It is hardly the latest of the latest news as the event took place a few years ago, but we have learned about it only very recently and we think it is worth sharing with all the drum maniacs out there.
A group of drummers have caused quite a stir on YouTube thanks to a video of them performing their own percussion composition using the ice surface which covers the waters of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. In 20 degrees below 0 Celsius, they accidentally discovered that the ice on the lake has its own characteristic sound.
‘I felt like we were playing on the drums that Nature has left for us. We were alone under the sun on the frozen waters of one of the world’s most magnificent lakes‘ – said Natalya Vlasevskaya, Irkutsk-based architect and organizer of the Etnobit percussion group.
Lake Baikal is the deepest and the oldest in the world, and it freezes every winter. The group of musicians used the lake’s frozen waves to make a composition, however, they realised Lake Baikal’s musical potential only after one of them tripped and fell on the ice.
‘I will always remember the first feeling‘ – said Natalya. ‘You see your hand touching the ice, you hear the sound, but your mind just can’t take it in. You cannot believe that this beautiful clear sound is indeed produced by ice.’
Etnobit is supposed to have been accused of faking the ‘icy’ melody.
‘Some people with musical education say that it was all made up, which is not true. I understand why not everyone could believe it was for real. When I first realised Baikal’s musical potential I remember the feeling on overwhelming excitement and joy, but also disbelief.’
The video was shot on the frozen waters near the island of Olkhon. As it turns out, the sound is different in different spots on the lake.
‘People asked us how we found the spot where different bits of ice sounded so much in harmony with each other. I don’t know. This is just how it was. […] All we had to do was to discover that place, get there, and start playing. Everything else was ready.‘
Source: The Siberian Times
