Album: Algida Bellezza
Artist: Netherworld
Label: Glacial Movements
Catalogue no: GM039
Tracklist:
1. Vulpes
Lagopus
2. Somniosus
Microcephalus
3. Orcinus
Orca
4. Monodon
Monoceros
5. Ursus
Maritimus
Alessandro Tedeschi’s
Glacial Movements label has been around quite a while now, and in this latest
release it’s Alessandro’s own turn to shine under the spotlight. And, as the
label name suggests, it’s entirely devoted to releasing ambient music of the
cold and isolationist variety, music as a soundtrack to Arctic and Antarctic
expeditions. Let’s face it, many of us must have wondered what it would be like
to visit either of the coldest regions on earth. Additionally, both the Arctic
and Antarctic continents have appeared in popular culture (Superman’s Fortress
of Solitude, Lovecraft’s ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ to name but two) and
also in conspiracy theory (the hollow earth theory for one, the place insideour
planet where all kinds of weirdnesses abound and having its entrance in the
polar regions…). There’s no denying that it has captured the imaginations of a
great many people throughout history.
But let us not forget
that both Polar Circles are home to an array of purely earth-based animals, and
this album concentrates on those living within the Arctic. They are: Arctic Fox
(Vulpes Lagopus), Greenland Shark (Somniosus Microcephalus), Killer Whale
(Orcinus Orca), Narwhal (Monodon Monoceros), and Polar Bear (Ursus Maritimus). And
it would be as well to remember that, as robust and as implacable as both
continents appear to the untrained eye, these creatures live within an
extremely delicate and fragile environment, and it is this that makes them
precious. Over and above that, Alessandro was inspired to record this album by
something equally precious, delicate, and fragile – the birth of his daughter,
who he would often cradle in his arm whilst recording.
What delights, then, does
Algida Bellezza (which is Italian for
‘icy beauty’) hold for the listener? Beginning with ‘Vulpes Lagopus’, the
stunning Arctic Fox notable for its pure white fur, we are immediately greeted
with wispy ethereal tones, a cold but gentle wind whipping up little flurries
of snow. In the snowfield is a small mound, a noticeable bulge in an otherwise
flat landscape. We may be tempted to move on, thinking it just another oddity
in an odd land, but to our surprise the mound moves, and up pops the face of an
Arctic Fox, whose slumbers we’ve just disturbed. It eyes us with disdain, and
then gets up and trots off, until it disappears, a white shape on a white
background, an astonishingly beautiful animal merging into an equally
gloriously stunning landscape. The little fox is as ethereal as its
surroundings, and its presence seems as ephemeral as a snowflake’s.
‘Somniosus
Microcephalus’, the Greenland Shark, is a member of the sleeper shark family,
and is also the longest-living vertebrate known (in fact, females are only
sexually mature when they grow longer than 13 feet, which scientists believe
takes 150 years to achieve). In Netherworld’s mini-bestiary it is described via
ghostly whistles that start off just on the verge of audibility before gaining
in strength, becoming a slow-moving howl that is perhaps descriptive of the
creature itself. The shark’s life is a slow one, lasting for up to 400 years,
swimming endlessly in the frigid waters of the Arctic. Nevertheless, the icy
sweep of the drones here also describe a species of majesty, a kind of
imperious movement befitting a creature that outlives many of the species it
shares its environment with. ‘Orcinus Orca’ is also slow, but deeply imbued
with a sense of mystery. Killer whales have been studied extensively, yet there
are still many things that remain elusive about them. Cold tones combined with
a crawling deep bass framework floating just below the surface somehow captures
the essence of these highly sociable but predatory creatures. There’s even a
sense of drama unfolding, as if a pod has been caught in the act of hunting,
which they do cooperatively. Above all, we get the idea that, in spite of their
looks, they are efficient hunters, and that it would be wise to avoid them.
‘Monodon Monoceros’ (Narwhals)
seem to appear right out of some medieval bestiary, a creature of myth and
legend whose horn gave rise to the legend of the unicorn. They’re curious creatures
to be sure, but also possessed of a profound mystery, a biological curio that
somehow defies the natural order of things. Netherworld’s rendering appears to
reach out to us from some deep distance in time, perhaps to the youth of the
world, with gentle, plangent tones, almost human in nature. It sets the hairs
on the back of your neck to standing up, while a deep, deep rumbling can be
heard, and felt, from time to time. This is deep time indeed, or so it seems,
as well as a message from the depths of the ocean. Sonorous, magisterial, and
deeply magical.
Finally, we get to ‘Ursus
Maritimus’, the polar bear, perhaps the most iconic Arctic species of all, and
also the one animal most associated with the fragile state of its habitat due
to climate concerns. It is as much of a ghost these days as the ethereal Arctic
Fox is that I mentioned above. It is majestic, a visible symbol of survival in
a harsh climate, a fighter, and the creature that most people would recognise.
The track itself is a beautiful aurorae of harmonics and shifting percussive
shuffles, moving precariously just like the floating islets of sea ice the
bears use to get around and hunt. One can imagine a bear sniffing the breeze,
or staring up at the twinkly lights above, or gazing at the strange dancing
lights as the chords float and drift. It’s a solitary existence, here at the
end of the world, but it means a measure of freedom, which the animal innately
understands even it can’t articulate it to itself.
One of the strongest
things I got from listening to this, apart from revelling in the beauty of
these far-flung lands, is that out of sight, out of mind. These creatures, this
album seemed to be telling me, are living on borrowed time, but because we
don’t see them (unless it’s on a TV screen) we forget about their plight. But
it’s the very achingly beautiful vistas presented by these five pieces that
should remind us that, while we live within four comfortable, warm walls, these
wonderful and exotic creatures are perhaps heading for extinction, and once
gone they’ll be gone for good. It’s sobering to think that even while I am
sitting here typing these words, half a world away, there might be a polar bear
wondering when (or if) it’s going to get its next meal. Behind the staggering
beauty lies a sobering reality.
Available from October 18th,
it can be pre-ordered as a limited run CD in an edition of 300 from the Glacial
Movements website:
or from their Bandcamp
page (where there’s an ongoing special offer to get two Netherworld CDs for a
special price):
Psymon Marshall 2019.
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