- Greetings Bryan! Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with Barbarian Skull. Please provide us with the history of Trogool. What inspired you to create such strange and epic music?
Greetings and salutations! Thanks for having me… Without getting too convoluted with the origin story: I’ve been doing this sort of thing for a decade or more. I have been into the sorts of music that we have recently begun to call “dungeon synth” and associated genres for quite some time and it was the fortuitous discovery of Deivlforst Records that really inspired me to try to become a part of the new scene that’s taken off in the last few years.
I had reached a point in my musical endeavors where I felt I needed to grow and advance my skills (as well as actually complete and release something). All well and good; but I didn’t know who, if anyone, would listen to the kind of music I was making. So I experimented and let the project kick around inside my head for awhile. And when I was shown Arath, Murgrind and Grimrik by a friend I was totally hooked. The quality and variety of both the music and the products was inspirational. I had checked out some of the newer projects taking a leaf from the books of Mortiis et al. a couple years prior and many were very good, or at least very promising and worth following (Abandoned Places especially caught my attention early on and remains one of my favorites), but the Deivlforst stuff just took it to new levels and I felt like the time was right for me to jump in too.
As for inspiration for the actual music, a good piece of writing can really get the creative process going for me—specifically excessively flowery poetic writing! I’m very into literature and it’s often a poignant line that gets the juices flowing. Dunsany is one of those authors whose work is almost nothing but fanciful language. It just fills my head with impressions and feelings and all that good stuff. That’s why my song titles are mostly lines quoted directly (or indirectly) from a story or somewhere.
- Trogool breaks away from the Tolkien tropes that have been a part of Dungeon Synth since the early days by adapting the work of Lord Dunsany. Why did you choose Lord Dunsany’s works as the theme for Trogool? Do you plan on exploring other themes in the future?
I love Tolkien and definitely feel that his stuff is an inspiration and influence on my music in plenty of less than obvious ways. Tolkien is so pervasive throughout fantasy culture and in my own life that he’s pretty much always there. I don’t really use openly Tolkien themes in my music for two reasons: a lot of other people already do it really well (Summoning, Blind Guardian, Howard Shore, to name only a few), and I think it’s a bit overdone. That second point isn’t really a problem for me since I love Tolkien oriented music; but I don’t really feel like I have anything of value to add. I like to enjoy others’ takes on Tolkien rather than do my own. For my own music I just try to do the things that are most genuine and which provide true inspiration for me, and that seems to be this whole Dunsanian thing. It’s not a gimmick that I pulled out of a hat or something. It genuinely makes me want to create something.
(On a side note about literature, it’s interesting to note that Dunsany was an influence on Tolkien. The style of writing in many parts of the Silmarillion is very Dunsanian).
I actually got into Dunsany through HP Lovecraft’s fantasy stories. They had a hugely profound effect on me with their emphasis on poetic language, whimsy and pathos. Both authors can really turn a phrase and call up loads of colorful images. They’re not written the way a typical best seller is; they’re more like prose poems. I discovered a while ago that that kind of material could get me creating music pretty fast and freely. One of the important things I try to do is stick to impressions and let them evolve naturally. I usually don’t try to do things that are too concrete if they’re not working. For instance, rather than try to tell a complete, convoluted, story lifted from one of the works of Dunsany, I try to take whatever I’m feeling at the moment when reading one and run with it, wherever it goes. So on the next release there is actually a bit more Lovecraft than Dunsany, but it all blends together. It’s the beauty of that kind of writing that it’s very open and malleable once you’ve digested it. And the great thing about sticking to impressions is that I can return to the same subject matter repeatedly and it stays fresh.
I’d say that the general theme for Trogool is Dunsanian rather than Dunsany specifically. It just has to fit a certain overall vibe. I feel confident that whatever themes I choose to include in Trogool, whether they come from a different author or what have you, will fit the rhetorical situation. Should something else come as naturally to me then I’ll of course see where it leads. There’s plenty of stuff I’d liketo do music about, but it seems I’ve hit a certain stride with this Dunsanian thing and I’m definitely feeling good about where it’s going.
