Konstantine Vlasis
on Environmental Composing and Icelandic Glacial Morphology
“In 1912, in the Little Ice Age, a mother sings an Icelandic lullaby:
í jöklinum hljóða dauðadjúpar sprungur - in the glacier, death-deep cracks rumble.
This shows how musical melody and sonic descriptors evidence glacial morphology, and foreground the act of listening as a texture of everyday life. There is an inseparable legacy between nature and culture as both mother and ice resonate prescient stories of love and loss.”
Today, glaciers melt at unprecedented rates, but Konstantine brings to life the lesser-known significance of Icelandic traditional music to glaciological knowledge. He is making sound and listening more significant than ever to how we experience environmental change, showing how Icelandic folk melodies have meaningfully shaped the human ecology of glaciers for centuries.
Konstantine Vlasis’s fascination with Iceland originated from his master’s thesis, focusing on the emergence of Icelandic musical traditions. Inspired by the sounds of Sigur Rós and the timeless poetry of Icelandic rímur, he became a fascinating mix of musical passion, talent and curiosity. He is an environmental composer, audio storyteller, Leifur Eiríksson Foundation Fellow, Fulbright-NSF Arctic Research Fellow, a performing member of APEX Percussion and a National Geographic Explorer.
To Konstantine, music is the most profound form of climate communication and environmental storytelling: “Sound, music, and listening remain my leading methods for research and engagement.” In “Listening With Glaciers: The Sounds and Songs of a Melting Landscape”, he coins the concept of “ecological aurality” as one’s auditory experience of changing landscapes, climates, or ecological relationships. His latest creation, “When Glaciers Sing,” is an immersive audio experience that captures the sounds of melting glaciers and ancient songs, encouraging the past to dance with the present.
Exploring took him to wondrous corners of the planet: “Do you feel as if you give part of yourself to places you travel and live? I feel that way. I think it’s because my memories and meanings of any place have always been made through relationships - to people, nonhumans, or the environment itself.” This is why he finds it important to demystify places and reframe them in terms of “what you give to them.” Wherever he goes, Konstantine tells the story of sound, the power of song, and the urgency of listening to glaciers - and to each other, today.
Regeneration, as he reflects, is “a process of becoming through which one can heal.” He believes that a sense of play and creativity is crucial for one’s regenerative journey, so he dares us to enjoy all that life has to offer and abandon 'saviorism', as we might never experience the future we help create: “You are the hero you’ve been waiting for!”
Thank you, Konstantine, for being an Environmental Composer!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Konstantine Vlasis
Company / Institution: New York University; Hornafjörður Research Centre
Title: Environmental Composer and Audio Storyteller
Website: www.konvlasis.com
LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/konstantine-vlasis
Country of origin: United States
Country you currently live in: Iceland
Your definition of Regeneration: A process of healing and becoming through creative practice.
Main driver that keeps you going: I am motivated by an enduring ethos of care and recognition that life is precious.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: The ability to connect and communicate with others through music.
The trait you most value in others: I marvel at people’s capacity for care. I think this includes expressions of compassion, empathy, and patience.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: The smile of my partner; a poetic moment in a meaningful song; the taste of freshly baked cornbread; the sound of ocean waves; the smell of crisp autumn air; stories shared with loved ones; helping others achieve their dreams; the nostalgia of memories.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path: I am just now meeting some of the Inspirators!
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: I take regeneration to be a process of becoming through which one can heal. As someone interested in sound, music, and the act of listening, I believe that a sense of play and creativity is crucial for one’s regenerative journey. Recognizing your capacity for creativity and play, then, is perhaps one starting point.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Using the qualifiers “green,” “eco,” “natural,” or any other jargon that is more performative than genuine.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: You may never experience the future you help create. Abandon 'saviorism' - YOU are the hero you’ve been waiting for. Forgive and be kind to yourself.
Books that had a great impact on you / Must-Reads for any regenerative professional: Emergent Strategies: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by Adrienne Maree Brown;
Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit;
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer;
On Time and Water by Andri Snær Magnason
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
Any work by Sky Hopinka. I really love the sensory ethnography documentary work of Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash. I could also watch Perfect Days by Wim Wenders and O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Joel and Ethan Coen on repeat.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: Twenty Thousand Hertz, All Songs Considered, and Song Exploder.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: There’s too much to list here! But I have recently been enjoying the satirical poetry of Jesse Welles and the incredible sounds of Sam Amidon.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Do you feel as if you give part of yourself to places you travel and live? I feel that way. And I think it’s because my memories and meanings of any “place” have always been made through relationships—whether my relationship to people, nonhumans, or the environment itself. I find this important to demystify “places,” and reframe them in terms of what you yourself give to them. For me, East Village in New York City holds my aspirations; the municipality of Eyjafjarðarsveit, North Iceland holds my heart, and the woods of Van Buren County, Spencer, Tennessee holds my soul.
Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline): Anywhere you feel genuinely called or where people are doing things you are passionate about - go there.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: You can imagine the future as optimistic or pessimistic. In both instances, you are here. And you will help create the worlds yet to come in 2030. Just ask yourself what you want the world to be and get to work.
The Inspirator(s) you are endorsing for a future edition:
Dr. Angela Snæfellsjökuls Rawlings
Dr. Elaine Gan
Dr. J. Martin Daughtry
The quote that inspires you:
"There is a recognition that building community is a requisite foundation for building a better world.” (Ayana Elizabeth Johnson)
Your quote that will inspire us:
