Jan 25: Northern Lights

Is it possible to capture the 'sound' or visual spectacle of the Northern Lights in musical form?

Jan Garbarek - All those Born with Wings is an excellent album with Jan's sax and the usual bandmates... and one of the best CD covers there is... showing a display of aurora. On the ECM label, which will also be showcased elsewhere on the blog.

From this album, check out the 3rd piece which perhaps best captures the atmosphere.

Suns of the Tundra - Aurora

A track on the 'Bones of Brave Ships' album from Suns of the Tundra, which tells the story of Shackleton's famous 'Endurance' expedition.

Apart from having a name which references a type of ecosystem, they also have chief examiner and top geographer Simon Oakes on lead guitar and vocals, adding to their geographical (and musical) credentials.

Why not head to the band's Bandcamp page. This is a good place to order their music too in various formats.

Lyle Mays - Alaskan Suite - Northern Lights, Invocation, Ascent

A track from Lyle Mays' debut album, and one of the finest albums there is.

Here's part of the three part movement...

I remember listening to this very loud while sitting on the shores of Loch Slapin on Skye. We'd been down to the Suisnish peninsula - an area cleared of crofters during the clearances, and across the loch was Bla-bheinn as the moon came up...

If you get the chance to go to Iceland during the winter months please do. 2025 saw a solar maximum of activity and some remarkable displays. 2026 will hopefully be just as good - January has certainly started out well.

Here's a picture of mine from 2024, taken at Laugarvatn.

Image by Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license.

Have I missed other musical attempts to capture this remarkable phenomenon? 

Let me know in the comments...