Category: music (Page 1 of 3)

Been listening to a lot of synth from HDK, an Italian record label that specializes in, as they call it, “ambient punk, minimal-synth, dungeon-drone, wartime music and post-nuclear wave.”

I’ve written before about how I discovered the dungeon synth genre and then eventually found out that some of the artists have disgusting Nazi/fascist leanings. Not all of them, thank goodness, but enough to make me wary of seeking out new bands.

I vowed in my earlier post that I would give up the genre and stick with other music for inspiration, but HDK is one of those labels I haven’t given up on. They still release incredibly cool music, and since they are left wing politically, I don’t have to worry about supporting fascists by listening to the music they put out.

(I have also found a couple other dungeon synth artists whom I researched to make sure they weren’t gross, so I’m proceeding with caution with their music at the moment too. But it’s too bad I have to do this in the first place.)

Right now I’m listening to Starlight by Logic Gate. It’s futuristic, very 1980s sci-fi/thriller movie vibe. The cassette tape is made of yellow plastic and the liner notes come with a little grid game called “Asteroids Storm.” Every product from HDK has this kind of playful, throwback aesthetic and interactive quality. I really should splurge some day and buy a cassette of one of these albums. The dungeon synth ones often come with a little dungeon crawl module inside that fits with the music.

What I like about this kind of synth music, especially when I’m writing or getting ready to write, is that they set a distinct mood and ambiance, and since there are no words, I can get lost in the vibes of the music without getting caught up in the lyrics.

I do like music with lyrics for inspiration too, but I’ve found that I do better when I listen to those songs outside of my writing time. Maybe when going on a walk or driving or biking. Then my mind can interact with the poetry of the lyrics.

But before putting my fingers on the keyboard to type, I tend to prefer the synth stuff, especially when I need to get into a certain mood. Classical music works for me similarly (or movie soundtracks). Or other instrumental music.

What’s cool about the stuff from HDK is that they really carry the vibe over into the whole product. Even though I’ve never purchased a cassette from them, the pictures of the product are inspirational, as is the narrative aspect of the songs themselves. These are concept albums telling cohesive stories, and that kind of conceptual design helps focus my own attempts to create narrative.

Some of what HDK releases is not to my taste aesthetically. Some of the more horror-related albums, for instance. But in general terms, they have a vibe that I very much dig. It’s punk and pulpy, both tongue-in-cheek and earnest in its dedication to reviving a look and feel from the past. They’ve created a sonic universe that makes me want to write stories in their world.