Caoranach is an obscure Dungeon Synth project with incredible composition and strong Celtic themes. While the project remains extremely underground, it is one of the better Dungeon Synth projects in the modern “scene”, and seems to improve with each new release. In this interview I speak with the project mastermind Keegan about his inspiration and songwriting process.
- Greetings Keegan! Thank you for this interview with Barbarian Skull. Can you introduce yourself and explain the history of Caoranach?
Caoranach is a Celtic dungeon synth project I began in early 2013 when I began to find out more about the DS genre . I was a big fan of the Burzum prison albums, but that was my only exposure to that style of music for years. I eventually came across Forgotten Pathways while delving into more obscure black metal projects and saw it tagged as ‘dungeon synth’ which intrigued me to look into. Luckily, this was around the time the DS community was starting to grow online. I learned about Mortiis, Lamentation, Olgerd, other older artists and soon learned of Abandoned Places, Lord Lovidicus, Erang. I was inspired to start my own project and Caoranach was born.
- Aside from your bandcamp page, I have not been able to find any information online regarding Caoranach. Do you prefer the anonymity of not having a website, or have you simply not yet had the chance to put more information online?
I have a lot of projects that I’m always working on; between music, writing, and other hobbies, I don’t have very much time or interest in cultivating a name for myself or spreading Caoranach around too much. It’s there for people who want it, and I suppose people who would be interested in it will find it eventually. I don’t have a need for anonymity with Caoranach. I definitely understand and respect artists who use pseudonyms, especially in black metal and dungeon synth due to the otherwordliness and atmosphere of the music, and how they’d rather people focus on the music rather than it’s creator or creators. I have a very Celtic name anyway, so I guess it fits well enough with the music.
- The name “Caoranach” comes from Irish mythology, and your albums and song titles are in a Gaelic language. Why did you choose these themes for your music? Can you explain the meaning behind your album titles?
In a way, I use Caoranach to explore my heritage and ancestry. My mother’s side of the family is very Irish and my father’s side is very Scottish, going back to William Wallace’s mother. The songs names come from creatures, gods, or legends I learn about and I transform them into songs. Damh Geal means ‘white stag’, a messenger from beyond. It made sense for the first appearance of Caoranach. The second album translates ‘enchantment (or sorcery) of the water horse’. The each uisge is similar to a kelpie. They appear near the water’s edge waiting for someone to mount them, and then ride into the water where the person is drowned and eaten. It was a piece of folklore that interested me. The album has some very dark themes but the music isn’t very brooding. I felt that it fit. I kind of go between Irish and Scottish Gaelic.
- Your first album “Damh Geal” featured very complex melodies, while the second album “Drùidheachd de a’ Each-uisge” closely resembled classic RPG soundtrack music. What inspires you musically to create the music of Caoranach? Are there any artists that directly inspired your sound?
I love the crude CRPG dungeon crawl sound and I love more elaborate celtic sounds. I try and mix them together, or at least have songs of each variety on the releases. I’m inspired by the interactive aspect of older RPG games, you get to participate in a world that is impossible and imagined or at least far away, historically or physically. There’s a spirituality that goes into fantasy works of any sort whether it be a video game, painting, book, or otherwise. Music is a way to translate that hard to describe feeling you get from the fantastical. Mythology evokes that same spirit but more in an historical sense, these myths and legends were actually part of peoples lives through metaphor and religion.
As far as musical influences, I’ve listened to Celtic music since I was a little kid. The flutes, harps, and the like you hear in my music come from that. The older Lord Lovidicus releases are big for me, The Forges Fire EP is my favorite. The game music that inspires Abandoned Places inspires me as well.
- As mentioned in the previous question, Damh Geal features some very developed melodies. Do you have any training with music theory or are you a self-taught musician? What is your typical process for recording music?
I’ve taught myself everything I know. I taught myself guitar when I was maybe nine years old, mainly through reading tablature in guitar magazines or from Power Tabs when the program was still widely used. I learned a lot about melody, keys, patterns from these. It’s hard to disassociate numbers from music now since they’re the language in which I learned music. I’m not very interested in music theory, I know how to make what I want to make so I don’t bother. I usually think of a theme or sound I want to play with in a song and let it develop from there, finding other instruments and sounds I think would work well with each other. Some songs end up being very DOS sounding and some end up being more folk sounding.
- Caoranach definitely creates a DOS based RPG sound and atmosphere, do you use hardware synthesizers or is your music created with virtual soft synths?
Everything is made with VSTs in a sequencing program. I have some keyboards but they don’t make sounds that I’d like to hear in Caoranach. I might eventually incorporate some real instrumentation.
- What is it that you aim to create with your music? What goals do you have in mind for Caoranach?
I don’t really gave a end goal with Caoranach, it’s more about exploration and using it as an outlet to actually make something out of my interest in Celtic mythology and the imagined worlds of fantasy.
- What can you tell us about the future of Caoranach?
I’m always experimenting with new sounds. I don’t think any two releases will sound too similar. Caoranach will keep making music as long as I’m interested in doing so, and that won’t end any time soon.
- Thank you very much Keegan for taking the time to answer this interview. Any last words are yours!
Thanks for the interview and thank you to everyone who has enjoyed my music. I hope to inspire people to make their own. I recommend that everyone learn a little about their ancestry, it’s wildly interesting!
