This track started with a small section of a very large environmental sample featuring the sounds of an arctic vessel’s engine idling along with the sounds of occasional cracking ice in the background.

The original 10-hour idling ship and cracking ice track (not my own) is available on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/gpW7iYfuGDU.

I am a little OCD this way, but after a bit of research I’m fairly certain the ship is a Norwegian Research and Expedition Vessel named the RV Lance (http://www.npolar.no/en/about-us/stations-vessels/lance)

I’ve also always had a strong fascination with the radio sounds, particularly short-wave radio. For some reason, I’ve been compelled to combine the two in this track. Before the age of the internet, I always found shortwave radio a remedy for feelings of isolation; a way to connect with the larger world if you will. In this sense, it’s meant to act as a counterpoint to the isolation (of a ship in the arctic). Some additional complimentary elements have been added, but I’ve found that there is an minimalist energy in what’s going on that seems to naturally reject anything superfluous.

The track photo is from the RV Lance’s website and is taken by Sebastian Gerland / Norwegian Polar Institute