He seems like any other musician. One of Europe’s most accomplished and innovative percussionists, Terje Isungset is an experienced jazz musician and percussionist with roots in Norwegian and Scandinavian music. But what sets him apart from the rest of the music community is his passion to work on natural elements – the most notable of which is ice. Popularly called the ice musician, Terje has taken music to the next level by creating compelling music using wood, stones, granite and ice.
Creating atmospheric music from ice drums, ice horns and even an iceophone, the Norwegian musician creates unique timbres and colours. “The instruments are custom-carved for each performance and every concert presents a unique challenge,” he says on the phone from from Norway. With nine albums in his belt, Terje is currently working on another album. On visiting India, Terje says he plans to come during the winter. “I have visited India, but this time I will perform. One of the things I am looking forward to is to hear the sound of the ice from the Indian mountains up north. I also deeply love Indian music.” Looking back at his journey, Terje says: “When I was a small kid I was hitting drums naturally. I was eight years old when I got my first drum kit and I started to play with my father. I went on to play for a range of bands and other events. In my mid-20s, I started to work with new sounds and tried to be innovative. It’s been a long and fun journey.”
He discovered ice music in 1999 when he was asked to compose music for a concert to be held under a waterfall. “Being a drummer, I decided to use some elements from the waterfall itself and decided to try ice. I found it so amazingly beautiful – both visually and aurally that it was love at first sound. The next winter I made the world’s first recording of ice music.”
Explaining the intricacies of working with the solid water instrument, Terje says ice sounds different when taken from different places. “On the albums I am recording now, I have recorded with ice from the North Pole, the Arctic, the Greenland glaciers, from Canada and the Alps – all of them sound different. Each time I play, it is a new sound.” Since no one has done it before, I try to bring my own signature to each performance and I learn something new every time.”
He points out that he has to listen to his instrument. “Instead of me deciding how it is going to sound. The instrument decides how I play. Each instrument is custom-carved for each performance so just like Indian traditional music, there is scope for a lot of improvisations.”
Looking ahead, he says he sees music as an ongoing process. “I believe in art by accident. I try to put my own signature in my expression within the music. I try to be more open minded. I hope when I come to India I will be able to go in another direction. I am also looking at more unique collaborations in the future.”
He gives one advice to other musicians. “I believe every human being is unique. If you have ideas, you should follow them. You need to work on your music, at the same time you have to trust in yourself and see if there is something no one else has tried. If you manage to become unique, people will ask you to come and perform.”