- Your first release ‘In the Mists Before the Beginning’ was very well received in the Dungeon Synth scene. Can you tell us more about the creation of this album? Without giving away too many secrets, did you use more than just synths to create it? The brass sound is especially great.
Aside from the bonus track on the CD version of Mists…,“Deeds of Mung,” there are no synths at all on it; it’s all samples and it’s all done with software. That isn’t to say that synths won’t make more appearances, but I generally gravitate toward samples of acoustic instruments.
I know I call Trogool “dungeon synth” but I use that label very loosely. Ten years ago that genre tag didn’t exist and there were a whole bunch of other ones in its place being used to try and describe all the music that was out that didn’t fit neatly into some genre or other. So I am not dogmatic at all.
“Mists…” is also my first successful attempt to apply actual knowledge of production to my music. I know it’s pretty humble at this stage, but it laid the groundwork for plenty of things to come. Any “underground” sound quality you get from it is just the result of where I was with my skills at the time. I enjoy all kinds of productions, but I think it’s good to know a bit about what you’re doing so you can make the best decisions for your own music. For example, in this case I kept the finished product very quiet because I wasn’t experienced enough to make it louder without ruining it. In that regard each release is an experiment and a stepping stone and will have its strengths and weaknesses.
A lot of people have commented favorably on the brass, and I’m glad. That’s an “oldie but goodie” sample library by Project SAM called Orchestral Brass Classic. One of my favorites! I’m actually an open book on this subject, so anyone who wants to know anything about it can message me at the Trogool Facebook page or ask something in a comment about it. I’m happy to share my humble knowledge.
- Trogool reminds me of the legendary Basil Poledouris more than any other modern project I’ve encountered. What other artists/bands inspired Trogool’s music?
As for most people, I’m sure the list of music that I like and which has had some kind of impact on me could go on forever and a day so I won’t bother with a big boring list. It’s never a very straightforward or quick story once you really get into it, is it? But Poledouris is definitely an influence, of course. He’s absolutely great; his music is incredibly colorful and dynamic.
Actually, one of the main reasons I do this kind of music is also probably the main reason I checked out Basil Poledouris in the first place, and that reason is the mighty Bal-Sagoth. They are one of my all time favorite bands in the whole of the multiverse. Though I was certainly into all of this stuff before I heard them, they were catalytic. Getting into them was a real kick in the backside and got me running, figuring out how to do epic symphonic music in a home studio setting.
It’s an interesting coincidence that a lot of music I love seems to share a Poledouris influence to some degree. Aside from known entities like Bal-Sagoth, Mortiis, et al. others like Ari Pulkkinen (who did the music for the Trine games by Frozen Byte) and Jesse Hopkins (composer for the Mount & Blade games by TaleWorlds) have also either mentioned or made apparent in their music that they were influenced by Poledouris. He seems to crop up everywhere! I’d especially recommend listening to the Mount & Blade music; it’s right up the alley of anyone into Poledouris’ music.
All that said, it’s very flattering to be compared to such a great composer. I wouldn’t say that I always go out deliberately trying to sound like him either, so it’s all the more meaningful to have that comparison drawn.
Another person who comes to mind that I’ve always admired and who really inspired me to get on the track that led to Trogool is Henry “Trollhorn” Sorvali. That he released some Lunar Womb material recently was a pleasant surprise!
Other than that, I’m sure the influences of the usual suspects such as Summoning, Mortiis, Jeremy Soule and the like can be heard.
- Rather than evoking images of medieval castles and European forests like many Dungeon Synth artists do, Trogool’s music brings to mind the atmosphere of strange deserts, exotic lands and otherworldly creatures and structures. Is this what you were aiming for? What do you think of your fans getting this response from Trogool?
