Jared Kozub | Franz Josef MMXX

Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

“Franz Josef MMXX" is a graphic score inspired by Jared’s trip onto Franz Josef Glacier in the Southern Alps of New Zealand in February 2020. Typically, the glacier is pure brilliant white; however, in the Australian summer of 2019-20, the devastating wildfires actually impacted the glaciers in New Zealand. The winds carried smoke over the Tasman Sea depositing ash on the ice, turning the white glaciers a beige or brown. This darker color increased the heat absorption of the Sun’s rays and sped up the melting rate of the ice.

This piece begins with a Prelude section, starting with the crackling of fire (P1) which morphs into the sounds of waves and wind over the Tasman Sea (P2). The remainder of the piece is sounds of the journey in a helicopter, floating over glacial rivers, over the terminus, landing on the ash covered ice and returning past breathtaking cascading waterfalls off the mountains beside you. The map and "Pan Key" arrow work together as spatial audio cues for the sound direction and levels.

Biography:

Jared Kozub is a Professional Engineer, composer, and sound designer from Winnipeg, MB on the Canadian prairies. Under the artist name “Ice Locus”, Jared draws inspiration for his music from nature around the globe. His travels have taken him onto glaciers in Canada, Switzerland, and New Zealand, and he has enjoyed recording beluga whale sounds in the Canadian North. Jared creates sonic universes of spacey and sometimes experimental ambient music using modular synthesizers, field recordings from nature, and other acoustic curiosities. In 2018 he was a finalist in the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra National 3D Printed Musical Instrument Challenge for his design of a flame-shaped Titanium ocarina. His 2021 debut album release "Beyond the Loci" takes the listener on a cinematic-like sonic adventure from deep space to a strange planet full of life and seismic activity.