Interview: Erang

No introduction is needed for Erang within the dungeon synth community, as anyone remotely close to dungeon synth will be aware of his impact on the genre. An enigmatic artist that has composed a vast array of music, Erang is definitely one of my favorite dungeon synth artists. My all-time favorite track from Erang is “I Dreamt Of An Emerald Forest” from the We Are The Past album. It’s both nostalgic and calming – a finely crafted musical tale that resonates deeply with me.

Maybe “nostalgic” is the most appropriate word for Erang’s music, at least when I consider my own take on it. It tends to have the ability to take me back into the past, almost as if it is the soundtrack to memories of days lost forever. There’s a haunting nature to the music, as there should be in dungeon synth. Erang is a special artist with a gift at finding melodies that both inspire the present and harken back to forgotten moments.

It's a pleasure to share this interview with you all, as I know fans of the artist will enjoy learning more about the man behind the mask.

First off, it’s such a pleasure getting to interview you for Blacforje! You’re a very iconic part of the dungeon synth canon, which is a genre now flowing with numerous artists who are likely inspired by your work.

So, for starters, you’re based in France. Is that correct?

One could say that I’m from the Land of the Five Seasons, but I file my taxes in France. That’s right.

You have a massive musical catalog, with your most recent album A Blaze In Time being released last year in January. Are you currently working on anything new?

Yes, I’m working on a new album for 2024. I don’t like to say that it will be my final album because it means nothing, but I have a feeling it will mark the end of a long previous chapter before starting a brand new one. That’s why it will be named THE KINGDOM IS OURS!. I want this album to be a statement. You know? Black and white artwork cover made by hand, with a pencil. Raw. It will contain many surprises that I can’t reveal for now. I’m talking about a “final album” because I want to expand the Kingdom of Erang. I’m working on a book for almost two years now, a collection of 13 surreal/horrific short stories. Then, I definitely want to try to make a short movie - well, a movie in my own way of doing things. I’d like to try it. I’m not talking here about animated drawing; I’m talking about filming. These are still completely vague ideas for now. Movies have always been the most important part of my inspiration, more than music, I guess. But one thing is 100% for sure: I love all medium art. I’ve made a promise to myself. I want to make at least one “thing” in pretty much each field. Musically, I have enough material. Now, I will self-publish my book (no date for now but it will be in 2024). Then, I’ll probably work on a short movie. Also, I want to make a comic book at some point.

Most dungeon synth listeners will likely know who you are, but for my black metal audience reading this who may not be as familiar, I want to ask some questions about who you are as an artist and an individual (whatever you’re willing to share).

Let’s start with Erang. On your Bandcamp page, your artist description starts off saying, “Pioneer in the revival of Dungeon Synth since 2012, I'm mostly inspired by my own nostalgia about places, people and events of my past, forever lost…” Beginning with the pioneer part, what inspired you to “revive” the genre? Were you a longtime listener prior to starting Erang?

I discovered the Dungeon Synth blog in 2010 or early 2011. I don’t remember well. To me, it was a revelation, because I was at a point in my life where I needed this. I was about to turn 30 and, having been heavily interested in art during many years, I was in a phase where I was always digging more and more into the most experimental things. Being movies or music, I was trying to find new weird things, and let’s face it, much of the experimental art that is intellectually or artistically interesting very often lacks emotional impact. You end up watching weird movies by conceptual artist where nothing happens for 40 minutes. Sure, you understand what the concepts say, the message behind the painting, and where it takes place in the history of art, but you feel nothing. At least I felt nothing. I will take an extreme example on purpose, but you can understand the point behind a Xenakis piece of music, but blasting “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath or Phil Collins’ “Sussudio” is just so vivid and full of life!

To come back to your question, I was fed up with all the “art” things and just wanted to enjoy raw shits like when I was a child. That’s also when I discovered Bandcamp. At some point, I was only listening to unknow stuff on Bandcamp. You have to recall that in 2010 Bandcamp was just three years old, so it was kind of more confidential than now. To me, it was fucking refreshing to hear all the amateur bedroom tracks made with the heart. So, it was a time where I was listening to two completely opposite things alternatively - real commercial mainstream music from my childhood on one side and complete amateur bedroom stuff on the other - but always very emotional and effective, straight to the heart and bypassing the brain. I exaggerate here, but you get the picture.

So, when I found the Dungeon Synth blog by chance, it was a revelation as I said. All this world was something I was already doing on my own, keeping it for myself because I would have never thought that it could have been of interest to anyone. So, I gathered the dusty musical pieces I was working on and others even older that were lying in my computer, and in addition to them, I composed a few more brand new pieces (always with cheap sound and bad equipment). I mean, not necessarily bad but what I had already on hand. I put them all to make an album and I named it ERANG and put it online on Bandcamp for free. And nothing happened. But it was such a relief for me, a joy. I remember lying on the ground of my room, drawing the dragon of the cover with a large gray pencil on a sheet of paper. A few months later, I sent an email to Andrew from the Dungeon Synth blog, and that’s the truth, it was one single line. I just wrote to him this: “A Nostalgic journey” and put the link to the album. Nothing else. After some time, he replied. This is how it started.

