Twenty-three-year-old Spencer Brown grew up tapping out uneven rhythms on his knees long before he knew what a blast beat was.
When he was eight, his parents took him to a local music studio to test out a few instruments.
“I messed around on guitar and drums, but I kind of always knew. I was like, ‘this is my thing,’” said Brown.
Video: Wach Indigo Ice perform their jagged mathcore rhythms
Soon after, he received an electronic drum kit for his birthday, and “the rest was history.”
Although music was always his passion, Brown did not initially pursue it during his time at university.
He was studying political science before realizing the program was not what he truly wanted.
“The thing I’m actually really passionate about is music,” he said. “Even if I am broke and begging down the line, at least I’ll be happy doing what I want to do.”
Brown later switched to the music program at the University of Calgary, where his formal training exposed him to genres he rarely plays today.
Even so, he says the experience has helped shape his drumming style.
“Having done lots of classical stuff and lots of jazz stuff has really broadened my horizons,” Brown said. “That experience has infiltrated into my own drumming style… I lift stuff from other genres that I’ve studied over time, and it seeps into what I play.”
Building Indigo Ice
Those influences now run through Indigo Ice, the mathcore band Brown formed with guitarist Mike James after the two bonded over a shared interest in progressive metal in high school.
The connection began in the school band room.
“I kept playing along with some Periphery stuff,” Brown recalls. “Mike heard me playing a song of theirs and recognized it… We had a little bro moment.”
The two quickly became friends and later formed Indigo Ice, eventually adding a third member and vocalist, Cliff Aubut, to complete the group.
Their sound leans into mathcore, a niche blend of hardcore and metal built on odd time signatures, jagged rhythms and deliberate chaos, a style that lets Brown bring his more “mathy” ideas to life.
Brown hopes Indigo Ice’s new EP, No Closure, will help the band reach more people in Calgary’s music scene and beyond.
He and his bandmates are already talking about plans for a short tour through Western Canada.
“I’d say it’s the most proud I’ve ever been of anything,” he said.
James credits Brown’s drumming for elevating the EP.
“I give him a lot of freedom, and he adds a lot to these songs, especially on No Closure,” he said. “Spencer’s parts really transformed every song in a way that I could never think of. He’s got quite the creative mind as well.”
Balancing the grind
Building a band has required more than musical talent. Brown also juggles a busy schedule outside of performing.
He studies full-time, teaches drum lessons several nights a week and works part-time at a climbing gym.
“Yeah, it sounds like a lot… But I think, as busy as I am, realistically, I’m either talking [about music] or playing,” he said.
His passions even clash physically.
“Climbing, you’re very prone to injury,” he said. “I tore a muscle in my hand… it was the first time I had to be like, oh, this could actually impact my drumming.”
Sara Donnelly, Brown’s girlfriend, first spotted his passion when she saw him perform with Indigo Ice at a local rock show.
“Spencer is completely enthralled by music; it moves him, it fuels him,” she said.
Looking ahead
Despite the demanding schedule, Brown said it rarely feels overwhelming because most of his work revolves around things he enjoys.
“Everything’s either music or climbing related,” Brown said. “I sometimes have to zoom out and be like, okay, it’s not that bad.”
Looking ahead, his goal stays simple: keep playing and keep pushing his band forward, one small show at a time.
“It’s not about success or anything, it’s about the music,” Brown said. “So just make what you want to make, be you.”