“I wouldn’t believe that dungeon synth of all things would lead me to finally visit Florida. It makes for a nice story.”
Hailing from Virginia, Vaelastrasz performs “True Azerothian Dungeon Synth” — a medley of musical stylings initially inspired by World of Warcraft with a stellar catalog already spanning dozens of releases in only a few years. We briefly spoke with the artist behind the chainmail veil about the journey to Florida Dungeon Fest and what led the way here.
What was your entry to dungeon synth?
In the later days of high school, I got heavily into drone metal. Through looking at recommendations on the internet, I found the projects of Dawn Terry, like Bong and Trollmann av Ildtoppberg. The latter, Trollmann, was this amazing combination of bass drones and minimalist keyboard work. I tried listening to dungeon synth before that — Mortiis, Depressive Silence and so on — but the group I attribute to making it click for me will always be Trollmann. From there I knew I wanted to make music like this.
How did the project begin and how has it transformed?
Early on, the music was just minimalist tracks where melody was the main emphasis. People started to appreciate the music more as I put more layers of instrumentation on top of it while keeping the minimalist spirit alive through repetition. By 2018 or 2019, the project went from recording one single keyboard tone to full-blown compositions with a myriad of patches and tones blaring out.
What are your musical inspirations?
I was drawn to outsider music as a teenager, so artists like Daniel Johnston and Wesley Willis were very huge for me. Around that same time, I found a collection of live recordings from the minimalist composer Julius Eastman called Unjust Malaise that really struck me at a pivotal time in my life. Though I’ve already mentioned Trollmann, I should also mention that around that time I was listening to a lot of Les Légions Noires material. Moëvöt, Aäkon Këëtrëh and Mütiilation — those acts really fueled me creatively. I’ll leave it at that for now before I list out 50 more artists.
How do you see Vaelastrasz fitting within the dungeon synth community?
I’ve been a part of the community and scene for several years now. Its growth has been wild to witness, but I’ve still found a way to fit inside of it all by being friends with peers and artists who truly understand what this art is all about. As corny as it is to say “such and such is about the friends we made along the way,” it truly feels that way with the familial community that dungeon synth has brought to me. I’ve never felt more accepted by people here than any other scene that I know of.
What is your take on dungeon synth live performances becoming more common?
It’s a very welcome sight to see, especially as more people are getting into the genre. I feel that it’s still in its adolescence and hopefully there’s no overabundance of live acts. There was a time when we would joke about how all dungeon synth fans would eventually turn into dungeon synth artists, which made it hard to find the “quality” acts. Though I don’t think I’ve seen a terrible live act before for dungeon synth, I hope it doesn’t balloon up to the point where there’s a thousand new live acts with just another guy in a robe playing [to] a backing track.
Did you always intend to perform live?
I didn’t even think I’d continue the project after a couple years, so having been booked for live shows these past few years has always been quite a surprise for me still. A welcoming surprise.
How do you see dungeon synth evolving in the future?
It’s hard to say. Dungeon synth, for all its glory, is a musically conservative genre that has at times rewarded aesthetics over the actual music itself. There’s a lot of potential for the art and music to grow. It’s carved a considerable space in music and its future is pretty wild, unpredictable even. More festivals are popping up, more live shows are popping up, more opportunities. Maybe we’ll see Quest Master headline Coachella at this rate. Maybe we’ll evolve by being the cockroaches of ambient music, always present, always there, no matter the time and place.
How did you become involved with Florida Dungeon Fest?
I feel as if I get asked to be a part of every new dungeon synth festival or night that pops up in America. I wouldn’t believe that dungeon synth of all things would lead me to finally visit Florida. It makes for a nice story.
Have you visited Florida before? What do you look forward to most … or least?
Hopefully I can deal with the infamous humidity that Florida has to offer. The consensus from my friends and family about going to Orlando in particular has been them yelling at me to go to Disney World. It’s got a castle, right? That’s dungeon synth enough.
Vaelastrasz plays Florida Dungeon Fest on Friday at Conduit.
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This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 4, 2025.