Moonworshipper Records
It all started with the ”Astral Folklore” tape by Blood Tower. A beautiful yellow cassette with some equally beautiful and mesmerizing tunes on. Investigations to find out more led Hinsides to the vast Mid-West and a small independent label with a big heart and a taste for anything dark, creepy, noisey or evil.
Meet Bill; founder of Moonworshipper Records and a highly active musician in the D.I.Y scene of Omaha, Nebraska:
Mr MWR himself!
Hello there, and welcome to the misty and moonlit realms of Hinsides Mag! Please give yourself and your label a suitable description and explain how the two of you relate to each other?
Hello! Thanks so much for asking me to do this interview, I really appreciate your interest in the label. I’m usually pretty bad at these things but I’ll give it my best shot…
My name is Bill, and I’m a lifelong metalhead and musician from Omaha, Nebraska. Drums are my primary instrument and I play in the hardcore band Bib. Along with that, I have the duties of vocals and guitar in the black metal band Vulthoom, and I play percussion in another band called Potpourri. Some other projects of mine include Blood Tower, Satanic Abortion, Arapaima, Hallucination and a few others here and there. Moonworshipper Records is a black metal and electronics label that I technically started back in 2011, but didn’t really take seriously until about 2014. Around that time, the ”dungeon synth revival” was taking place and I began working with a couple different artists of the genre, which also led me to start my own project under the moniker Blood Tower. Since then, dungeon synth and dark ambient has somewhat dominated the catalog, though I still regularly release black metal, noise and even some neofolk.
Are there anyone else involved in the works of MWR besides you, and if so; who are they and how would you describe your way of working together?
Jake Dunwoody and myself were the two individuals behind the label once it started gaining momentum in 2015/2016. Jake was also the artist behind the project Effluvium, which debuted on Moonworshipper in 2016. He was involved in a variety of other projects as well, and the two of us colllaborated on music quite often. He tragically passed away earlier this year in a motorcycle accident. Since then, I’ve been running the show myself, though I’ve always had a wonderful collective of folks behind the scenes, assisting me with j-card layouts, mixing & mastering and a variety of other things.
Can you recall when, where and how the idea behind MWR came to life? It would also be interesting to know the story behind the name? Are you a moon-worshipper more than a sun-denier?
Haha, truthfully it was just a name I thought sounded cool. I am a bit of an insomniac and do a lot of my production work during the nocturnal hours, though I suppose that’s more coincidental than anything. The ”moon man” logo is based off a doodle I once did that was suppose to be some sort of demented sandman or boogeyman. I will say that the majority of the material released on Moonworshipper is defintinely meant to be listened to once the sun goes down.
Someone once said to me ”Moonworshipper is nocturnal music for nocturnal people,” which I honestly think sums of the overall theme pretty well, haha.
Where did the inspirational flame came from? Are there any particular sources of inspiration to what you do with MWR?
I’d say most of the inspiration has come from my love of black metal and dark ambient over the years. I started making ”dungeon synth” back in 2005 under the name Kongerike (at the time, I think I would’ve called it ”pagan ambient” or something like that), and I guess I just never lost the itch. As I said, Moonworshipper started primarily as a black metal label, and I’ve always considered true dungeon synth to be a subgenre of that. I discovered my love for DIY toward the end of my teens, and use to bootleg myself cassettes and CDs of stuff that I couldn’t get my hands on. I eventually learned the fundamentals of producing cassettes of my own music, and the rest is history.
The “Astral Folklore” -tape together with some nice looking pins.
Would you like to share some thoughts about the current ”boom” and renaissance of the cassette format? Is it just a easy way to cash in on a cheap retro-gimmick and release untalented crap that would not make it on a regular record company, or what´s the deal to you? What´s the worst and best aspects of running a business dealing with tapes?
Cassettes have always been a staple format in underground music, and over the years I’ve acquired quite a collection. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed listening to cassettes, and they are extremely durable and ideal for trading. I’m sure plenty of labels cash in on the retro-gimmick aspect, but I can honestly say cassettes have just been a primary format I’ve dealt with throughout most of my life. Moonworshipper is a DIY label, and I can push out releases the fastest on tape. And at the end of the day, all I really care about is releasing the tunes in one way or another. At $6 for a Moonworshipper tape, I’m certainly not ”cashing in” on anything. I have also tapped into the CD format recently, and I’m not at all opposed to doing a vinyl release somewhere down the line. I would say the WORST aspect of dealing in tapes is maintaining my duplicator, as they can be extremely finicky. It would be cool to invest in a lathe someday and do my own vinyl releases, but it’s just simply not in the cards at the moment.
How would you describe the musical direction of MWR and are there any obvious criteria that has to be fulfilled to caught your interest as something worth putting out through your specific monicker?
