Gvasdnahr is a Finnish Dungeon Synth project who released one of the best modern day Dungeon Synth EP’s (namely Through Mists and Ruins). I have listened to this release countless times while reading high fantasy or history books, and it always creates a strong, genuine atmosphere. In this interview I speak with Gvasdnahr mastermind Tiwaz about the project and the Dungeon Synth genre.
- Greetings Tiwaz! Thank you for this interview with Barbarian Skull. Can you tell us about the history of Gvasdnahr? What was your initial inspiration for creating a Dungeon Synth project?
Tiwaz: Greetings! Well, my initial inspiration came when I heard the album Crypt of the Wizard by Mortiis back in ’07 or ’08. I was immediately hooked and I looked at my Roland D-5 Synthesizer and thought “I can probably do something like this”. As I learned how to use the recording software, I ended up with a lot of small, unfinished projects, which have since been lost. But the first complete song I recorded is an untitled short song which can be downloaded at my website gvasdnahr.no-ip.info, It was recorded way before I created Gvasdnahr, so I don’t consider it a Gvasdnahr song.
- Mythology seems to be a major theme in Gvasdnahr’s music. What draws you to this subject? What other subjects have inspired your music?
Tiwaz: I was fascinated by Norse mythology already as a child, and it’s been a big interest of mine since then. Referencing it in my music came naturally. Other things that inspires me are various dark fantasy paintings, pictures of castles and old ruins and landscapes, moods, as well as pictures I paint in my own mind, and I try to turn these images and ideas into music.
- Through Mists and Ruins has been one of my personal favorite Dungeon Synth releases for some time. From what I understand, this album was not recorded with an actual synthesizer/keyboard. Can you tell us more about the recording process? What are the pros and cons of recording Dungeon Synth music with this approach?
Tiwaz: Through Mists and Ruins was programmed/composed in a Digital Audio Workstation software with various VST’s, mainly due to my D-5 breaking down and becoming more and more unusable, and also because I felt like trying something new. Since I don’t have a Midi keyboard, there were no actual recording process involved, instead every note were inserted and arranged manually with the mouse, and nothing were cast in stone until the songs were finished and exported to an audio file. I found it a lot easier to make music this way, but I think the results does lack a human touch…
- All of your music is available for free online. Do you ever plan to release any albums in physical format?
Tiwaz: I’ve been made the offer to have my albums released in physical format, but I really have no interest in releasing my music this way. Sure, a physical copy is nice to have, but I prefer to do things the easy way, by myself.
- Many Dungeon Synth fans see the genre as inseparable from Black Metal, since the progenitors of the genre (namely Mortiis and Burzum) were also originally metal musicians. Do you agree with this idea?
Tiwaz: Absolutely. Although I have noticed an influx of strange releases, especially on bandcamp, which doesn’t seem to come from the black metal camp at all. Some of which have been tagged as both Hip-Hop/Rap or Electronica and Dungeon Synth, or other odd combinations which seems awfully strange to me.
- Dungeon Synth has gained more popularity since the creation of Gvasdnahr. In 2013 and 2014, I’ve noticed a surprising amount of new Dungeon Synth projects being released, and we even saw the birth of the first Dungeon Synth exclusive fanzine, Dungeons of Darkness. One reason behind this surge of interest in the genre could be that Metal fans are less impressed with the endless amount of generic black/death metal bands that exist and are looking for something with a similar atmosphere. What do you think is contributing to the rising interest in Dungeon Synth music?
Tiwaz: I really have no idea. Perhaps due to various DS blogs and websites appearing around that time which may have given the genre some publicity.
- You have another synthesizer based project, Tornvakt. I find Tornvakt to be very similar to old dark video game music from the early days of video games. Was this your intention? What was your inspiration for creating a side project?
Tiwaz: Tornvakt began more or less as a freak accident when I was playing around with my almost broken down D-5 one evening. The only sound banks accessible were the ones with harsh and cold instruments which I didn’t think were suitable for Gvasdnahr. I began playing dissonant and ominous melodies and I immediately thought I could do something with it. I then spent two days recording the Tornvakt EP. And yes, old dungeon crawlers did come to mind during the writing and recording process.
- Aside from Tornvakt, do you have any other musical projects, or projects you have worked with?
Tiwaz: I do have various other projects I’m working on occasionally, but I won’t reveal anything regarding those at the moment.
- From what I understand, your music was featured on the documentary From Runes To Ruins, which is a film about Anglo-Saxon paganism. How did you get this opportunity?
Tiwaz: Yes, that’s correct. I was contacted by the creator of the film and was asked for permission to use a couple of my songs for the documentary. I haven’t heard anything from the film-maker regarding the status of the film yet though, so I can’t really tell you much about it.
- What is your personal favorite Gvasdnahr release? What can we expect from Gvasdnahr in the future?
Tiwaz: Can’t say that I have a favourite. They are all equally important to me. I think we can expect another album or EP sometime in the future.
- Thank you again Tiwaz for answering this interview. Any last words are yours!
Tiwaz: Don’t mention it. Have a good one.
