Permafrost; or, Ice, Ice, Dante
Nov 13, 2020, 04:26 PM
Caina created by Midmight.
"To quote the Longfellow translation of Canto 32 (Caïna: Traitors to Kindred), “ ’Tis no enterprise to take in jest, to sketch the bottom of all the universe.” Like Dante, I called on the Muses to help compose “rhymes both rough and stridulous . . . appropriate to the dismal hole” that is the Ninth Circle. I was inspired by Dante’s choice of this hell circle as a place of brutal cold—instead of the typical burning fire—for the worst of the worst sinners.
"As Dante walks on thick ice, he at first doesn’t see the thousands of traitors’ bodies frozen up to their necks, their heads sticking out, eyes crying, teeth chattering, “shivering in the eternal shade”—much as how family turmoil can be hidden under the surface. But once he does, the scene turns savage, with Dante spotting brothers, fathers, nephews, who have killed their own family members. So in the midst of this frigid, deathly scene, and this piece, are harsh rhythms and flashes of raging unfrozen hearts, whether hatred or even memories of familial love.
"The ice stores and reflects and emits a feedback loop of the betrayals and ties passed down through generations and amassed in a violent collective history.
"I used field recordings (from San Francisco, Naoshima, and wintry Buffalo, NY), a MicoKorg, Sirkuit SNB, Jomox Resonator Neuronium, 4ms Noise Swash, and BugBrand PT Delay to create the icy hellscape."
"To quote the Longfellow translation of Canto 32 (Caïna: Traitors to Kindred), “ ’Tis no enterprise to take in jest, to sketch the bottom of all the universe.” Like Dante, I called on the Muses to help compose “rhymes both rough and stridulous . . . appropriate to the dismal hole” that is the Ninth Circle. I was inspired by Dante’s choice of this hell circle as a place of brutal cold—instead of the typical burning fire—for the worst of the worst sinners.
"As Dante walks on thick ice, he at first doesn’t see the thousands of traitors’ bodies frozen up to their necks, their heads sticking out, eyes crying, teeth chattering, “shivering in the eternal shade”—much as how family turmoil can be hidden under the surface. But once he does, the scene turns savage, with Dante spotting brothers, fathers, nephews, who have killed their own family members. So in the midst of this frigid, deathly scene, and this piece, are harsh rhythms and flashes of raging unfrozen hearts, whether hatred or even memories of familial love.
"The ice stores and reflects and emits a feedback loop of the betrayals and ties passed down through generations and amassed in a violent collective history.
"I used field recordings (from San Francisco, Naoshima, and wintry Buffalo, NY), a MicoKorg, Sirkuit SNB, Jomox Resonator Neuronium, 4ms Noise Swash, and BugBrand PT Delay to create the icy hellscape."
Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno