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Photo: Peter Beste

03/18/2026

Fernmage - The OMN Interview

By MATT HANSEN // Eugene's fantasy synth wizard, Fernmage, will play Woodland Fortress Fest in Pe Ell, Washington this September 

Fernmage is a mysterious figure in the world of fantasy music. He's cloaked in foliage and makes tunes reminiscent of playing Zelda in your childhood. Fernmage is that a benevolent robed figure that you might encounter in the PNW forest offering you a cassette zine or coloring book. Drawing on the power of nature and imagination, he reminds us that true magic is all around us in the plant life growing at our heels. 

We were very fortunate to speak to Fernmage ahead of his appearance at Woodland Fortess to discuss playing outside, team ups, and his creative process.  

Oregon Music News: Ferns are plants that have been around since pre-history, and have seen so much over time. What was the catalyst to choosing that particular plant as your identity?

FernMage: I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, on the east side of the Cascades. It’s not very ferny over there. It was a real revelation to spend a lot of time outside as a kid, exploring the east side of the Cascades, and then to get over to the west side and realize it was a completely different microclimate. And learning how common ferns are on this side of the Cascades and not on the other side as much made it an attractive symbol.

OMN: You’re going to play Woodland Fortress Fest in the fall which takes place in the forest. A lot of table top gaming really does imbue a kind of magic to the forest. What are some things you experienced about the forest growing up that still holds magic for you?

FM: I grew up in a super-duper small community in North Central Washington real close to the boarder with Canada. It’s adjacent to a fairly large confederated Native American reservation. And I think that most of the community there is pretty outdoors focused, there’s a lot of agriculture and farming which inherently means being outdoors. Camping was a thing that people looked forward to so they could get off work for the weekend and whip up into the hills and be outside. It seemed like the goal for most people was “How can I cut out of the thing I’m doing to just go be outside?” I think that’s where started it for me. And joining things like Scouts, we had a really great Scout leader when I was kid who was a Norwegian guy. He spent a lot of time on the edge “rolling his own cigarettes.” The only things we did in Boy Scouts until I was pretty well into my teens were hike around in the foothills of the Cascades and play Magic cards. It was like a hiking club but when you get to where you are going you rip a few Magic card games.

Wizards of the Coast is a Washington company so I think a lot of the smaller groups of people I was spending time with were pretty into fantasy role-playing. The place that you would go to have a fantasy gaming experience was literally outside. I think those two things became very tide into each other. When I started to be able to drive, the weekend draw was still to drive out into the woods and camp out with your mountain bike.

And then there was a time when I had a job working in Anacortes, and I would drive from the east side of the Cascades to Anacortes over Highway 20. It’s super hard to explain how immersive the North Cascades are when you are up there. There’s just not geological features in other parts of Washington like there are way out in the wilderness like that, the fact that there is even a road that goes through there. It’s like the first time you drive down the coast on the 101, you’re like “Holy fuck, who even put a road here?” And I think the immensity of the North Cascades really matches the immensity of what you can accomplish when you use your imagination. There’s no bounds to it, and both of them seem like an edgeless world. Like you could go until you’re done and there is still more imagination, there’s still more you can fantasy escapism with, and same with being out in the woods.

OMN: What is it like now to make a musical reflection of that limitless forest environment and then perform that fantasy-like music in the forest? Is that the full culmination of things for you?

FM: That’s the zenith, that’s fucking s-tier. Last year I was really curious about playing Fernmage music live, it wasn’t something I had really intended. I found the dungeon synth world in 2020, just like a lot of people because of Covid. And it just seemed like something you can do by yourself, you don’t need anybody’s permission. And in my art career what I do is collaboration based. It’s like me and a client teaming up with some client ideas and my skill set and we put both of those things together. There is a lot of junctures in my art world where I get to a crossroads and it’s time for a decision. And I’m either going to take this lane or that lane; in that moment I don’t have to make a decision. I get to refer to the person that I’m working with to say “Which road would you take?” And then I take that road and continue my process.

That’s really fun because you get to go down roads you normally wouldn’t chose to go down. Sometimes it’s like you don’t get to choose the easy one, you’re like “Should I do this, or maybe this?” and that collaborator is like “Fuck, definitely the second one!” And you figure it out and it helps you grow as an artist. Making music by yourself is freeing but it’s also scary in a way. When you get to those junctures where you have to decide “Do I do this or do I do that?” there’s nobody to refer to, and you have to choose for yourself. Which I think ends up with a more unique to yourself piece of art, but also a little more vulnerable because you don’t team up on the project. It’s just you and all your decisions.

