Words by Paige Cobos
Inspiration and creation. These are themes one can find in the solitary confines of the dungeon synth musician. Some of the most creative artists on the scene today channel inspiration from all kinds of media and focus it in a single musical landscape of their creation. One of those artists channel all of this inspiration is Gorgons Alter.
Hailing from Kentucky, Gorgons Alter is a one man project with a dark medieval fantasy tale to tell. Through music, the epic adventures of an immortal born of two overseeing cosmic sides is captured on download and cassette.
Off Shelf: To start off, what was the inception of Gorgons Alter?
Christopher Clough: Gorgons Alter started how I imagine how a lot of current dungeon synth or electronic fantasy ambient projects started back during lockdown. I’m a drummer who’d never played keyboards but was starting to feel the effects of isolation and I’ve always had a love of great film scores and world building. A friend introduced me to dungeon synth and I had that “A-ha!” moment of like, “Oh, I can use this genre to craft an audible narrative”. I didn’t have a keyboard or synth of any kind so for a year a just taught myself how to play keys using phone and tablet music apps and programs until I felt okay enough to start writing cohesive songs.
OS: To add to that, what are some of the inspirations you draw from for Gorgons Alter? Is there a specific piece of media like a game or film?
CC: The manga Berserk was definitely a big inspiration for sure. And funny enough, the video game Destiny. Destiny was unique as it took high fantasy tropes and applied them to hard sci-fi and it just worked. I also loved the idea that the story was being driven by these godlike beings.
OS: As you have stated about the nature of the project, each release is a chapter or side quest in this dark medieval world. What plants the seed of inspiration for each ‘quest’?
CC: Truthfully, just allowing a story to unfold and evolve naturally does so much heavy lifting on the driving force of story arcs. I love planting seeds of minor characters or story beats that almost seem like red herrings but then a few albums later I take those seeds and just expand them wide open.
OS: Switching gears for a second, what musical equipment do you use?
CC: Right now I use a Novation 49 launch key midi that I use as my tactile interface to play the [Virtual Studio Technology] I have on my tablet, phone, or laptop. I’ve made great use of the tools at my disposal. With the advent of AI I’m proud that I’ve never once had to rely on that because I feel like it’s such a soulless, lazy copout and disingenuous to real artists and musicians. I’m still building my live rig – as much as expendable cash will allow me – but with the rudimentary applications I had, I feel proud that I made the best use of them.
OS: Your latest release Vomit Darkness, is a single track that lasts about 33 minutes, consisting of three acts – like a play almost. What was the creative process like in creating a long track like this?
CC: I think it’s the fourth or fifth longform track I’ve put out now but – alongside the other longform songs – there’s just this really unique chance to test your listeners patience and challenge yourself to hold attention by crafting something hopefully worthy of the time they invest in it. I love how manga and anime – though I wouldn’t call myself a “hardcore fan” I do love the dedication to telling stories and treating your audience like adults – but the way they take huge narratives all heading towards a focused end but through that are arcs that build upon smaller side plots that flesh out the whole story. Longform songs written in the structure of plays is like a condensed long narrative broken up into acts. I love it!
OS: The artwork for each release is consistent and very much captures a feeling of being taken from a medieval tome. Are you the visual artist? What is the process like in creating the artwork for Gorgons Alter?
CC: I am the visual artist! It’s been great. I stopped drawing when I was a kid. I’m 39 now and when I started releasing albums a few years back I thought, “Well, now’s a better time than any to get back into drawing”. I always loved album art that was watercolors, as I felt like it really lends itself well to the fantasy aesthetics but I’d never used watercolors my entire life! It was a learning curve but I persisted. I started bouncing between watercolor and acrylic artwork, though I find watercolors to be a bit more forgiving. My process is really to create an image that sets the tone of the entire album. As it’s the first thing people see, I want them to almost immediately know what they’re signing up for by the artwork alone.
OS: Are there plans for physical media releases at some point?
CC: So, even though I have no physical releases on my Bandcamp page, I’ve actually released a few physical copies with other labels. You can find the albums I’ve released on these labels: WereGnome Records, Fiadh, Personal Uschi Records, Dungeon Squid Productions, Sweet 8bitterness, Lonesome Knight Records, and Relics of the Eternal City.
OS: Could you see this project expanding into other kinds of media? The rich world of Gorgons Alter could be a novel series.
CC: That’s very kind of you to think it worthy of novelization! I do love writing and truthfully, I’ve written so much lore that it – alongside all my artwork – I could put out a book or lore companion piece. Sitting down and writing out complete novels, though enticing, I just feel like I wouldn’t be able to dedicate as much time as I’d need. There’s no reason to half ass anything, ya know? [laughs]
OS: Looking back to the past few years of the project, how has the journey been in creating Gorgons Alter?
CC: The journey in the sense of pushing my skill level – and mixing and mastering all my stuff as well – has been incredibly fulfilling. Constantly trying to one up the song before is healthy self-determination.
But, and this is going to sound cliche, it’s been getting to meet other artists in this genre and being able to call them my friends now. Being apart of a community that encourages each other and actively roots out bad apples and are positive influences. Not just my life but other more marginalized groups who have a safe space to call their own too.
OS: Finally, what music currently inspires you?
CC: Oh gosh. [laughs] I’m a big desert, stoner doom metal head, which you wouldn’t think would inspire music that’s so malleable and fluid but I’m currently jamming: Sundrifter, The Sword, Elder, Panopticon, Horrific Citadel, and just way too many to name. This interview would turn into the size of a thesaurus if I did! [laughs]