Episode 23: Dungeon Synth and Sportswave with Vaelastrasz’s Min Naing

Mon May 15 2023

The Invisible Oranges podcast

Hosted by John Rosenthal and Ted Newble, joined by Captain Carbon.
Their guest is Dungeons and Thars YouTuber Vailastros, also known as an artist and semi-retired shit poster.

Vailastros' 2014 album "Sponsored Athletics" was inspired by a thread on the 4chan music board about hypothetical music genres.
The album features slowed down video game songs layered over reverb broadcasts of old NFL games, interspersed with ambient music and nature sounds.
The last song on the album is a 12 to 15 minute long rant by local radio sports DJ Chad Dukes about a Washington professional football team loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The speaker enjoys the "broken transmission" genre, which includes non-music genres.
They believe that the album "Sports Wave" is important and innovative in this genre.
The speaker found early Mortis records boring but enjoyed Trollmon of Eeltopper's music and considers her a huge influence on their work.

The speaker is grateful for the internet, which allows them to discover and listen to music from different decades.
The internet has helped rediscover lost or undiscovered pieces of ambient music.
The niche genre of Dungeons & Thar has brought together a community of people who appreciate it.
The internet age of creativity is fascinating to witness, especially in terms of creating new sounds or revisiting old ones.
There have been multiple articles declaring the death of Dungeons & Thar and Comfy Synth, but the community continues to thrive.

Comfy synth has become a popular genre, despite initially receiving negative reactions from some listeners.
One of the first albums that solidified this genre was an Earthen Cloak album featuring a gnome T-posing in front of a crying bear.
Comfy synth gained popularity in 2020 during the pandemic when people were at home and one person made multiple albums under different names.
The genre was initially met with toxicity, but now it is appreciated as nice ambient music.
Feuds and genre evolution happen quickly in internet communities, compared to decades or years in traditional music scenes.
There are other micro-genres like solar punk and slush wave that are mostly visual and have some tie to music.
The speaker made money from betting on the death of Ocean Grunge (also known as C-Punk) and Witch House.
The conversation turns to the Dungeonsons micro-genre and its popularity in 2017.
Some people were defensive about the genre's growing popularity, while others benefited from increased attention.
Genres experience growing pains as people try to break the mold and experiment with new sounds.
Some people try to establish themselves as authorities on a genre, but others push boundaries and experiment.

The dungeon synth community has been experimenting for over 10 years and is still going strong.
There are two upcoming festivals dedicated to dungeon synth music in Massachusetts and Europe.
Despite some people claiming that dungeon synth is dead, it continues to grow and attract dedicated fans.
The Dungeons & Sinth community is a familial and welcoming group of niche electronic ambient musicians.
The intimate nature of some live streams gave a look into the personalities of the artists.
Despite being physically apart, the community remains connected through their shared love of music.
The Dungeons and Synth community has grown significantly since the 2010s, with multiple platforms for people to connect.
Despite the growth, the community remains welcoming and progressive in its attitudes.

The speaker makes DIY fantasy ambient or dark ambient music, which they sometimes use as background for their D&D campaigns.
Some of the song titles are based on World of Warcraft music, but the speaker does not currently play the game because they do not want to give money to Blizzard.
The speaker draws inspiration from WoW's iconography and imagery for their music.
Nostalgia is a cheap drug, but it is comforting for the speaker.
The speaker appreciates people who draw inspiration from media, such as Lord of the Rings or Ursula K. Le Guin's works.

The guest started their project, Vailistraz, based on Lord Leviticus' project and named it after a Warcraft NPC.
Return to the Playglens was a successful album that helped the guest find their sound.
The speaker is focused on building their sound and finding their footing in Dungeons.
They mention working on a split with Moorserda and slowly working on new albums for Vailistra's and Blood Hunter.
The speaker is taking their time with things now and making sure everything is in the right order.
They have a few live shows coming up, including playing with Fog Lord and Midwife.

The podcast hosts thank the speaker for joining them and mention that listeners can subscribe to their podcast on various streaming services.