That’s fun and freeing, and music is like the other side of the coin compared to the thing that I do professionally. And so, in that process I’m getting to choose my own thing, and do it my own way. I spent a lot of time before I had this art career trying to play in bands and play music. And I had the opportunity to live in a recording studio for a couple years when I was in my 20s and kind of get familiar with music theory and how the music writing process goes. And because I am a person who has a pension for wanting to team up with people, I would end up in bands where there is 15 people in the band. And it’s fun and there is like a million instruments, everyone is having a good time, but it’s like herding cats. It’s limiting because if you want to do something everybody else has to be onboard, or someone’s feelings are going to get disregarded.

And so, it was kind of fun to try to do music by myself when I came back to it. I never really intended to do it live, I just wanted to poke around in my bedroom in my spare time. When the idea of playing it live came about, it was exciting to find out “Are people really doing this?” I played in a horror punk band when I was like 20. And a horror punk band playing a Halloween show in like a dingy dive bar, you feel like you’re right in the place you should be. Playing a dingy dive bar and dressing up like a wizard and playing your keyboard, it doesn’t do the same thing. Sure, it’s maybe got the dungeon thing going on, but I’m not really playing dungeon synth. I’m playing fantasy-adventure synth and asking the people listening to engage in a little fantasy escapism. I think that has to do with the costume too, I’m dressed like a big shrub in a wizard costume. There’s an anonymity to it, and people love plants but you don’t pay attention to every single plant you walk past? So being dressed up like the background is sort of like I’m asking the audience to immerse themselves in what it means to really be with those sounds. I think this year I’m only going to play outside. I think Fernmage is an exclusively outside project. If it’s going to be done live, it’s best displayed in the element that I’m using as a foundation for the fantasy escapism that comes from that.

OMN: If Fernmage could team up with any fictional character to play with or make music, who would it be?

FM: I think as far as a fantasy character or a fantasy world, ideally it would be the fantasy characters that the people in the fantasy synth world create. I think I aspire to be connected with my peers. I’m inspired by classic fantasy, and so obviously all of Tolkien’s world is really attractive to me. I also like newer goofy stuff like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I wasn’t really into the anime, but I’ve been really impressed with the One Piece stuff lately. It feels like the characters in that are like the old He-Man characters where they rolled a few dice and came up with ‘Pig man robot.’ And they roll another dice and they’re like “And he has a spear gun.” And I think that stuff is really fun.

If I had to pick one thing to interact with it would probably be something in Tolkien’s world, but I’m apprehensive to do that because there is so much stuff in the fantasy world that we know now that is inspired and even copy/pasted from. I don’t think I have anything new to add to that, but the idea that I could team up with a peer and we could collaborate those ideas to make a whole new thing that is clearly a reflection of ideas that have come before, I think that would be the most attractive.

OMN: Do you play as your Fernmage character when you play RPGs?

FM: You can play as me in a game I just made. It’s called HEDGEMAZE. I usually don’t play as myself but I think the Fernmage character is an extension of who I think the best version of myself is. It’s like person who always picks up litter.

OMN: He’s a steward of the forest.

FM: Yeah, and always has a strong opposition to tyrannical forces, to oppression or inequality. I think there is something wildly resilient about ferns.

OMN: They’ve seen dinosaurs turn to bones…

FM: And sprung back stronger than ever! I think that that type of resiliency comes from things like having patients. The best versions of ourselves are probably people that are a little more patient and are willing to listen and be present.

OMN: Anything you want to say to those who will be attending Woodland Fortress in September?

FM: Some of my absolute favorite musically creative people are going to be there this year. There are people on the bill who have never even played live before and have been making dungeon synth for a decade or more. Red Hawk Avalon is such a beautiful property, the people in charge are very kind, and thoughtful of the environment. Bring something to barter and your smile. Everyone is camped with each other and it doesn’t feel like you are showing up to an event, it feels like you are showing up to participate. I think feeling less impressed and more involved is a way for all of us to feel more connected with the communities that we’re actually wanting to participate in.

There’s a level of ‘giving a shit’ that you have to have in order to organize this thing and it is crazy that the people who put this on have that echelon of giving a shit just built in. Very excited for this year.

SHOW ALERT: Fernmage, Orcus, Foglord, Sombre Arcane, Woodland Spells, Bergtatt, Hermit Knight, Meadowgoat, Moss Helm + More TBA at Red Hawk Avalon Friday Sept. 5-7, 2026. (Tickets) 

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