I think it’s great that people are getting that from the music. That’s what I’m trying to do and that’s all a big part of the Dunsanian style. I’m glad that it comes out in the music for so many people. I enjoy all the medieval stuff and the Viking stuff and all that, too, but the more exotic stuff seems to really speak to my own creative impulses. I think a project like Trogool benefits from exoticism and whimsy. I’m more concerned with that feeling of wonder than with appealing to certain already established tropes. Again, I’m just trying to do what feels genuine for me, and since plenty of others are already doing the more traditional stuff very well there’s plenty of room for me to go off the beaten path a little bit. In the grand scheme of things it’s all connected anyway.
One of the things I love about a lot of early pulp, fantasy, and sci-fi is that people are always finding some lost city somewhere or washing up on some island spotted with mysterious ruins. I love that stuff. One of my favorite stories, and one that will definitely be making an appearance on the next release, is HP Lovecraft’s The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, which is practically nothing but one wild new location or city after another.
- Trogool has the coolest logo in Dungeon Synth in my opinion. Can you explain the concept behind the logo and it’s meaning?
Thanks! I’m sure Wappenschmied would be proud to hear that. I’m extremely happy with the logo myself.
Trogool is one of my favorite characters from Dunsany’s The Gods of Pegāna who basically represents an unstoppable force behind the machinations of the gods, more or less Time and Fate combined. He has a book with alternating black and white pages that represent day and night and you can probably guess what happens when he turns them. I guess he’s a bit like Mortiis’ Scribbler. I can’t really do it justice here, but the story is available online for free; I suggest reading it!
I contacted Wappenschmied to do the logo when I saw that he had done Murgrind’s logo which I really like. When I got in touch I said the only thing that had to be included was the Book of Trogool. Then we discussed the general look of it and decided we’d go with a bit of a 1920s feel since that’s around when Dunsany was writing and it played on the iconic illustrations that Sidney Sime did for his books. I like that, too, because it’s a bit celestial and ethereal and plays up the exotic aspect of the project.
I also wanted to avoid too many of the usual tropes (not that a bookis particularly unusual!). I love all the Mjolnirs and whatnot as much as the next guy, but I wanted to be sure the logo was just right for Trogool and not just an imitation. So I encouraged Wappenschmied to think outside the box if he wanted and I think the result sets it apart a bit.
Overall I wanted something that partook of the tried and true metal logo style we all know and love but which had some of its own personality and I think it achieves that really well.
Really it’s all thanks to Wappenschmied being a terrific artist and collaborator. I intend to work with him a lot more. He is a pleasure to work with and always brings a ton of great ideas and enthusiasm to the table.
- What other projects/bands are you involved in? What response do you get from others who do not typically listen to Dungeon Synth when you show them Trogool’s music?
I haven’t been in a band for a very long time, but I have released an EP and a full length under the banner of my now defunct “one-man” epic metal project, Waves of Amphitrite. That project was a bit more along the lines of the current power / folk metal sound and I think some people who enjoy the epic symphonic elements of that have found something to like in Trogool. Some people have been drawn to the DS scene because of an interest in game music or film score and I think some of them may appreciate Trogool.
I don’t really show people my music unless I think they might be interested. The response to Trogool has been the largest response I think I’ve ever gotten for any of my music, and I’m very appreciative! It’s been particularly nice to see Trogool mentioned in other DS artists’ recommendations and in interviews with them. I certainly didn’t expect to get such a response!
- What can we expect from Trogool in the future?
The second release has been a bit delayed while I wait for the cover art to be finished, but the music has been done since the late spring. So you can definitely expect a new release soon, hopefully by late summer / early fall. It will be released on the Bandcamp and as a limited edition CD by Stressball Records again.
The nice thing about the delay is I have been working on yet more music for the third release! I feel like I’ve had a running start… I think the third release will take a bit longer to complete than the first two did simply because I want to take my time with it and apply some of the things I’ve learned. And, of course, I want to be sure that the music is of a quality worth releasing. But rest assured that more Trogool is coming!
- Thanks again for taking the time to do this interview! Any last words are yours!
Thanks for the interview! It’s an honor to be featured in the illustrious Barbarian Skull. And a huge hearty thank you goes out to all who support Trogool! I love to do this stuff so it’s great to know that others are enjoying it, too.
