Mixing Ice: DJ Spooky's Musical Portraits of the Arctic and Antarctic

• Main Author: Philpott, C
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Palgrave Macmillan 2020
• Subjects: Creative Arts and Writing; Music; Musicology and ethnomusicology; Antarctic; Arctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47388-4_4; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/111773

In recent decades, increasing numbers of professional composers, musiciansand sound artists from diverse national and cultural backgroundshave turned their attention towards the polar regions to gain inspirationfor new creative works. This trend can be attributed to several factors,including the celebration of centenaries of Heroic-Era expeditions, therise in media reporting about environmental changes in the polar regionsand the implications for global climate processes, the increased dialogueabout these places within literature and the arts, and the greater opportunitiesfor artists to physically visit them through tourist cruises/flights andarts residency programs. While some composers, musicians and soundartists have focused their attention on one of the polar icescapes, ratherthan both, collectively their work reflects on the uniqueness and importance of the polar regions, the history of human presence withinthem, and the influences of these places on the spaces in between.