Skhemty is a dungeon synth project of John Lordswood who, in addition to performing under perhaps a dozen different names, is also the man behind the Ancient King Records label. As dungeon synth has evolved a number of different styles have emerged, from the more standard dark ambient, pastoral, and sword-and-sorcery takes to things like comfy synth, winter synth ,and even the absurdist food synth. But Skhemty may stand unique in that its inspirations come not from European-style fantasy (or hot dogs) but instead from the desert sands of ancient Egypt.1
When asked about why he combined Egyptian mythology and dungeon synth in an interview with Deadly Illness zine (#9) last year, Lordswood spoke of his grandmother. “Since childhood, my grandmother often told me about her travels to Egypt, her house is wonderfully decorated with the souvenirs she brought back from her journeys,” he explained. “Most of the inspirations I have had visually have been through my grandmother’s old books with photographs and other treasures.”
It’s difficult to say something “sounds like Egypt”, but Sunrise On The Old Kingdom does indeed deliver. In part this is due to the instrument selection; the strings having a lyre- and sitar-like quality playing scales associated with northern Africa, or at the very least what we in the West have been led to believe are the sounds of northern Africa by films. The percussion too stays away from standard patterns, the beats sometimes far away, other times bouncing off the stone walls of a large temple and creating a feeling of space. There’s a dreaminess here, a sense of wonder and discovery with perhaps just a hint of danger lurking in the shadows.
Sunrise On The Old Kingdom has been released on all the main physical formats over the past few years. Originally out on cassette and CD, in 2024 it was pressed to vinyl. I have been listening on the limited edition (of 50) cassette from 2022, which comes in a burlap pouch with a patch, incense, a small Ra medallion, and a metal pharaoh head charm on the drawstring – a fun piece of packaging. The vinyl is in an edition of 200 and is currently available at the Ancient King Records Bandcamp page HERE. You can also stream the album, as well as the follow-up Hidden Treasures Of Egypt (2024) on Spotify, so go give it a listen.
- Though Lordswood was in an early Egypt-inspired dungeon synth project along with Thomas ElixiR back in 2017 called Anubis. They put out one album called Cradle Of Civilization. ↩︎