Explain the thematical elements of Erang. Also on your Bandcamp page you say, “My music is very intimate & influenced by books (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion), old fantasy movies (Willow, Conan, Dark Crystal, etc.) and role-playing games from my childhood (tabletop & video games: Zelda, Secret of Mana, etc.).” Many of those things resonate with my own interests. Tell us more about how this impacts your musical storytelling.

Listing or talking about my artistic influences could take months, Honestly, I should change that bio at some point, because talking about Tolkien, for instance, it was only an influence on some titles of my first album. The things I’ve noted here are all true, but I could have put a thousand others in place of them. Stephen King, John Carpenter, David Lynch, thousands of cult movies from the 80s/90s from any genres, etc. It’s hard and unpredictable to tell you how they will inspire me at a moment or another. For instance, it could be a line in a movie, or a sample, or a synth sound used in a soundtrack, and I want to use the same preset, etc. Many different forms.

I’ve started to work on a video where I dissect A Blaze in Time and all its influence, but it’s very long to do... For instance, on the track “Forever Trapped Within The Lonely Madman's Memory Maze”, it starts with the same motif as the jingle opening of the movies company “Castle Rock Entertainment”, the one responsible for many Stephen King adaptations. Then you have a piano motif that was inspired by the piano of Tubular Bells (ed. - by Mike Oldfield), slowed down. It is obviously not the same melody, but it was inspired by it. Then you have for time to time a sound effect going like “sh sh ma ma”, which is the same as the soundtrack of Friday the 13th. Then at the 01 min., 15 sec. mark, you have a piano bridge which is the melody from the Evil Dead 1 soundtrack. And to finish the track you have this harmonized guitar chord which comes from the ending of “À Tout Le Monde” by Megadeth. So, as you can see, it is a huge melting pot of influences thrown together.

Erang has an element of secrecy, so I definitely want to respect that. What are you willing to tell us about you as an individual outside of Erang?

Nothing of any importance really. I eat, I sleep (badly), I work. The rest is just the same as everyone else is dealing with - even better than most everyone in the world, because I have the chance to live in a rich country where I’m not struggling to live. So, I don’t have the right to complain about anything.

Are you spiritual or philosophical in your personal worldview?

Spiritual, no. Absolutely not. I strictly believe in nothing. We are a temporary assembly of molecules that makes no more sense than a cow, a jellyfish, a stone, or a tree. Organized religion is something I can’t understand. Well, I understand it from a cultural point of view. We are the result of the influences of the place where we are born, sure. But to believe it in the strict sense, to their rules or moral or whatever is just something beyond my understanding. To think that humans are central to anything (like all religions pretend) is something a bit strange when you think about the vastness of the universe and the fact that black holes exist at billions and billions of kilometers from here.

That being said, I’m absolutely not some kind of cynic… I guess I’m a sort of empathetic person, and when I can act good, I try to do it. I’m far from being perfect of course, but I try not to be selfish, and if I can avoid transforming the world into a worse place, I try to do so. If I can act as a humanist, I try to.

Just curious: do you ever play live at dungeon synth festivals in the United States?

No, never. I don’t play live mainly because I don’t feel excitement or joy about it. I don’t have the envy, the fire in my guts like I have to create. I love to create. It is my air, my food. But I feel nothing when I project myself on stage playing. No excitement. Furthermore, you talked in your previous question about a kind of secrecy, and I think it’s cool to keep it that way. In our time, when we always know everything about anything and where everything is documented online, it’s good to keep some mystery from time to time. I will be honest here - every time a new festival is launched, I’ve been one of the first to get asked to play live. I’m totally honored and humbled by that. But I’ve always declined, and that’s where I’m honest. It always feels a bit weird after that, to see others band on stage performing. They seem to enjoy the moment and to create a connection with their audience that I do not know, neither Have I experimented. So, from time to time, I think I’m maybe missing something here. But no, nothing is planned to play live, for now.

Last Question: What dungeon synth artists who have appeared on the scene in the past few years would you say you are most impressed with personally? Are there any newish artists who you find really compelling?

Concerning new projects, I recently liked Realmwalker by Atlantean Sword. But all of the most obvious ones are great in their own ways. Fogweaver, Malfet, Sombre Arcane, Erreth-Akbe, Quest Master, Hole Dweller, etc. Yes, most of them (if not all) are not pure dungeon synth - far from it - but I don’t care. They stand out. I said in one of my titles “Dungeon Synth Til I Die”, and I know what it means to me. But after 11 or 12 years of listening to it, you just wait for new things to surprise you. Some will argue the opposite, and that’s good - fine for them. I’m saying this without irony, I respect that. I love the old albums too. But I don’t want to revisit the same sound or same aesthetic year after year. Furthermore, there is room for everything in your listener’s life. As I always say, “I am true - true to myself, no one else.” And that, to me, is part of the essence of dungeon synth. It is not ALL the essence of DS, but it’s a part of it.
You can follow Erang on Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook.

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