DreamReaper interview

Artist: DreamReaper
From: Phoenix, Arizona 
Latest release: DreamReaper EP
Label: self released
Bandcamp: http://dreamreapermusic.bandcamp.com




I came across DreamReaper while scouring Bandcamp and the immediacy of the sound grabbed me straight away. This is hard and fast synth rock which never lets up, while keeping the melodies and dynamics interesting all the way through. It's a winner! As with Vulta before, DreamReaper uses some great distorted riffs to keep the head banging.

This is the kind of synthwave which should appeal to a lot of rock/metal fans, but whereas Vulta's smouldering atmosphere has more of a doomy foreboding feeling at times, the DreamReaper EP keeps the ferocity going at full throttle from start to finish, like hanging on to the steering wheel by your bare knuckles in some desperate car chase. The occasional movie quote makes this high-steaks tension even more apparent. Before you know it you are hitting repeat to remain in the vortex of chunky riffage and frantic arpeggios.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with the DreamReaper himself and ask a few questions for this exclusive interview!

01. Hi! Who are you and what musical endeavors have you been involved in before DreamReaper?

My name is Troy and I currently live in Phoenix. I've been making music of some sort for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure I've made music in every electronic genre at this point. Also I was in a punk band, we were the best.

02. Why did you start DreamReaper and where's the name come from?

I've been listening to synthwave since Drive. I made a few of the Miami-palm-tree-summery-type tracks but never really tried seriously until I heard Carpenter Brut at which point I knew I wanted to be a shitty Carpenter Brut ripoff.

I actually have a really hard time coming up with names and sat on these tracks for awhile before coming up with the name DreamReaper. It doesn't mean anything I just thought it sounded cool.

03. What Synthwave artists influence you, and what other music styles?

I listen to all kinds of different stuff but my main influence for this project is definitely Carpenter Brut. There's a lot of talent in this scene, he's the best by far if you ask me. Besides that, Perturbator, Dan Terminus, Justice, Uppermost.

04. Any particular movies/books and other art forms important to your sound?

I do read a lot and watch movies, but I'm not sure how much they influence my music. I read the Prophet of Silicon Valley recently, it's about Sequential Circuits. I'd really recommend it if you're into nerdy synth stuff. Dave Smith is a G.

05. How do you go about composing a DreamReaper track?

Usually I just hit random white keys until something sounds good.

06. How do you achieve the great distortion in your riffs and what hardware/software do you like to use in general?

I use Ableton for my DAW and Sylenth1, TAL Elek7ro, and Korg Legacy M1 for most of my sounds. The distortion is made by turning random knobs in Ohmicide until it sounds like the speakers are splitting open. I have a few hardware synths but they are only to impress women that visit my apartment.

Troy debut's his GosT remix for this interview, and here it is!



07. How did your remix of GosT’s “Through Thine Eyes” happen.

His new album came out around the same time I was trying to think of something to remix. Seemed like a good idea. It's unofficial, hopefully he doesn't hate it. I think I'll do more remixes in the future, this one was fun.

08. How was your track ”Terminal” picked for the game “Slick: Rough Justice”.

I think it's just in the trailer, but they just asked and I said yes. I'm always down for things like that. So if you're reading this, don't be afraid to hit me up!

09. What are your plans for DreamReaper and will you play live?

No current plans to play live but shout-out to The Grid in Mesa (AZ), they're doin' it right.New EP is coming very soon. Definitely by the end of the year, but hopefully much sooner than that.

10. Anything else you'd like to say to sign off?

I'm gonna try and start doing that whole social media thing more so find me there and expect a lot more DreamReaper in 2017. Big thanks to Rich for featuring me on Synthallica!

Thanks Troy! Check out DreamReaper on Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Facebook.

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