In past episodes, we’ve talked with Kiran Gandhi aka Madame Gandhi about turning Antarctic glacier recordings into popular music and Arctic Ascent star Dr. Heidi Sevestre about glacier research and science communication. Today we’re bringing those two areas together with environmental composer Konstantine Vlasis, who is studying the sound of glaciers in Iceland as a means to diagnosis planetary health and making music with what he records.

As you’ll hear in this episode, Konstantine is a super smart dude. In addition to being a Leifur Eiriksson Fellow and Fulbright-NSF Arctic Research Fellow, he is a Fulbright-National Geographic Award recipient and National Geographic Explorer. Although I am not sure how many National Geographic Explorers have ever made musical instruments out of trees.

In this episode, we talk about his research and music, how he made his way from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Iceland, and music as a medium for science communication. I've included in the show notes two videos we discuss - 2124 and A Song for Lost Trees - that are both absolute must watches.

As Konstantine points out in the end of the episode, we're in a moment in time when certain political leaders are trying to sew division and actively suppress both scientific and artistic progress, particularly when it comes to climate change. Now is actually the best time to forge new alliances and blur the lines with new collaborations across art and science.

Links

2124

A Song for Lost Trees

Konstantine Vlasis Website

Konstantine Vlasis on Instagram