020.5 - The Deep Dive - Dronn - Arcanvm Agnosticvm Notes and Interview

The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review.

Notes

Prelude in d# minor, “Faithless” - The start reminds me very much of a Bach fugue played on a pipe organ.  The note progressions, especially on the right hand remind me quite a bit of many of his organ compositions.  The progression here is quite excellent for an intro, it gives the listener an idea of what to expect but it is only carried out on one instrument.  The whole EP is very intricately composed and will eventually incorporate multiple instruments from the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  Great first 42 seconds to get the listener acclimated to everything.
After the introduction the song moves into the main phase of the composition, utilizing strings and a harpsichord everything moves at a slow but very deliberate pace.  Violins are added after the first playthrough of the main ‘riff.’  They are played at a much livelier pace than the backing instrumentals and add a sense of urgency and life to the composition.
A second repetition of the riff is done, and a clarinet is added this time.  It adds another layer and an additional level of interplay between the instruments.  It's almost playful the way that the violins and the clarinetes interplay around 1:16 in the song.  
Eventually the individual elements align and they all begin working towards the same goal around 1:46.  The shift is significant, but the way that everything has been introduced to this point makes it feel completely natural, there are no jarring transitions.  It all leads to the concussion of the first ‘act’ of the song right around 2:45.  
The pipe organ is reintroduced at the halfway point and it repeats some of the same ideas from the beginning, however the note progressions are slightly different.  It feels like its a combination of the introduction section with the melodies established from the ‘main phase’ established earlier.  Really wonderful combination of everything.
Right around 3:27 the pipe organ begins long form chords, whole notes that are eventually going to become the background for the callback of much of the other instrumentation.  This time we have percussion with the strings.  It's the organ’s melodies from the beginning and middle of the song, just on a much grander scale.  Everything comes together in huge and dramatic fashion and concludes with a huge chord at the end.  Really great way to start the EP off.

Mort Arcanvm - Drums, drums in the deep.  The way that this song starts off reminds me of the Mines of Moria.  A deep ominous call to the creatures of darkness.  The way that the double bass plays on its low string almost emanates a growl from a beast.  The build up here is one of my favorite parts of the whole EP.
Right around 30 seconds the strings pick up and almost a sense of paranoia is starting to build.  At 56 seconds all hell breaks loose.  Cymbal crashes, choirs and a pipe organ all give this larger than life feel to the song.  It all has an urgent but steady pace to it, moving from paranoia to simply panic.  
Right around 1:55 most of the instruments are stripped away and we are left with the intense double bass and cello and the timponies driving things.  A simple piano melody is added to heighten the tension.  This whole song is insanely high energy and high stress.  It keeps threatening to break loose and when it does all hell comes with it.  
The final explosion happens at 2:50 in a very similar manner to the way it happened at 56 seconds.  This time however there are horns in the background adding yet another layer to the chaos.  
The song can really be broken down into an ABAB structure.  The A section being the build up and the B being the cacophony that happens after.  The placing of this song is perfect too, it comes after the opener where the general sound of the album is established.  It also comes before Processional to add a huge contrast to the slow and mournful tone that that song provides.  

Processional - As intense and powerful as track 2 is, this one is the exact opposite.  It is fragile, meak, and contains a deep sense of mourning.  The harpsichord is a wonderful choice of instrument to begin the song.  The tone that it brings is simple yet haunting.  The way the chords are played too - in that the keys are not all hit at the same time, but just slightly off - adds to this sense that things are fragile.  I don’t think any other instrument could have achieved this balance.  
Strings are added as a backing accompaniment after a few moments alone with the harpsichord.  Unlike every other song on this EP, there are not a ton of different melodies going on at once.  There is the harpsichord and the backing strings, but the strings are playing a complementary melody rather than doing their own thing.  
The song also likely has the strongest singular focus on this collection of songs as well.  There is no major change in pace, instrumentation or tone.  It all just flows around the melody established early on.  The placement is also perfect, right in the middle.  All of the other songs contain many different elements and instrumentation.  This one is simple, less active and a huge change in tone from all the other songs.  Breaks up the album very nicely.
This song is actually the hardest out of all the songs on the EP for me to listen to.  The way it's constructed hits a note with me where it brings up emotions of deep sorrow and loss.  It's exactly because of this that it's my favorite song on this EP, and probably one of my top tracks of the year.  

Dronn, The Executioner - Any peace that we got from Processional is completely erased in the opening seconds of Dronn, The Executioner.  The double bass returns in a similar manner that they were in track 2, though this time accompanied by timponies.  It brings a deep, brooding feeling that a horrible evil awaits us.
The song does retain one element from Processional.  The song has a very singular focus, everything just builds on this sense of impending doom and it never lets up or gives us a break, very much the same way the previous track retained that singular focus on mourning.  
Right at 40 seconds strings are added above the backbone and just continue that sense of dread.  There is a hint of reverb on them as well, gives the sense that we may be in a dungeon or something.  The title of the song is very fitting, it feels like an execution chamber and we are just waiting for our death.
There is a swell of horns at 1:45 and the instrumentals are reigned back in but this time it just feels like footsteps that draw nearer and nearer.  This song is extremely visual in the way that it is composed.  
Around 2:50 there is another instrumental swell signaling that our death is now at hand.  After there is simply a quick ending to the song… our life is over.  The way that this song is composed is really impactful.  Love how visual it is.  

