A response to Disquiet Junto prompt 0679, which was an invitation to record a glass with an ice cube and make something of it. 

I had several competing ideas for this week's response, but nothing that jumped out as The Idea. So I decided to start with the ice. I submerged a waterproof contact mic in about an inch of water in a drinking glass, then recorded the fall of ice cubes from a dispenser into the glass. I made multiple recordings to avoid having to loop samples in the piece. 

I noticed that due to the the ice machine's inner workings, the fall of the cubes from the dispenser felt like the cadence of walking through heavy snow and ice— then the idea was born. 

For those who are not Lovecraft fans, "At the Mountains of Madness" tells the story of Antarctic explorers who uncover the remains of an ancient alien civilization— with some horrifying remnants left behind. This became the inspiration. I built the song in multiple acts, following the intrepid seekers as they explore the ruins rising from the snow and ice, ending in a frantic and deadly encounter, and finally silence-- save for the howling wind and the strange, unearthly whistles and pipings echoing amongst the icy peaks.

Features synthesizers, synthetic instruments, ice samples, and field recordings from a shortwave radio. The blowing wind sample is from the BBC sound archive. Cover photo courtesy of NASA.

More on the 679th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Ice Age — The Assignment: Record the sound of ice in a glass and make something with it — at https://disquiet.com/0679/

At the Mountains of Madness (disquiet0679)

I create original electronic, postpunk, and experiential music from my studio in Chicago. The Hard Times described my work as "creepy, haunted, but also a little bit uplifting." Prolific.

New tracks tagged #disquietjuno