Comfy Synth? Dungeon Synth? I’m Here For It

Last June I posted something about the band Covered Bridges. Someone had commented on a post of mine and had recommended the band, which is under the genre of “comfy synth”. I decided to look the band up and was surprised at how little information I could find out about the person behind Covered Bridges. I did find the name of the person behind that moniker, but really that’s not important. The less you know the better, really.

After listening to the album Aurora I immediately ordered a copy of the record. Something in the slow motion beats and melancholy sway of the synths and melodies captured my ear. Listening to that album in its entirety is like stepping into some aged oil painting, something you’d see hanging in a doctor’s office back in the late 70s or early 80s. Something with a rustic wood frame made from trim someone pulled from the bottom of their wall. And the painting? An oil painting depicting a vast field of wheat, an old red barn, a dilapidated windmill, and a horizon catching fire from the sunset. It’s a peaceful scene that feels both comforting and slightly haunting.

I listened to that record for about a month straight, never tiring of it’s tranquil and tranquilized haze of songs. You just kind of slow down when you listen to it. Maybe not quite transportive, but, well, yes. It’s transportive. You go somewhere else. It’s concentrated nostalgia. And it’s nostalgic for a time and place you don’t even know, or understand.

I’d heard the terms “dungeon synth” and “comfy synth” before and sort of wrote them off as something I’d have no interest in. Dungeon synth sounded like the kind of music you’d hear as some troll or evil dwarf sat alone in his(or her) underground dwelling; walls lined with skulls and a torso spinning over an open fire like a Rotisserie chicken at the deli, said troll or dwarf playing a sad tune on his(or her) Casio. In all honesty, it may actually sound like that. I’m not sure if I’ve heard any dungeon synth before.

Comfy synth, prior to digging in, I imagined the same scenario as above except that said troll or dwarf is in PJs and a terry cloth robe, sitting in a rocker next to the fire smoking a pipe. The roasted torso eaten, along with some forest berries, and now it’s time to sit, smoke the pipe, and reflect on the day’s pillaging and murdering.

Instead comfy synth(at least what I’ve listened to) makes me think of sleepy walks down forest paths, Robitussin highs while battling chest colds, and reminiscing about long ago friends and family who have either disappeared from your life through growing apart or death. It pulls up memories, both good and sad, and sort of allows you to deal with them in a way that isn’t as painful as it could be in the silence of sleeplessness, a long car ride, or just the usual beating yourself up over nothing.

When I hear this music I’m reminded of a couple things. First, there’s the film reels our art teacher in elementary school used to play. It was the kind of film reels that ran through a projector and the projector had a cassette player on it that went with the film itself. It usually went through a series of famous paintings with a little narration, and the music was always very soft, delicate classical music. The art room was in the middle of the school(it was also where we went when there were tornado drills), so it was jet black in there. When we’d watch these films you felt transported, between the blackness, the ornate paintings, and the music of Chopin, Rachmaninov, and Debussy. It was like taking some half lucid tour of a museum somewhere in France or the Netherlands. Kind of timeless.

The other thing Covered Bridges reminds me of is watching Noggin with my kids when they were little. In-particular, they’d play reruns of the Canadian cartoon Little Bear. I didn’t look forward to too many cartoons the kids would watch back in the day, but Little Bear was one I did. It was a soothing, dreamy cartoon that had classical music scoring it. Nothing too heavy about it, just a very thoughtful, ornate cartoon that would soothe everyone, including dad(I was slightly disappointed when I found out that the guy that voiced Father Bear wasn’t the same guy that voiced Beast on the 90s X-Men cartoon. Swore it was the same guy. Oh well.)

I’ve only listened to three ‘comfy synth’ artists, Covered Bridges, Grandma’s Cottage, and Chestnut Brown. I’ve enjoyed stuff by all of them, but Covered Bridges has really stuck with me. I’m also wondering if I really need to delve into any more than that? It’s very similar in vibe and mood. I sort of found my team, so maybe I’ll stick with that? Grandma’s Cottage does a series of EPs called Favorite Places. The album art looks like 8-bit videogames and the music is supposed to be reminiscent of the music from those 80s RPG games like The Legend of Zelda, Phantasy Star, Gauntlet, Diablo, and those kinds of games. But it’s the music you’d hear as you were wandering around a village talking to magic owls and grumpy sea hags trying to find a map or potion or whatever. Like Capcom library music. I dug that, but wish they had them all on one album as each of the three volumes only have like three songs on them.

I guess what’s hitting me the most here is how therapeutic these songs are to me, at least right now in this moment. It’s settling the mental wildfire in my brain, and calming me chemical-free. And the fact that this music derived from the Norwegian Black Metal scene only makes it that much more interesting to me. Black Metal begat dungeon synth…which begat comfy synth. I imagine Burzum and Mortiis in their jammies in some desolate Scandinavian cabin, fire licking the air from the fireplace, tea in the kettle, making sad, quaint, and melancholy synth music.

This isn’t some paid promotion here, folks. I’m just sharing a little knowledge with you, and maybe even a mental health tip. Comfy synth is the musical equivalent of some anti-sad pill. It’s a calming music trip that is hitting all the right buttons for me at the moment. And hey, if you’re reading this and you know a thing or two about comfy and dungeon synth, drop me some suggestions below on artists I should explore in these fairly new to me genres. I’d be most appreciative.