INTERVIEW: Dr(o)))ned Artworks

Grim Fortress

Dungeon Synth seems to be one of those genres in which the aesthetics are almost as important as the music. Being mainly a non-vocal style of music, musicians rely heavily on album-titles, track names and artwork to further lift their tunes to a higher level of understanding. One of the visual artists that captures Dungeon Synth’s excitative character is Waclaw Traier, a Czech Republic-based illustrator who operates under the moniker of Dr(o)))ned Artworks.

For this interview we sat down to talk about art in general, his personal approach to illustrating and - of course - Dungeon Synth.

Welcome, Waclaw! Let's dive right in. Your work seems to cover a rather broad sense of thematics. Going through your online portfolio one finds categories that easily manage to capture the imagination. Warriors and beasts, gallows and misery, occult and acid, prog and abstract, fairy and psych, campy and funny. What drives you to cover so much different thematics and atmospheres?
In fact, I also cover artistic themes with no fantasy, or “dark” touch at all, even children’s books illustrations for example. And it is because life itself, even the one of a Dungeon Synth and Heavy Metal lover, simply isn't mere black and white. I am inspired by all of “life’s colors” and just can’t freeze on only one of them.

On the other hand, Dr(o)))ned Artworks is still quite specialized – my intention with this enterprise is to offer affordable cover art and designs for underground bands and musicians, no matter if they play Prog-Rock, Sludge-Doom, Goregrind or Dungeon Synth, to name a few, and I want everyone to be able to choose a piece that resonates with him or her. Through the wide content available on my portfolio, I wanted to make it evident that one can count on me if they would want a medieval torture scene, as well as when they're looking for a warrior queen defeating a dragon.

A Nigh Incident

There’s a very old school vibe throughout your portfolio. Especially Winds of Doom reminds me of early 20th century Cubism. Am I right if I’d say that both Cubism and Abstract-Surrealism are an influence to your own artistry?

Yes, I am very inspired by old masters. Beside the styles you've already mentioned I especially love Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel. And from contemporary artist, it is in the first place Polish dark surrealist master Zdzislaw Beksinski or British comic book artist Simon Bisley.



What role does music play in the making of your visuals? Is it merely an inspiration, like the artists we've already mentioned, or does it play a rather active role during the act of creation?
It differs from time to time. I usually let the music influence my painting a lot (especially when I do a custom piece for a band or artist), but there are times - like a few days ago - when I, after many hours of dark ambient, started to experience aural hallucinations.
After that I had to change my background listening to comedy sketches (lol).



Bodyguards of the Warrior Queen

The Dungeon Synth scene seems to be full of life and activity these days. Are there any contemporary artists that resonate with you? And how do you relate to Dungeon Synth itself?

I am a big lover of good old dungeon crawlers like Dungeon Master, Lands of Lore or Eye of the Beholder series, not to mention gamebooks, like Dungeons and Dragons and MTG… Good old times that will never come back. I also love minimalistic, ambient or psychedelic music that “takes you on a journey”.

From my point of view, Dungeon Synth covers both these worlds and that’s perfect. I also admire the relative accessibility to this genre from the side of musicians. You don’t need a whole pack of quarreling egoists (and I know what I'm talking about, lol), a rehearsal room and all this stuff to express yourself through this kind of music. Isn’t that nice?

It is very hard to name a few from that many quality acts - and I don’t even have an alltime favorite. These days I listen mostly to oldtimers Secret Stairways or even Jim Kirkwood. However, from the newer ones I would recommend anything from Heimat Der Katastrophe records for their lovely classic RPG approach. I also listen much to Vangar’s The Forgotten King or The Birth of Naxxramas by Vaelastrasz. And as a speciality I would mention Grol the Goblin for his weirdness and minimalistic thematic coherence.



Thank you for your time and very insightful replies. The last words are all yours.
I warmly invite everyone to follow my Facebook art page, and if someone is interested in experimental music, I play guitar in a “not so serious DIY kraut-rock/drone-noise/field-recording instrumental project” with my best pal on drums. We call it Remízek and will be releasing a new album in the next weeks.
Thank you very, very much!

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