On Dungeons and Dragons
I never knew what it was but older kids I looked up to would talk about it. I wondered how all the things they recalled from their games could happen if they were just sitting there with paper, pencil, and dice. I discovered the joy of a good adventuring campaign as an adult. It is very meaningful to get together once a week (in theory, ha) and sit around a table and tell stories with your friends. Turns out that’s all it is. Sitting down with your friends and telling a story. And rolling dice.

On Dungeon Synth
I wish Uriah Heep, Yes, and Rush worked as D&D soundtracks as well as their album covers would suggest but you can’t track hp and initiative with all that noodling going on. When I heard Dungeon Synth for the first time I felt like I had learned a new spell. And so with my FM synth as my spell casting focus I began to perform the somatic components necessary to conjure 10 Dungeon Synth Classics.

On Recording the Music
I recorded everything with garageband on an iPad. A couple years ago I would have scoffed at the idea but it helped me embrace simplicity, and Dungeon Synth is good when it’s simple. It also gave me something to do on plane rides. Most songs were recorded in the air with the ipad sitting on a tray table. The Diviner’s Plot was written on the stunning train ride from Oslo to Voss. Uruk March was written while driving around islands and fjords where my ancestors lived in Norway. I used the DXi, Nlog Pro and iMini soft synths for iOS. I used a Yamaha FB01 hardware synth and played a couple guitars. Sketch Keepr performed the vocal components in the forest.

On Listening to the Music
This music is meant to be listened to while playing the fantasy role playing game Dungeons & Dragons. You may notice that some songs end abruptly. This is intentional so that they can be looped. For example try looping “Knight Court” the next time your party is stocking up on provisions in town. I appreciate that you may want to just put it on and enjoy, but the intention when this music was created was to assist in an immersive gaming environment. Please respect this intention by gaming while it is on.