Bloody Tears - Holy crap what a good cover!  Of course the pipe organ has the lead, but the way that the strings are worked in along with the percussion is just masterful.  It fits perfectly with the way everything else in the EP has been constructed, there is no instrument here that feels out of place or hasn’t been used before.  
The way that the snares are incorporated almost give the song a feel of a march, something I have not heard before in correlation to Bloody Tears.  The way its played is very faithful to the original composition, just on a grander scale.  This whole EP could be in a Casltevania game and it's only fitting that it ends with a cover of one of the most iconic video game songs of all time.  
The cover ends and we are left with slow playing chords from a pipe organ to usher us out of the EP.  The EP began with a pipe organ and now we end with one.  Fitting bookends.  

Overall - For being just over 20 minutes in length this thing sure packs a lot in.  The first two original compositions feel similar in that there is a lot going on and they have the ABAB format to them.  The second two original compositions also feel similar in that they are more linear and contain a single focus in the way that they are composed.
The pacing here is really excellent too.  Processional is at the perfect point in the album, to give the listener a break and also a time of reflection.  Everything hinges around this song.  Also the callback of the pipe organs at the very end of Bloody Tears is a very fitting outro.  This is going to be a pleasure to review.

Interview

It's been a little over a year since the last album under the Dronn name.  What made you decide to revive the project now?  How did the project come to be in the first place?

I've had a few of these songs on the back burner for a while, I've been trying to get to them and I finally had the time to get it finished in the midst of all the other projects.

We’ve talked a bit about how Nobou Uematsu influenced you in the past in casual conversation and how he influenced a few songs on this EP in particular.  Can you give some details on how he influenced this and your other work?

Uematsu influenced the first song heavily, specifically in the style that he uses chord changes and melodic expression to convey musical emotion. While writing this song I was in the midst of working on the FF6 tribute album and some of that influence bled over into this track.

Aside from Uematsu, what other influences were present on this EP?

Other influences present on this EP are some ambient influences from the Dark Souls trilogy and personal feeling.

The first two songs on the EP have an ABAB style while tracks 3 and 4 have a more singular focus to them.  Was this done intentionally or just the way that the compositions evolved?  If intentional, why?

The different styles between the first part and second part of the EP were not intentional in any way, it's just how the songs turned out to be honest.

How did you come to cover Bloody Tears?

I've been wanting to cover Bloody Tears for a while and I had the idea to do an orchestral/DS cover when I was asked to play the Northeast Dungeon Siege live stream. I finished the track for that and put it on this EP after.

There seems to be a sense of urgency in the first two songs as opposed to a sense of mourning and dread in the second pair of songs.  Is there a musical narrative that is taking place during this EP? If so could you detail a bit of what it is?

Processional has a very distinct tone in it compared to the rest of the songs, being slow, reflective, and ultimately mournful.  Was there a change in your songwriting process for this song compared to the others?

Processional was written during a time of extreme depression and contemplation. I wanted to use different tones instead of the normal DS orchestral sampling and instruments I use and I had a hard time getting that finished.

You’ve written songs in nearly every genre imaginable, if you had to choose one as a favorite what would it be? Is there any genre you haven’t tackled yet that you would like to?

I don't have an obvious favorite, but I always prefer it when the song is heavy. I know that's not much of an answer but I'm happiest when it's heavy.

In Dronn the Executioner I noted that there is a huge visual element to this song compared to the other ones, at least to me.  On this song specifically were you going for the more ‘cinematic’ feel to it or was that an byproduct of the songwriting process?

Dronn, The Executioner was meant to be cinematic for sure. Imagine a dank dungeon underneath a rotting castle atop a hill. It's after midnight and rain is beating down on the weathered stone. As you climb down the steps of the dungeon, a flickering light appears from around the corner. Dronn is there, hooded and masked, wielding a great battle-axe in one hand and a sputtering candle in the other. He's been waiting for anyone to show up so he can continue his calling: execution.

What equipment was used to make this album? (You don’t have to answer this if you would prefer it remain private)

This album was primarily made with Kontakt and FL VSTs and sampling. Session Strings was used as well.

How do you go about your songwriting process?

The songwriting process is a weird one. I never have a song fleshed out in my head, just a rough sketch or idea. Sometimes the idea gets finished, sometimes it doesn't. It's always random how it turns out to be honest.

Is there anything further you would like to share about your this album or other musical endeavours?

Nothing further to add, just make sure to follow the Inner Self Records Bandcamp for all the projects I'm working on. Thanks for the interview man, I really appreciate you taking the time to put this together.