Glåsbird - Antarctica (2023)

With this album, Glåsbird's 'A Sonic Expedition' draws to its close. It began at the North Pole, in the frozen waters of the Arctic Ocean and it ends at the South Pole, on the world's least populated continent; the ice-capped desolate grandeur that is Antarctica. It had been suspected that this land existed long before it had been discovered and many had died in their pursuit to find it. Some may even have died as a consequence of accidentally discovering it, through detoured voyages striking into glaciers.

The music here in Antarctica returns to Modern Classical, as the artist comes full circle. Echoes of 2019's debut album set in Greenland can be felt in places, as soaring violin and cello collide. However, these 8 tracks gather up the compositional and technical learning throughout the series, as Glåsbird looks forward to the challenges of the future.

The photography in this album is from Oceanographer Neha Ramsarup, who traveled on the South African polar vessel SA Agulhas II, deploying instruments and collecting seawater samples along the voyage from Cape Town (South Africa) to South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE IV). These trips are joined by a range of marine scientists, whose keen interests lie in ocean properties such as sea ice and weather as well as mammals, birds, whales and penguins who call these polar regions home.

This series of 8 albums has been a world of discovery for this anonymous composer, as their work etches into sound the hours of inspiration drawn from vintage maps, documentaries, Google Earth explorations and countless articles. Along the way, a familiar theme threads through the work as at every turn, Glåsbird's studies led to the events of climate change. The devastating effects are real, with melting glaciers, rising seas, disintegrating ice caps, wild fires, war and warming seas unintentionally finding their way into the concepts of this series.

As a clear juxtaposition to this, the sheer beauty of our world is also uncovered, with the work of visual artists helping bring this to life through the album covers and packaging imagery. There's an enormity and poignant feel to the music too, as melancholy classical notes extend through an eerie chill, or sun-bleached tapes explore hidden islands and tropical climes. The natural beauty of our world can be felt throughout this collection alongside a sense of despair too, at its apparent demise. Humans are doing what they can to build a momentum of awareness on our tired old planet, through education and urgency. It is hoped through this series that it can add to this movement somehow even if in a small way, to build a sense of care for our planet.