Interview: Vitalith

Photo of Vitalith

Growing up as a teenager in the 90s and early 2000s, I discovered artists through visiting record stores and perusing aisle after aisle of new releases. Oh yeah. And MySpace. Despite the obvious financial downside for some artists in today’s streaming landscape, it’s impossible to miss the massive benefit of how wide a reach artists can have through streaming services, social media, Bandcamp, and the like. Dungeon synth is one such genre that has greatly benefited from having these formats to share music digitally. 

As someone who loves to find new music, I am so glad I stumbled upon Vitalith, a dungeon synth project hailing out of the magical land of Iowa. It is calming music for a weary soul, destined to bring vitality and refreshment. Yes, there’s a play on words there. Any album cover that has a cross-stitched aesthetic immediately wins points for being a compelling and distinct concept.

I’m honored to share with you this interview with the artist behind Vitalith. We talk about their inspiration, the projects they are working on, and who they are beyond the synth.

Thanks for joining Blacforje! It’s an honor to have you! You’re based out of Iowa, correct?

Yes, I’ve been living out here since 2020, the same year I got into making dungeon synth and adjacent music!

You recently released your first album, A Short Walk Home, under the name Vitalith. Your Bandcamp page lists you as Silene. So, do you have multiple projects, and Vitalith is just one of them? 

A Short Walk Home is the first release under the Vitalith name, but it is not my first ever project. This Bandcamp page is where I plan to release all my dungeon synth and adjacent projects in the future. I decided to condense them to one page, as managing multiple Bandcamp pages proved to be more of a headache than I was willing to deal with. Before Vitalith, I had two main projects: the more fantasy-focused, Here Be Dragons, and the comfy synth project, Mushtoons.  

For fans already familiar with your album, it’s impossible to not admire the album artwork. The cross-stitched appearance is so very cool. What inspired that?

Thank you! I was inspired by a sampler from the 19th century I found when looking for public domain images for the cover of my second release under Here Be Dragons. The “cozy” aesthetic didn’t fit with the style of HBD, so I started working on new music, which eventually became my first release as Vitalith. 

What inspired you to write this album and start Vitalith?

Depression. The name Vitalith is simply “vitality”- with an “h” instead of the “y”- and that was what I was lacking at the time I recorded the music for A Short Walk Home. I wanted to make something that would be comforting to hear but still came from an honest place. Here Be Dragons and Mushtoons felt too limiting as concepts, so I came up with the name Vitalith to encompass all my future music regardless of the individual release’s themes. A lot of what I make falls on the “comfier” side of this genre, but a trudge through some fairly dark dungeons is typical when writing for any and all of my projects - even Mushtoons. 

What got you into dungeon synth and fantasy music?

Starting a dungeon synth label actually got me into dungeon synth. Brandon Loper (Tomb Wizard) and I started Taste of Beer Records in early 2021. He showed me Oduthar The Wizard by Meadow Grove. I instantly became a fan of dungeon synth, and soon after, we released that album as our first tape. Helping to run the label only deepened my appreciation of all dungeon synth’s sub-genres due to the extensive digging through the Bandcamp genre tags necessary to find projects we were interested in putting to tape. Eventually, we even delved into DIY tape production with our other label, Witchlike Dungeons. Both labels are sort of on hiatus now, as we both balance life and making our own music with all the duties of operating the labels.

I also have to give some credit to Blood Incantation for my interest in ambient music more generally. As a genre, I didn’t find ambient or many of its sub-genres all that interesting until I heard Paul Reidl’s ambient projects and, later, Blood Incantation’s Timewave Zero. 

Photo of Vitalith

Do you have ideas for your next project, or are you going to sit back and enjoy this one before starting something new?

I would like to post another album sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, I can lose motivation easily when it comes to making music (or really doing anything), so I jump around between projects more than I’d like to admit. I have a second Vitalith release in the works with the music almost ready and the art not far behind. The second Here Be Dragons release is all but finished, as well. Like many others who make music, I struggle with sharing finished work because I revisit my past projects and wish I had done something differently, whether in the album art or the music itself, before I committed to sharing it.

I am truly surprised by and appreciate the positive response A Short Walk Home has received. I never thought I would get a tape release or have anyone want to interview me about this album! I can’t thank everyone enough for their support.

As an individual, are you spiritual in nature? Do you have a philosophical or spiritual worldview that influences your art?

I would say that I’m spiritual in the way middle-aged people seem to become once they realize how old they’re getting. That is to say, not really, but I find it interesting! Would you believe I majored in Religious Studies? I grew up Catholic in the American South, and much of my perception of myself is influenced by my experience in the church in that specific region of the U.S., so my art is inextricably linked to it. The culture does, in fact, cast a long shadow. Just recently, I took a road trip to my mom’s house on the Gulf Coast and was surprised by the number of 100-foot-tall crosses on the roadside. It looked like episode 26 of Neon Genesis Evangelion. 

On another note, the concept of saints has always been interesting to me. I don’t like the idea of purgatory or eternal damnation (who does?). However, I do believe in people and miracles. Saints embody the aspects of religion that I find necessary to live a fulfilling life such as selfless service to those in need and unwavering devotion to a good cause. Or maybe I just watched Saint Maud too many times.

Outside of music, who are you? What are some of your passions?

I’m literally just some guy. I make dungeon synth for myself and maybe 50 people, so that probably goes without saying. I’m a reclusive person who likes to do anything I can do alone. Possibly, because of that, music is my main hobby. Not much in life interests me as much as making and listening to music. 

Last question: Can you cross-stitch the Blacforje logo for me? I think it needs an upgrade.

Digitally, yes! With actual thread, probably not. My IRL sewing/stitching skills are limited to attaching small patches and, unfortunately, that’s about it.

You can follow Vitalith on Bandcamp.