A blog dedicated to synth-based ambient music with a nature/ice-landscape theme. It is intended to complement the Dungeon Synth blog, and explore some of the more Nature-themed synth/ambient releases not covered by that blog.
I download a lot of music; many albums fall by the wayside after the first listen, never to be heard again, whilst others manage to find a foothold in the crevices of my brain, and become favourites to be enjoyed again and again. It is safe to say that this release falls firmly in the latter group, and has become one of my most listened-to releases in this genre.
Хладогорье / Hladogorie (the name means Cold Mountain(s) in English) hail from Russia and this 3-track EP/demo was their only release, though their Myspace page has another track from a "upcoming album" that presumably never happened.
Musically this is another artist that falls somewhere between Dungeon Synth and Winter Synth; whilst it does feature some of the bolder rhythmic elements of DS these are fairly muted, and the whole atmosphere is that of the natural world, with samples of insect noises and birdsong providing background texture to the synth melodies.
There is more than a hint of New Age music to the synth sounds, something that I often pick up in this area of music (in fact I think the term "Dark Age" would be a good catch-all phrase for both Dungeon Synth and Winter Synth, but I digress). This is especially evident on the final track, with an especially New Age-sounding synthesized Pan flute sound.
Providing rhythmic accents to the music are various percussion instruments, ranging from deep but muted timpani to high rasping guiros. These percussive elements never overwhelm the drifting melodies however, and the whole EP has a very relaxed and atmospheric feel.
This great EP/demo can now be streamed or downloaded for free from the Dungeon Lore Bandcamp page, where the bandname and song titles are presented as English translations (something I strongly disagree with - I prefer transliteration):
I discovered Воронмрак or Voronmrak recently, via the Dungeon Synth community page on the Russian site VK. The project appears to be relatively unknown outside of Russia, so I thought I would give it a little exposure here. The name translates as "Ravendark", but I favour transliteration over translation, so I will use Voronmrak from now on (this also avoids any confusion with the Russian BM act Raven Dark).
The discography (listed at the bottom of this post) is fairly daunting at first glance, an extensive collection of demos, EPs, singles and splits ranging from 2005 to 2011. I have been exploring the music over the past week or so, and it is difficult to select any individual releases as being purely "Winter Synth" - there seems to be a fairly even split between Dungeon Synth and Winter Synth, with hints of folk-ambient lurking in the melodies. A couple of tracks venture into electronica/techno territory (one track in particular reminds me of early Aphex Twin), but these are isolated exceptions, the majority of the work being the usual brooding synthscapes we have come to associate with this area of music.
The man behind Voronmrak, a guy called Mrak Mstivoy, also records as Уводна (Uvodna) - a more Dark Ambient-orientated project that is inspired by industrial and military themes as opposed to Voronmrak's nature-worship. I have it from the man himself that new releases from both projects are in the works (edit: Uvodna's new EP "Знаки на снегу" has just been released).
(The "Темная Вежа" compilation collects the releases "Рати зимних ветров", "Зарево битв над курганами славными", "Ведогонь", plus some tracks from "Танец огня" and "Забытые тропы" (the period between 2006-2008)).
Уводна / Uvodna discography
Перевал Дятлова (пробная запись) / Pereval Dyatlova (Probnaya Zapis') (2006)
Тени мертвых городов / Teni Mertvih Gorodov (2008)
Звуки Покинутых Мегаполисов / Zvuki Pokinutih Megapolisov (2009)
Энергия Вриль / Energiya Vril' EP (2009)
Навстречу Черному Солнцу / Navstrechu Chernomu Solntsu (2009)
Таинство Вриль / Tainstvo Vril' (2012)
Знаки на снегу / Znaki Na Snegu EP (2013)
"In einer Umarmung von tiefen kalten Wäldern" (2010)
(In the Embrace of the Deep Cold Woods)
"Apathisches Licht von einem rotschwarzen Horizont" (2010)
(Apathetic Light from a Red-Black Horizon)
Prolific Ukrainian BM artist Moloch has many ambient-only releases within his extensive discography, but this pair of short EPs (both released in May 2010) greatly appeal to my diminutive attention span; I find myself these days preferring shorter releases like EPs and mini-albums over long full-length albums. Both EPs feature 3 tracks, totalling 15 and 10 minutes respectively.
