée looks like the type of game I wish I was around at that
time to experience. I think RPGs, text adventures, and early
graphic adventures from that time period are quite interesting, and I
feel like only back then with the more limited options for gaming and
fewer distractions could one really have the patience to fully
appreciate them. Operation Stealth looks really cool and a
game I could probably still enjoy nowadays, I might need to check
that one out. Captain Blood looks really crazy and unique.
And I've heard so many good things about Another World, I need to
get around to playing that one of these days. I missed out on
the SNES growing up, but have seen enough clips and heard enough of
the music that I fully understand how it could be so inspiring.
I definitely enjoyed my N64 as a kid though, and still bust it out
for an occasional game of Mario Kart with friends. Goldeneye
was great, and still an awesome soundtrack, though the gameplay has
aged poorly in my opinion. Mario 64 is a timeless classic, and I
totally agree about Dire Dire Docks. I'm guessing you missed
out on Ocarina of Time? That game was pretty foundational for
me, and I adore the soundtrack and still listen to it pretty often.
I remember learning to cover the Temple of Time and the Song of
Storms when I was first trying to make dungeon synth and wrap my head
around playing the keyboard. And I'm far from the only one
for whom that soundtrack was influential, Lord Lovidicus even
included a cover of the Song of Storms in his first album Windbuchen.
Do you have any new albums or other projects in the
works right now? Anything to look forward to in the near
future coming from Erang?
Erang: I perfectly remember that Lord
Lovidicus cover! I've left aside Ocarina of Time on purpose because I
have my own relation with this game: in fact I've never played it. It
came 2 years after the N64 apparition, last month of 1998 in Europe,
just when I was turning 17 years old and leaving the video games to
experiment different new things in my life (we have to remember that
gaming wasn't the same in 1998 as it is today: sure it was no more
underground like at the end of the 80's but it wasn't either 'spread'
like it is today... it's hard to explain)... So I gave my N64 to my
younger cousins and when I visited them sometimes, they were playing
Ocarina of Time... I found it really atmospheric and I loved to just
watch them play, it was really peaceful and soothing.
However the opening music hit my heart and soul hard: I truly love
the music of this game.. It sounded like Erik Satie for video
games... So melancholic & nostalgic, sad & dusty like DS...
That's why one of my tracks is named after a quote from this game
"Flow of Time is Always Cruel". That's also why it is still
part of my inspiration (amongst many other things, albums, movies &
books) for the 10 years of Erang's album I'm working on. To answer your question, yes, there are many things planned
in the near future! I want to properly celebrate this anniversary and
give to the people something really special, to take them away
from a brief moment you know. Especially in these times we're
living in. Musically, I'm working on a long album which is a love
letter to Dungeon Synth and all its declination and facets. It will
be presented a bit differently than usual and I hope people will
appreciate it. It's a huge work, 20 tracks of DS from all kinds!
That's for the music. I'm also working to physically release some
older & recent albums: I can't tell you more about this but I'm
sure it will please many! These editions will be really beautiful,
I'm very excited. Then, I also wanted for a long time to make an
action figure of Erang you know. Like an old toy from a TV cartoon
from our childhood. It's very difficult to make something that fits
what I have in mind but I've found some paths I'm exploring right
now. It will cost me money and I'll lose some but I don't care: just
to imagine that it will please my followers give me a huge smile and
I'll do it for them. Finally I have something else in mind but not
until the end of 2022 and I can't reveal anything about it... but it
will be something very unique that will ask for a lot of
work... So, as you can see, the nights will be short but I don't
care: I live for my Kingdom and the music I make, nothing else...
That's why I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you here in
person: you were the first one to reply and show support &
interest in my music back in 2012. And for that, I'll be
eternally grateful! So, It is a bit unusual to end an
interview this way but I'd like to give you the final word: how do
you see the future of Dungeon Synth? What do you wish for it and,
more importantly, for yourself?
Andrew:
That's very interesting that you have such a deep connection with the
music of Ocarina of Time despite never actually playing it. It would
seem there is some genuine magic in that soundtrack beyond just
peoples' nostalgia for a great game. Perhaps you might be missing
out on a lot of gaming experiences, but there's definitely something
to be said for the extra available hours of creative productivity.
And it seems like you'll need it! Sounds like you have all sorts of
big exciting new projects in the works. I'm looking forward to
seeing and hearing all this new stuff.
About the future of dungeon synth, I
can honestly say I don't have any wishes. I'm just along for the
ride, interested to see what comes next. I think most likely it has
sort of plateaued, that it will slowly and steadily grow and shrink
from this point forward without too many changes. But I also think
it has the potential to see sudden spikes of interest if particular
songs or albums go viral, or some famous person mentions it or
something. It's hard to predict how it might change in that
circumstance. I'd be interested in seeing either of those futures.
I don't imagine it will ever fade to how it was back in the 2000s,
but if it did I wouldn't mind that either, would be cool to see who is
still left hanging around after all is said and done. As for my own
role in its future, for sure I'll be around at least a little bit,
maybe with a few blog posts, maybe some more musical sketches with my
Illusionment project, or maybe I'll manage to finally see through one
of my many more ambitious projects. In any case, I still love this
music, and I'm happy that I still have at least a small footing in
this community. Thank you very much for reaching out and including
me in this reflection on the past decade of dungeon wanderings. It
was a very enjoyable conversation and has left me feeling very inspired.
