- The basic idea is to play on local ice, and then give it back to the nature. The instruments that I use are not mine, but they rather belong to the nature, Isungset explains.
The experienced artist is excited before his first-ever concert in Turkey, where he will perform in the ice museum Magic Ice. Going to the south of Europe he had been hoping for a milder climate, but has to realize the winter has come to Istanbul as well.
- I suppose it will be cold, the artist laughs.
100 % drinkable
It all started with a commissioned work to the Frozen Waterfall Festival in the Norwegian city Lillehammer in 1999. Having used elements from the nature in his music for many years already, Isungset now for the first time also used elements from the frozen river to create music. Since then he has continued to use instruments made of ice, resulting in six albums and a number of concerts in both Scandinavia and other countries like Germany, Japan and China.
Even if it in principle would be possible to use some of the instruments over again, new instruments of ice are normally made for each new concert.
- Everything is 100 % recyclable and drinkable, Isungset explains.
Because surreal as it sounds, it is perfectly possible to drink the ice from the instruments after the concert. In fact the audience has had a taste of the instruments in their drinks after Isungset’s concerts before.
Magical surroundings
- When we first were to have a concert, this is definitely it, says Norwegian entrepreneur Odd Roar Olsen.
He runs the ice museum Magic Ice in Istanbul, which was opened in April 2010. With a freezing temperature of minus five degrees and surrounded by sculptures made of ice, the museum is definitely the perfect location for the upcoming ice concert.
- This will be something completely different. A totally new experience for me, Olsen admits.
Visitors don’t need to be worried about the cold, however, as special clothing is assigned at the entrance.
Cold beauty
Isungset experienced that many people in the south of Europe have a negative relation to cold, maybe because they haven’t experienced the beauty of the winter. This is different in the North, where people are used to living with the cold in the winter time.
- I love the winter. It is so beautiful and quiet, the artist says.
He describes his own music as relatively quiet and at times even meditative. People coming to the concert will have a unique experience of the sound of ice and the winter.
Olsen from Magic Ice encourages people to expose themselves to a new experience, in order to widen their own horizon. And he is sure that the audience won’t be disappointed:
- This will be something truly unusual and an experience of a lifetime, he concludes.
There will be held three concerts, each about 30 minutes long and starting at 7, 8 and 9 PM on Decembr 17. For tickets, call Magic Ice on 0212 640 0440. Also read about Terje Isungset’s ice music, the Magic Ice museum, and the Ice Music Festival in Geilo.
Bjørn Isungset with one of his ice instruments - 100 % recycable and drinkable. Photo: Bjørn Furuseth