The music on offer here is Winter Synth of the highest order; crepuscular meditations on the natural world, windswept and moody synth vignettes that are perfectly complemented by the cover photography. There are occasions (more so on "Apathisches Licht...") where the music treads the grey area between the twin realms of Winter Synth and Dungeon Synth (or "mine" and "Andrew's", as I've come to think of them!) - albeit a fairly gentle, relaxed form of DS. As a whole, however, it definitely falls more on my side of the fence, especially given the thematic nature of the artwork and titles (should this be a factor in defining music? A point for future discussion, perhaps).
Both of these (and the rest of Moloch's discography) can be downloaded from the artist's BandCamp page, at a price of your choosing.
Apologies for these short reviews, but my time (and ability to focus...) is severely limited these days. In order for this blog to thrive, I think I may need to resort to shorter posts like these.
"The Cold Return" is a purely ambient 3-track offering from UK BM artist Instinct. I was lucky enough to obtain one of the limited release of cassettes (from the 2nd run, I believe). I've been trying to get round to writing a review of this great demo for weeks, but real life keeps getting in the way, so this review will not be the literary masterpiece I had planned.
When I posted this on my other blog a couple of years ago, I wrote "...unlike most BM-related amateurish synth-noodlings, this is Dark Ambient done properly; sparse, brooding, and ominous, evoking bleak and desolate landscapes..." and I stand by that statement. Technically, this is probably pushing my boundaries of what is and isn't "Winter Synth", as it does have more of a textural Dark Ambient sound than most other releases in this field. However, I'm the boss here, so it stays.
I will leave you with the few phrases I had tapped into my phones notepad, which were going to end up in my "proper" review:
"...cavernous, keening drone like a sombre wind..." "... portraying the desolate nature of ice..." "...the otherworldly aspects of the landscape..."
Deep, huh?
From an album that I consider to be the highlight of the genre, I now move to one that is one of the most challenging, and yet in many ways is the archetype of Nature-themed synth music.
A sprawling double-album of 22 untitled tracks, giving over 2 hours of music, in many ways, the concept and format of this album remind me in of another ambient classic: Aphex Twin's "Selected Ambient Works 2" -- the two discs, the vast number of anonymous tracks with no titular reference point, all create a similar feel of disorientation. Musical similarities are fleeting, however; there is none of Aphex's playfully disturbing headfuckery here.
That being said, there is not much that is dark here either. Unlike other examples of the genre, there is no "gothic" brooding mysticism. The music here is less romantic and melodic than the rather more instantly accessible music on the Paysage d'Hiver album previously reviewed. The tracks are merely representations of sparse landscapes: static, content just to declare that they exist, no more, no less, rather like the mountains themselves. Structures are cyclic and non-developing, re-enforcing the sparse, static feel of the landscape. Simple chord progressions and melodies wander and repeat themselves. With a few exceptions, the tracks all utilise more or less the same sound, a classic synthesizer sound that isn't trying to pretend to be anything else.
"Landscapes" is perhaps best suited to listening whilst actually in the landscape itself, experiencing the vista first hand, rather than at home trying to conjure an atmosphere through evocative music. That is best left for other, more accessible albums.
For my first review for this blog, I have chosen what I consider to be the absolute pinnacle of the genre, and probably the best synth album ever released by a Black Metal act; "Die Festung", the third demo/album from Swiss one-man BM act Paysage d'Hiver, and his first purely ambient offering. Not only is it the best, but also (as far as I am aware) unique, as it differs in sound from every other example of the genre that I have heard; almost, in fact lifting it out of the genre altogether. In contrast to the amateurish dronings and noodlings that are inherent to, and indeed define, most other Winter Synth releases (charming though they are), there is a superior quality here that is reminiscent of the great pioneers of "proper" ambient music, such as the Berlin School of Electronics (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Ashra etc). The hypnotic use of rhythmic delays and sequencing is particularly engaging, bringing to my mind echoes of Ashra's classic "New Age of Earth" album. Echoes too, of more modern ambient styles; I can hear occasional similarities to 90s ambient/techno act Global Communication, for example. Vague and clumsy comparisons aside, the music on this album is highly original and individual. The sheer icy quality is breathtaking -- crystalline glass-like sounds tinkle over delicate and moody synth patterns, creating mental images of fragile ice sculptures.
