INTERVIEW: Archana

Rites, 2020

When I think of Archana, I think of the embracing and overwhelming effect of green and golden panorama’s after one crawls outside of a dark and dim-lit dungeon. Its minimalist yet spacious and melodic use of atmosphere speaks to me in a way that’s very different from its contemporaries. In order to find out more about the depth of Archana’s musical landscapes, I sad down with its originator E. to discuss his latest release, Dungeon Synth, and ecology.

First off, congratulations on your latest record Rites. Your Bandcamp page describes the record as a journey through which the listener discovers new lands, drenched with memories of old battles and ancient legends. Everything about Archana seems to be so very landscape-driven, which makes me wonder about the way you approach your world-building. What - for you as a maker - needs to be conjured throughout the music?

Hey, thanks a lot, it's been a fairly huge honour releasing this music lately. Archana happened after a lot of years of meditation and research. I used to hike any time I had the chance. Something about the lack of societal expectation in the wilderness helped me envision progressive song-writing more clearly and prompted me to include that kind of isolation in most of the art I've created. Man vs. Nature is such a primordial form of storytelling. It seems unbeatable at times, other times we're able to endure by simply looking into ourselves and believing in the victory.

It’s interesting that you speak of man as separate from nature, with nature being something to be overcome or - at least - survive. To me, this always causes interesting friction with other popular stories about the symbiosis of man and nature, in which humanity is intertwined in a bigger ecosystem. Is this friction part of your storytelling as well? How do man and nature relate to the sound and world of Archana?

That's a really great question. Inclimate weather helps make a cool, multi-faceted story, in my opinion. I live in "Tornado Alley" here in the U.S. and just about once or twice a year I'll drive around and see a neighborhood that's been completely leveled. It's stuck with me a long time; I feel for catastrophe victims around the world.

We're definitely a part of the greater ecosystem, though many homo sapiens would claim we are above it. The magi in my lore harness the torrential elements to conduct powerful spells. These are obviously tall tales, but I can't help but see a correlation to the modern-day gain-of-function research. We can think we are above it, but I feel like we're totally subject to it. What's above 10 on the Richter scale, you know?

As a side note: a friend of mine and I were recently talking about Antarctica; that it's illegal to go there and how we're discovering ancient tropical vegetation there from the last global warming. He shared with me that he's more concerned with the ancient bacteria we're excavating there than with any alleged man-made or genetically-engineered virus we could currently concoct in a lab. Makes a lot of sense now why Jurassic Park spoke so deeply to our subconscious back in 1994-1995. Haha.

Wooded landscape with a lake, George Barrett, Unknown date 

Haha, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” I’m fascinated by the way you use this concept of magi using torrential elements. It’s a great way of telling stories about pushing boundaries to reach greater ideals - and its potentially catastrophic consequences. What strikes me, is that its adventurous character feels slightly in contrast with Rites’ music, which is so very calm and soothing. Where in your overall story is the album positioned? Is this the calm before the storm, or its aftermath?

The Rites series focuses predominantly on the political struggles and repercussions of the lore, this release has both the calm and the aftermath. "Partisans Divide" is a good example. The first three-quarters of the song is building ambient layers, kind of like a coup or militia forged slowly. It takes time, sometimes longer than the actual conflict itself. That kind of thing is situational, but the song is meant to portray a building unrest over time, which eventually snaps at some point, resulting in a very different-- often war-like-- struggle. The ending section has a bit of an essence of rebellion and turmoil, but it is largely invigorating in spirit.

Invigorating might just be the word to describe Rites as a whole, as it contains a sound that I find to be rather unique within Dungeon Synth, without it moving away from the atmospherical redline that makes up the genre. What invigorates you when it comes to Dungeon Synth, as a fan, listener, and musician?

Man, there's so much great Dungeon Synth out there. I spin a lot of stuff with rich atmosphere and vision, but the records don't have to make any substantial unique statements, I'm a huge fan of neo-medieval. Realms of Oblivion by Torchlight is 10/10 from me. All three releases from Ulk (Netherlands) are so well-done, very relaxing. ASKII (Germany) Hegelburg and Hegelburg at Dusk have recently garnered about 500 spins from me, they're perfect for writing and study. Strange Divinity by Cowl (British Columbia) is really far out, solid first release. I'm totally enthralled with the current state of Dungeon Synth, I find a lot of good energy and excitement in what I've heard the past five or six years.

The Upper Nepean, William Piguenit, 1889

Rumor has it though that, as a musician, you also participate outside of the realms of Dungeon Synth. Would you like to tell us a bit more about some of your other projects?

Yeah, I'd love to. Abhasa saw its first release last year, atmospheric black metal with a Sanskrit aura. It's fairly crushing at times, but still easy on the ears. Co-founder J.E. (Alloch Nathir) and I do all writing and most of the instrumentation. We have an esoteric metal record in post-production we're really excited about under the project name Forlorn Aspect, rough ETA late 2020.

Brian Fullenkamp does all of our session drumming. He and I have also performed as Architecture Aviva since 2010, a heavy psych power-trio with bassist Nick Carpenter. We're hoping to take our live show internationally as soon as it's feasible.

Is your work with Archana some sort of counter-weight to your other, more abrasive musical outputs? Or can it be seen as an extension of what you’re already doing?

Archana is very contrasting to most of the music I've released. I started out composing Math-Rock, crazy time signatures with other warm layers, a generally organized chaos. Found cool acts like Pele from Wisconsin (surf element), Volta Do Mar from Chicago, and Do Make Say Think from Canada. These acts kind of shaped our perceptions on Psych and Post, and the further we looked and the more we studied, it all ended up at metal. The more etheric and surreal elements I wanted in the music, the more it became Black Metal and World / Traditional.

Because of its often brooding nature and subject matter, Dungeon Synth seems more metal to me than some of the heavier music. It's also very cinematic and epic at times, so much aesthetic. When I finally set out to compose for Archana, I quickly found that the basic scoring technique wasn't easy. I'm super stoked to explore even larger-scale projects in the genre.

Does your excitement for future plans include Archana? What can we expect from the project, both in the near future as potentially in the long run?

Since teaming up with Mystic Timbre, we've really been able to solidify a lot of ideas I may have previously thought out of reach, so it's safe to say Archana has plans ahead in multiple spheres and in ranging scope. A lore-based release is being prepared for late this year or early next. Those records will be signified by a golden dragon logo or by a similarly specialized logo. Thanks again for having me, and thanks to the listeners.

Archana on Bandcamp