This month we released “Dragon of the Vale”, a fantasy song written for the game “Dragon’s Vale”, a dragon survival game that took an unexpected turn. Let’s dive get straight into it!
The Hatching of a Dragon
The video above is what sparked my interest to get in touch with Kato, the creator of the game. To me, he came across (and turned out to be) a very chill guy with a dream. I got the right vibes from the way he talked about his big plans to create this game and how he organized his thoughts and turned this process into progress. He seemed level headed and ambitious, with the right amount of daring thrown into the mix to actually stand the chance to pull this off!
Since the game was in such early development, I figured it might be the right time to connect and see where things were at, behind the screens. With fantasy being one of my favourite genres and dragons being such a core element of it, not to mention my love for survival games, I wanted to offer Kato my services as an artist for free. That way, I could contribute to his dreams by creating part of the soundtrack for the game and who knew; maybe it would even become the theme song of the title screen!
The talks went well. It took several weeks for me to get started due to the many other projects I had going on, but eventually I was able to draw up some general ideas for him to pick through and select. They were conceptualized versions of songs and general themes that I could write about.
I had these three ideas:
- A very cute song about wondrous dragons that turns very dark with the extermination of entire populations, telling the history of the people.
- Describing where dragons are, what they do, including words like wind and fire, forests and mountains, as a warning to the young children.
- A tale of a specific named hero that kills a specific dragon that is known for something specific, as if everybody knows the tale and it’s put into song.
The Dragon Takes Wing
The idea that eventually crystalized into this song was a mix of the first two. It is mostly a song about where you may find dragons and a warning to young children, but it is also about the history and culture of the people who live in areas where dragons roam. It is about their constant struggle for survival and having to leave their homes behind. In that sense, this fantasy song has a way of touching very closely onto contemporary topics of migration and war.
It was now time to get started! Five of us got together to make this dream song a reality. Tom de Munck helped me with the mix and recording process. Merrigan got on board for vocals, as did Alexander Isembard. Ellyn Storm helped with creating an incredible combination of many different instruments, arranging them around the composition I had written.
So, I wrote some chords, I wrote the lyrics, and it was time to start recording. I recorded the base of the song with my acoustic guitar and baritone guitar, set out a clear info sheet about who was to sing which parts, and directed the first artist to start singing!
A Dragon’s Rumble
While we started our recording and planning with the three other artists, a new video launched from Kato’s YouTube channel. In the video, Kato explains how the world of game development is wrought with dangers, mostly in the shape of scammers. Since you must hire people online and contracts are not standard, some people take advantage of this wild-west atmosphere. They promise great things, but fail to deliver, asking for more time. The moment you set a boundary and demand action or put up a hard deadline, they snap back at you.
While Kato was facing trouble with fraudulent coders and devs, we merrily got on with the recording of our song. The first to send me their recordings was Merrigan, whose Finnish ancestry left her with a magical voice, which she used to sing the second verse and the choruses. It is our first collaboration together and if it’s up to me it’ll definitely not be the last!
The verse I intended for her turned out to fit so well with her voice! My fiancée Eline (whose feedback I value dearly) praised her singing voice as well and was very happy to hear me collaborate with such an artist who is able to bring that fantasy aspect straight into the fabric of the song.
Next up was Alexander Isembard from Isembard’s Wheel who used his voice to give the song an almost Simon & Garfunkel twist, a dynamic that Tom used to create a moment of peace in the middle of the song at verse 3. Always a delight to work with Alex and the creativity he brings to the table!
Alex and I have done quite some collaborations already and the future definitely holds some more, since our paths in life aren’t too dissimilar, nor is our style of music, nor even our social ideals for that matter.
Dragonfire!
At this point, devastating news arrived in the shape of another YouTube video by Kato.
The plug was being pulled on the game. It was not a hard cut, but rather; the game was being shelved. The scammers had drawn Kato’s wallet dry and there were simply no funds left to continue working on the game. The ambitious plans had failed… For now.
The game is put on hold, but that doesn’t mean it’ll never see the light of day. It is of course a pity when things do not go according to plan or expectation, but I’ve learned that patience is key. The long breath, the dragon’s breath, will always win out over those who desire a quick fix.
I am entirely sure that Kato will meet the right people in the future. Maybe next month, maybe in 10 years, but there will come a time when he will pick this dragon game back up. Not because he has to, or feels forced to, but because he feels happy to do so. The time will be right, one day.
For us, this news did not break our spirits. Yes, the song’s goal was to land itself in this game, but the song would still exist without the game. In fact, for the process and eventual resulting product, nothing had really changed. The song wouldn’t have a different shape because of this news. Realizing this, we got to work with fresh vigor!
Soaring in the Wind
With renewed energy and after being graduated (Congratulations Ellyn!!!) our third artist Ellyn Storm got to work with a myriad of instruments. Some of them weren’t even in my distributor’s list of possible instruments to tag. A fault entirely of the distributor, of course.
Every collab with Ellyn turns into something magical and I am so grateful she agreed to work with us on this song. With her instruments lifting the song to another level, Tom got to work to mix it all in and how PROUD I am of these artists all together on the resulting song that rolled out of our five person factory!
The Dragon’s ROAR!
So here it is, Dragon of the Vale, by Bart the Bard, Ellyn Storm, Isembard’s Wheel, & Merrigan! Through scholarly challenges, dragon’s fire, and long distances between us, we pulled it off. The Dragon of the Vale will forever fly upon the winds of song.
I would be happy to hear your thoughts about the song, so I hope you’ll give this one a listen! If you decide to share your thoughts online, do tag me so I can read about them or reach out and contact me if you feel like sharing your experience with me personally.
Songs are experienced entirely differently from one person to the next. There is some kind of magic in there. I value such connections between the artist and the audience incredibly much, which is why I enjoy live gigs so much! So don’t be a stranger if you feel like reaching out 🙂
LYRICS
In lands where dragons of auld still reside
People they know what it’s like to know strife
Never quite safe and they’re never quite home
When dragons come, then again they must roam
“Fire! Fire!” The people rang out
The voice of the mem’ry grows ever so loud
Left our homes running with nowhere to go
Except in the hills ‘neath a sun all aglow
When the bright day, it is lit by the sun
Beware of the dragon, for it is not done
The air smells of flowers, the birds sing aloud
The dragon is flying, the sun’s blotted out
“Fire! Fire!” The people rang out
The voice of the mem’ry grows ever so loud
Left our homes running with nowhere to go
Except in the forests where wild rivers flow
The glade in the woods is known to all men
Trees there, once parted, ne’er grew back again
Without all the boughs you can look to the sky
But stars disappear when the dragon draws nigh
“Fire! Fire!” The people rang out
The voice of the mem’ry grows ever so loud
Left our homes running with nowhere to go
Except for the mountains everlasting snow
It was a long climb and at last we arrive
Clouds create heaven, but we’re still alive
Numerous caves give shelter from the storm
But dragons loved caves since before we were born
“Fire! Fire!” The people rang out
The voice of the mem’ry grows ever so loud
Left our homes running with nowhere to go…
CREDITS
Isembard’s Wheel – Vocals
Merrigan – Vocals
Ellyn Storm – Bass Guitar, Low Whistle, Kabak, Bagpipes, Mandolin, Lyre, Tambourine, Strings
Bart Mesman – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Baritone Guitar
Ellyn Storm – Composition / Arrangement
Bart Mesman – Composition & Lyrics
Tom de Munck – Mix & Master
Bart the Bard 