THE SONG OF THE ICE
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Katerina Godunoff in The Wee Review`
‘ … a science-first performance about the wonders of Antarctica. … both an educational and engaging slideshow of photos, paintings, graphs and maps, accompanied by Steve Garrett’s commentary guitar pieces … if science classes in school were like this, there would be many more scientists in this day and age … apart from demystifying the science, the slideshow is visually striking … the show reaches all its objectives: it educates, it entertains and it sparks your curiosity. The Song of the Ice is a stellar demonstration of connecting music and science that offers a meaningful opportunity to slow down’
★ ★ ★ ★
Jim Gilchrist in The Scotsman
‘ Steve Garrett is the proverbial lad o' pairts - geologist, jazz guitarist, producer, photographer and watercolourist … makes for a salutary hour's experience. To a final glowing sequence of photographs and paintings, his closing guitar piece, Polar Farewell, chimes wistfully. "Peace and tranquillity can still be found there," he declares, "and that is the song of the ice," while having charted all too clearly the immense environmental changes there and their implications.’
★ ★ ★ ★
Roshni Ray in EdFringe Review
‘ … successfully combines polar science with music, sharing with us an emotional understanding of climate change … haunting and successfully restores a sense of wonder about our earth …It sounds outlandish, looking at a carbon data graph and thinking you could work it out on your guitar, but Garrett makes it work wonderfully while also getting across the rapid and alarming pace of the change … shows us that you can approach science with sensitivity and creativity’
Amelia Sikora in EdFringe Review
‘ For Garrett, and for many other climate artists, deep time has been a central concept that permeates the cultural conscience … Earth’s history having stretched across billions of years, beyond the existence of humanity … he was quick to realise that storytelling and human connection is what keeps an audience engaged, rather than the simple presentation of cold facts … a space for communal reflection to form a shared understanding of the planet beyond the paralysing sense of doom that tantalises the public conscience. The Song of Ice incentivises action in a manner unlike any I’ve encountered before. Best of all, it inspires hope.’
★ ★ ★
Edden El-Hasharar in EdFringe Review
' … weaving personal narrative, live original compositions, and projected images into a single unbroken flow. Nothing here fees rushed or overstuffed … enthusiasm seeps through every creative flourish … rare combination of skills … would not be out of place at a modern art gallery, nor a science museum … a personal and thoughtfully constructed piece, illuminating and unique in equal measure’
★ ★ ★
Lucy Ribchester in The List
‘ Gentle beauty … hearty and comforting … a show for inquisitive minds and gentle souls, with an uplifting message of hope at the end.’
A personal response to Antarctic exploration, Earth history and climate change informed by Steve's Antarctic experiences in the 1980s and 2020s. How did the continent and ice sheet form, and how is it changing?
Stunning new music, leading-edge science, animation and imagery, developed in collaboration with British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists.
As featured at Sound Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, UK Antarctic Science Conference, British Antarctic Survey, University of St Andrews Energy Ethics Conference, Korean Arctic Academy, Geological Society of London and Aboyne & Deeside Festival.
Learn more about its creation here, read about its continuing evolution here and watch it here.