As I mentioned before, Moonworshipper is primarily a black metal and electronics label, but I’ll release anything that I think is good. The electronics side of things has ranged from techno to death industrial, as well as the obvious dark ambient and dungeon synth. The catalog is extensive though, and I’ve even done punk, country, war metal and grind releases over the years. I don’t feel pressure to maintain a certain overall standard; if something is dark, creepy, noisey or evil, I’m generally interested. I like to think I’m a pretty accessible person and I try to give a proper listen to all the submissions I receive, regardless of their designated genre.
To what extent do you consider MWR to be an outlet for your own creativity as a musician? Please tell us something about the projects that you are responsible for at MWR and what separates them from each other in terms of sound and concept?
I would say it is a primary outlet for my own creativity, as I’m involved in numerous projects associated with the label. Really, it just comes down to the fact that I like to play by my own rules, and releasing my own music on my own label is fundamental in doing so. I’ve enjoyed working with dozens of labels over the years, and I still do. It’s just easier for me to release a new project of mine on my own instead of trying to sell the concept to someone else. As far as the differences in my own projects, I personally think they all have independent sounds and concepts. For example, Blood Tower is dungeon synth, Arapaima is neofolk, Hallucination is dark ambient, Vulthoom is black metal, and so on and so forth. I’m definitely not hiding behind multiple DS monikers or something, and generally speaking I prefer to put out other peoples music rather than my own. Moonworshipper is just a great outlet for me when I’m experimenting with something new, and I would much rather have a flop on my own dime rather than someone elses.
Jake Dunwoody and Bill after an Effluvium set.
Is it difficult to find the required time to involve yourself as much as you like in both the label and your own music? Do you have any kind of strategy to make it work the way you ultimately want it to, or do you just go with the flow?
Mostly I just go with the flow. I still work a full time job, as Moonworshipper is by no means a source of income. I organize a release schedule about three times a year and just check my boxes as I go along, but sometimes there will be changes or hiccups. Generally speaking, things move pretty smoothly, and it certainly never interfers with my time spent making my own music. If anything, it inspires me to keep it up!
In the first issue of Hinsides Mag, the rise of Dungeon Synth as a phenomenon were debated with some of the participants. How would you describe your personal understanding and approach to this genre today, and how do you look upon the future development? Are there any future grammy award winning artist dwelling in the D.S community you think?
I’ve always felt dungeon synth was just a subgenre of black metal. You have the obvious foundational artists like Lailheb and Depressive Silence and such, but I also think the intros/outros/interludes of 90s and early 2000s black metal are essential to the contemporary development of the genre. However, I do feel like the modern idea of ”dungeon synth” has become a convoluted blend of fantasy ambient, medieval folk and video game music, and I don’t really recognize the genre the same way I once did. I don’t mean to speak negatively on the current dungeon synth output, because I think there are still some great artists currently releasing music. However, I don’t really follow it the same way I did a couple years ago with the initial ”rebirth” of the scene . For example, when I hear some super well-produced ochestral release with no raw or creepy factors at all I think, ”this is cool, but it’s certainly not dungeon synth.” Yet it seems to be the general consensus of the fans that anything ambient or medieval sounding falls under the DS umbrella. And don’t get me wrong, I think it’s cool that people are interested in the music and have found an outlet to explore their interpretation and understanding of the genre. It’s just simply not for me.
Your label presentation at Bandcamp tells that MWR resides in Omaha, Nebraska. How would you describe the place and culture around you? Are there anything that you imagine would stand out as alien to someone unfamiliar with the conditions of Omaka?
Haha, not much really stands out around here. I like living here, and at one time there was a thriving DIY punk scene, but for the most part it has diminished. My friends and I still play music and before COVID I was touring pretty regularly. There have also been many noteable music events that have taken place in Omaha over the years, including multiple dungeon synth gigs, going as far back as 2014. Jake Dunwoody was actually a primary orchestrator of those, and preformed Effluvium live frequently (as well as completing multiple US tours). But as I’ve said, a lot of people have since lost enthusiasm or moved away. The rest of us who continue to have musical output generally tour regulary (pre-COVID) or are studio musicians. As far as everyday life in Nebraska, it’s pretty laid-back. I’m a big fisherman and we’ve got some good fishing spots that I frequent. There’s lots of prarie and forest as well, which inevitably offers inspiration now and again. I’m a recovering alcoholic so I don’t really go out on the town much anymore, though there was a time when Jake and I would do a lot of our Moon-business at the local wine bar, La Buvette. Not much else to say about dear ol’ Omaha, but I have no plans to leave any time soon.
Bill writing MWR at Jake’s memorial
Ok, then; Thanx a lot for your great answer and good luck with both the fishing and the label!
- Thanks again for reaching out to do this interview, I hope my answers were somewhat insightful. Eternal cheers!
You´ve just read an excerpt from a longer interview that Hinsides Magazine did with Bill to be featured in the next issue. The first issue can be ordered here: