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Music

Dungeon Dave Goes Deep

Count the terrors with Melbourne’s warrior prince of Dungeonwave.

You know that feeling.

The one when you’re screaming down the road, amped as hell having just called your boss a fuckhead, heading to a party in Brunswick with a slab on the passenger seat. You’re swerving past other vehicles, yelling obscenities at pedestrians, and wishing there was some kind of mutant 80s medieval-themed techno you could bang your head to without shame or inhibition. Something with hard rock windmill energy and computer game levels of silliness, combining the visual aesthetic of the Highlander movies with the hard-driven sequencer punch of the Knight Rider theme?

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Well, wait no longer my intrepid tenth level Mage, it’s time to enter the triumphant realm of Dungeon Dave. Hailing from the ranks of über cult internet label World Global Record (home to italo genius Fabio Umberto, synth lords Hyperspace Vision, and pop creeps Movies), Dungeon Dave stands out as one of the most outlandish electronic projects to emerge from Melbourne in recent memory. I caught up with a quite impressively in-character Dave to chat about life in the dungeon and his epic electronic sound.

THUMP: So Dungeon Dave, how did all this start?

Dungeon Dave: The wizard Morcar once said to me long ago: "There is untapped power in these worlds." On a random generation table I rolled a d100 and the synths called out to me from far beyond. In the dungeons of my world there is no music, no entertainment. I thought it best I ply my trade as bard and fill these dank and lightless crypts with beautiful reverberations.

How would you describe your style of music? Do you have a name for it?

The powers that be have seen fit to name my magical compositions as 'Dungeonwave'. It has strong roots in the music of your world's 1980s electronic alchemy. With this as the backbone I conjure notes and atmospheres strongly reminiscent of medieval Europe and of my own world, creating a unique juxtaposition of the ancient with the modern. Like the catacombs beneath my castle, it is dark yet fills one with adrenaline. Fight or flight.

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How big would you say the Dungeonwave scene is these days?

To my knowledge I am the only purveyor of this mystical genre to date and have only performed once in your lifetime and dimense.

That's cult as. What are your musical weapons of choice for this musical journey?

The methods to my arcane madness are a closely guarded secret, locked deep within the chambers beneath my condescending tower.

I thought they might be. So are there monsters and foes to fight in your dungeons?

There are countless terrors to behold and overcome if one is brave enough a warrior. My dungeons are a lot like your human life; wrought with danger, magic, enemies and allies. Not many escape with their lives and corporeal representations intact…much less their honour and social standing.

Sounds like the Melbourne club scene.

Ha! Exactly.

You're pretty much the definition of underground then.

Perhaps. It does seem that one must be six feet underground before gaining their due respect in this world. So why not 600?

What releases do you have out? How did you hook up with World Global Record?

I have one release at the moment, it was briefly available on cassette but is now available as a revised digital download edition with bonus tracks on the World Global Record bandcamp. I got involved with this collective of right-minded individuals through inter-dimensional correspondence. Having received many letters beforehand begging me to come to your world, here I am. In all the power and the glory.

Dungeon Dave’s debut EP is available now from World Global Record.