CD
Electronic / Dungeon Synth / Ambient / Fantasy Ambient
Mystery of the Trees
- Label:
- Dagdy Music · Sventh 011
- Label:
- Abstract Emotions · AE 038
- Release date:
- 10/9/2021
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About the release
„Misterium Drzew” („Mystery of the Trees”) was originally intended to become the immediate successor to the 1997 demo „Prophecies of Sorrow”. Although initially planned for release around 1999, various circumstances delayed the project until 2021, when it finally appeared on both CD and cassette. The album consists of seven thematically connected compositions, including the title track, previously known from the original demo cassette, and „Zmierzch Bogów Słowiańskich”, which also appeared on the debut album by Nirnaeth. With the exception of the opening piece, all compositions date from the years 1995–1998; the closing track was originally written in the late 1990s and rearranged in 2020. The entire album was reconstructed from the original source files, newly recorded and remastered during 2020–2021. The author describes the music presented on this release as slavic ambient / dungeon synth.
Artist: Smŕtan
Smŕtan was founded in 1995 in Cieszyn, Poland, as the solo project of Piotr Wójcik, the creator of Nirnaeth. From the outset, it focused on instrumental electronic music, building atmosphere through synthesizer sounds and expansive, melodic compositions. The early recordings represented a style now known as dungeon synth, although the term was not yet in use in the mid-1990s. The first full-length recording, “Whispers of Slavonic Forests”, was made in the winter of 1995/1996. Almost an hour of music was recorded using only a Roland E-16 keyboard and a Roland MC-500 hardware sequencer. The recordings remained unreleased at the time, and the loss of the tape prevented the album’s release for many years. In spring 1997, Smŕtan recorded “Prophecies of Sorrow”, a more overtly electronic work featuring compositions written in 1996-1997. It was released in June 1997 through Piotr’s own label, Dagdy Music, as a split cassette with Sammach, in an edition of 500 copies. Alongside this, further compositions explored Slavic themes and drew inspiration from nature. Following this initial period of activity, Smŕtan fell silent for many years. In 2020, alongside the revival of Nirnaeth, Piotr also returned to making music as Smŕtan. The first step was to reconstruct old compositions from MIDI files preserved on floppy disks, including pieces from “Whispers…”, whose original audio recordings were still missing at the time. Material originally composed in 1995-1998 was recorded anew and supplemented with two new tracks. The result was “Mystery of the Trees”, released in September 2021 digitally, on CD and on cassette. The album set the direction for the project’s subsequent work, centred on Slavic ambient and pagan dungeon synth. The same month also saw the release of “R'lyeh” under the separate name Smŕtan’s Shoggoth. Originally recorded in 1999 and restored more than two decades later, the material presented a considerably darker side of Piotr’s work, rooted in dark ambient and inspired by the world of H. P. Lovecraft. In 2023, the tape containing “Whispers of Slavonic Forests” was rediscovered. This made it possible to digitally restore Smŕtan’s first recording and release it in digital form in November 2025, almost thirty years after it was recorded. The album’s first CD edition will be released in November 2026 through Rariti.es. In autumn 2026, Smŕtan began performing live. Following a performance in his hometown of Cieszyn, the project appeared at the fourth edition of Dark Dungeon Festival in Anthisnes, Belgium, on 10 October. Alongside older compositions, the concerts featured pieces from the new material. A further performance is scheduled for 7 November in Prague, as part of the third Prague edition of Kryptozpyt. Smŕtan is currently preparing the release of “Pomarlisko”, the first album since the 1990s to consist entirely of new compositions. The material continues the project’s exploration of Slavic themes and inspiration from nature, combining atmospheric electronic music with the melodic sensibility characteristic of Piotr’s work.
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