[Interview by Negrura]
A haven for the forlorn! Echo Knight is another side-project of Carmilla II Dracul (of Winter Lantern). Released the debutant, “Demo I: A Solitary Candle in the Blood Drenched Keep” on August 4, 2021. It’s hazy memories, perhaps a dream.
Greetings! Tell us since when and how did you discover Echo Knight? What is the philosophy of the work behind this project?
Hail! Well I’ve wanted to make Dungeon Synth for a while. Echo Knight came about because I mentioned wanting to do so on Instagram, and Winter (owner of Oaken Fog Records) reached out to me about doing a tape release if I did, which really motivated me to get a first demo out.
What is the purpose of Echo Knight established? Describe in more depth the style of music you have performed?
Echo Knight is all about fantasy adventure and dungeon crawling. It’s fairly simple droning ambience, I just wished to create a feeling of adventure and fear all at once.
Tell us about the process of making your debut release, “Demo I: A Solitary Candle in the Blood Drenched Keep”; about the basic ideas, songwriting, recordings, etc?
The release actually took quite a bit longer than any of my black metal demos. My background is in ambient music more than metal, but I essentially had to learn to play keyboards from the ground up in order to bring Echo Knight into the world. Some of the songs are improvisations recorded fairly simply, and others (like II) are more complex and layered. The synths are a combination of live keyboard playing and midi synthesis.
Share a little about your method of composing and recording a track? What instruments, equipments, software applications, etc do you use?
I run my keyboard through the same rig as I use for guitars. An Echo Knight track usually starts with just a simple idea of a few notes, and I stumble around and build from there. I’m not much of a piano player so it’s often a bit of a struggle haha.
What are the messages you have expressed through the first demo?
I wasn’t really trying to portray any particular message, I was just making music that I like. It’s intended to portray the adventure of the titular knight.
Do you already have new composed / recorded tracks and plans for a second demo or any other next releases for Echo Knight?
Yes! I’m planning a second demo very soon. I hope for it to be a step up in terms of melody and atmosphere, and to introduce some elements of storytelling through the tone and song titles as well.
What do you think of the ambient / dungeon synth current music scene?
Ambient music is so oversaturated, probably due in part to how quickly it can be made. I’ve been making ambient music for many years now and it’s such a difficult genre to get noticed in. Still, there’s a great amount of very cool releases coming out constantly. It’s such a free and inspiring medium, it’s inevitable that great music will come out of it.
Thank you Echo Knight. The last phrase is yours.
Thank you for your interest. There will be more occultic and bizarre adventures soon! Long live dungeon synth and ambient drone!
winterlanternbm@gmail.com