ARCTIC SOUNDS
ARCTIC SOUNDS TO BE HEARD WORLDWIDE
CHRISTOPHER BARRETT
Greenland ’ s Arctic Sounds festival is not only a unique platform that unites indigenous talent with overseas artists in remarkable ways , it is also at the heart of a project designed to inspire young people to take action to mitigate climate change
Some 75km north of the arctic circle , framed by icy sea and rugged snowshrouded mountains , the tiny , stunningly remote and beautiful Greenlandic settlement of Sisimuit is an extreme and extremely unlikely spot for an international music festival .
Greenland ’ s second largest ‘ city ’, Sisimuit has a tiny population made up of 5,500 people , and some 1,200 husky dogs that reside in an area on the outskirts the locals call ‘ dog town ’. With the temperature regularly dropping to -15C in spring , and with no roads to link Sisimiut to anywhere else , it takes a tough and resilient spirit to live there let alone launch a festival .
Taking place over the Easter weekend , the Arctic Sounds festival attracts artists from across Europe and beyond , despite Greenland only being serviced by direct flights from Copenhagen and Reykjavik . The opening show of this year ’ s festival illustrated just how unique an event Arctic Sounds is . In the Taseralik culture centre , located on the bank of a frozen lake , four artists took to the stage fresh from a five-day dog sledding trip from the town of Kangerlussuaq , some 130 km away across the arctic tundra . The performance consisted of songs written during , and inspired by , the artists ’ journey through the frozen arctic wilderness , which involved sleeping in remote wooden huts .
To ensure the performance was a raw reflection of the emotions experienced on the expedition , the artists were asked to perform the freshly written material live on stage before they even had a chance to
28 accessaa . co . uk