Musica Cthulhiana: Fragment

Composer: Götz Müller-Dürholt
Publisher: Musica Cthulhiana

Review by: kafka

At the outset, I would like to extend a grateful note of appreciation to the composer - Götz Müller-Dürholt who was kind enough to send me a complementary copy of the Deluxe Limited Edition 2 CD set for the purpose of this review.

In recent times there have been a waft of composers (Nox Arcana, Midnight Syndicate, James Semple, Sonic Soundscapes, Allicorn, Alex Otterlei and of course - Musica Cthulhiana) that have taken inspiration from their own tabletop games and put it to music. The outcome is usually fantastic both in terms of complex orchestration and familiar tropes.

Fragment by Musica Cthulhiana is just such an offspring. It is available in three formats: a Deluxe Limited Edition 2 CD set (reviewed here), a 20 track downloadable album (€11.99) and 5 tracks on Musica Cthulhiana's web site for free. The downloadable album is also on the iTunes and Zune catalogues.

The music on Fragment is neoclassical dark ambient with elements of bleak and doom laden jazz. It is wonderfully appropriate to the Call of Cthulhu RPG or similar dark and foreboding game. The whole album is composed on synthesisers but one can hardly detect that fact save in the seamless transitions. It is very much in the similar mode of aphex twin or a Lustmord, save, that it does have the jarring Metal interludes.

Fragment easily seeps into one's stream of consciousness through gentle unassuming and discreet sound. Its genius lies in a more insidious and terrifying way for what they have done is insert a number of small ambient musical cues into the flow whether it is the beat of a heart or weirdly sounding screeches. The effect is unnerving and unsettling as these almost organic textures haunt you while you listen and long after you put away the music. The pacing is neither slow nor rapid but dreamlike descending to the depths of a shared nightmare. Favourites of mine would be: Madness, 13:37, Deep Orbit Anvil, Omnium Void, Avril Noir (Exposition) and The Bell Fragment.

Nevertheless, the great novelty this album offers is that is perfectly suited to creating the right mood for Call of Cthulhu or Kult RPG – combined with dimmed lights. With the music not there to scare your players but just add to a spooky vibe you are trying to create. In addition, another interesting innovation is that the tracks do not follow a firm musical narrative/journey which has in turn its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that one can mix up the track and it is not necessary to play them in any said order. Indeed, the album is composed in such a way that the endings tie-in nicely with the beginning of any other and, players will not feel railroaded by the music. The big disadvantage is that, even in a game like Cthulhu (usually at the beginning long before everyone either dies or goes insane) there are moments of whimsy and frivolity but this album will not have any truck or trade with this idea. Throughout, the music remains to a dark and doom laden abode.

What would one use album the for? It is very much an album used to create atmosphere, to be played in the background. Segments and certain tracks might be used as clues but unfortunately the pieces are a bit too long to be used as scene changers or clues (James Semple's Eternal Lies Suite is good start in this direction).

Notwithstanding, there is always a danger that one might have a group non-musical players – hence all clues are wasted. Hopefully, Musica Cthulhiana will remedy that with next release but given that it has been seven years since their last release – a new album – however desirable will not be on the horizon for some time. This is clearly a labour of love and the carefulness and thoughtfulness that the composer put into each piece shows it.

Although, the music has Call of Cthulhu on its radar – almost any darkish game could use this music with suitable modification and additions. It would be perfect for the Ghost Stations of Maschine Zeit, Bug hunts in Traveller, tracking a serial killer from the Crime Scene RPG, and of course, Ravenloft.

What is the future of gaming and music? I think we are likely to see a proliferation of more albums like this as gaming takes on more multimedia aspects. We are on the cusp of something new & exciting – and Musica Cthulhiana is paving the way forward.

Style: 8 tentacles of 8
Substance: 8 tentacles of 8