The highlights of the album are, for me, the opening and closing tracks, "Eishalle" and "Prinz Frost" respectively, both of which showcase the hypnotic sequencing I alluded to earlier. Track #2 "König Winter" is in my opinion the weakest track on the album, lacking the subtlety of the other tracks -- in fact it seems rather obtuse and heavy-handed in comparison. But as a whole, this album is probably the most powerful and beautiful tribute to the winter landscape that you will ever find.
Serenity (2008) bm Night Spirit (2009) bm Welcome Winter (2009) bm They Awoke to the Scent of Spring (2012) bm
Metamorfrozen Antarctica (2007) da Müldeponie The Great Wildfire (2012) da Neve (Fr) Centigrade (2010) am, el Neve (It) Il Rituale nella Foresta am, dr Nebel Torvum Echoes of Nature (2003) ds Old Forgotten Lands Equinox - split w/ Ancient Tundra (2009) da, nf Rikket Kvist Nord Og Ild (2000) ds Saturn Form Essence Sirius (2010) da, dr Infra-red Space Meditations (2011) da, dr Starlit Ataraxis (2010) bm Stylus (UK) Pluen Eira 7" (2000) am, el This Mortal Night This Mortal Night (2012) nc thiss Soul of Ice (2013) da, dr, no Thy North demo tracksbm Twilight of Emptiness Winter Melancholy (2013) da Uzbazur345 Antarctica - Glacial Lands (2012) da Воронмрак / Voronmrak (Ravendark) discography (2005-2011) ds Wounds Winter Ambient Works (2010) da Initials indicate other genres present. am - Ambient bm - Black Metal da - Dark Ambient dr - Drone ds - Dungeon Synth el - Electronica mi - Martial Industrial na - New Age nc - Neoclassical nf - Neofolk no - Noise
Winter Synth is music that is inspired by, and reflects the elemental forces of nature. Having fought your way out from the oppressive confines of the dungeon, you are free to wander the open landscape, and meditate upon its wild beauty. From the ice-blasted wildernesses, through the ancient forests, to the epic grandeur of the mist-wreathed mountains. I have coined the term "Winter Synth" to help classify this area of music, and to differentiate it from other related areas of music with which it often gets confused (see below). I had originally intended to call it "Nature Synth"; unfortunately however, this can be abbreviated to "NS", which is also a common abbreviation for National Socialism, and I wanted to avoid any such confusion. Alternate names that I considered were "Landscape Synth", "Ice Synth" and "Forest Synth", but I think "Winter Synth" has the best flow, even if it is a little restrictive in theme. Definition So how to define "Winter Synth"? Well, similarly to "Dungeon Synth", it is distinct from the more general term "Dark Ambient". Let's establish these genres: "Dark Ambient" is often used as an umbrella term for all of these styles, however in its purest form it focusses on subtle textures and soundscapes, creating a less musical approach by utilising low rumbles, drones, clankings, creakings, whispers etc. "Dungeon Synth" tends to be less texture-based, with the focus being on retro-sounding synths creating epic medieval/fantasy-inspired music, frequently utilising brash synthesized orchestration. The music usually has an oppressive and closed-in feel, as of a castle or dungeon (hence the name), or of vast armies marching to war. There is often an inherent naive or amateurish quality that adds to the "retro" charm. "Winter Synth" tends to have a more open expansive feel, with the hypnotic quality of an open landscape. By its nature it is slightly more minimalistic than Dungeon Synth, and as such there is theoretically a greater overlap into the realms of dark ambient and drone. The most common themes are snow, ice, forests and mountains.
