Performing on the front line of climate change
ARCTIC SOUNDS take a shower . “ We ’ re not smelling great , I advise you to keep your distance ,” laughed Manchester-based rapper OneDa before delivering the first piece . She was joined by Swedish multi-instrumentalist Lucky Lo , local guitarist and songwriter Hans-Ole , and award-winning Faroese musician and composer Teitur .
The result was an emotionally charged and ultimately euphoric set made up of songs delivered direct from the heart . Over the following four days , the festival saw around 50 performances across 12 venues , along with a show on the edge of the Aqqutikitsoq glacier that required audience members to make a 40km journey by snowmobile .
With the event team ’ s focus being on encouraging creativity and artist development , Arctic Sounds also included a youth program that involved bringing 140 talented children from Iceland , Norway , Denmark , Greenland and Nunavut together for a week of workshops and cocreation leading up to the festival .
The driving force behind Arctic Sounds is Jacob Froberg , who founded the festival 10 years ago . Having run a recording studio in Denmark , and been a touring musician , Froberg came to Greenland in 2006 to start a music school .
He says , “ We started doing monthly open stage events at the culture centre and in time the local kids got better at performing . We wanted to inspire them further and enable them to experience a different kind of live music scene from beyond Sisimiut . So , I started talking to people about creating a music festival here . At first we considered doing a metal festival because there were so many local metal bands , but a metal festival is hard to stage because there ' s so much production involved .”
Arctic Sounds was born on the back of a song writing camp , with everyone from the bar staff to the sound technicians being volunteers . Since then , the event has not only attracted major international talent but played a huge role in progressing local artists .
“ It ' s been crucial for everyone involved ,” says Froberg . “ We try to get all the overseas artists to come for 10 days and take part in collaborative projects , workshops and master classes , so that they work with and build networks with other artists . Among the many offshoot projects was Arctic Assembly , which saw songwriters record an album in Nuuk .” With the event being not-for-profit , there ’ s limited funding available to throw at artist fees . All acts , no matter where they appear on the Arctic Sounds bill , receive the same fee . Despite the limited remuneration , Froberg says Arctic Sounds has built a very positive reputation among international acts .
“ We work a lot with what we call the uniqueness factor , which involves us offering truly unique experiences such as glacier trips , snowmobiling and dog sledding ,” he says . “ The festival is as much for the artists as it is for the audience , and so artists feel well treated here . They often want to return , and they encourage others to play here .
“ What I am most proud of is the impact the festival has had on local artists and the young people here who as a result have seen that there are job and education opportunities in the live music industry . That didn ' t happen before Arctic Sounds .”
Performing on the front line of climate change
An ever-apparent aspect of life in Greenland is the impact climate change is having on the environment . “ It is very obvious here , especially the glaciers and the permafrost ,” says Froberg . “ If you ' re in any doubt whether climate change exists , come here , look around , and you won ' t be in doubt anymore .”
The whole of Sisimiut and therefore Arctic Sounds , is powered by a nearby hydroelectric power plant , and Froberg says sustainability is a key focus across the running of the event . However , with no roads linking towns in Greenland , one
Greenlandic rapper Tarrak
“ WE WORK A LOT WITH WHAT WE CALL THE UNIQUENESS FACTOR .”
– JACOB FROBERG
of the obvious issues is that it is not just overseas attendees and artists that are required to fly to the event .
“ The alternative to travelling by plane here is that we isolate ourselves completely or we move away from Greenland but that would exterminate Greenlandic culture . Greenlanders have been forcefully relocated by colonisers in the past , and that has been disastrous ,” says Froberg .
In order to raise awareness of , and illustrate , the impact climate change is having in Greenland , Arctic Sounds has partnered with Ruth Daniel at the In Place of War charity and its EarthSonic initiative .
Daniel explains that EarthSonic is a global project created with the aim of telling the story of climate change through music . To enable that , her team is working with indigenous communities , musicians , cultural organisers , scientists , climate activists and experts .
She says the project aims to distil complicated data and reach young accessaa . co . uk 29