Look Closely: These Unique Instruments Are Made of Something 'Cool

How do you make orchestral music cool? Ice will do the trick!

A band in Sweden called Ice Music celebrates "the winter spirit of Swedish Lapland" by using a new art form - where the musicians play on instruments made of ice.

An ICE Orchestra member plays for their chilly audience (Ice Music, Karin Arburg).

One of the Ice Musicians plays a special crafted violin, hanging on strings. (Ice Music, Karin Arburg).

The ICE orchestra plays for their patrons in a "giant cosmic igloo" where the orchestra glows and pulsates in "all the colors of the rainbow."

The muscians calls them ICEstruments; we know them as a violin, viola, cello, contrabass, banjo, mandolin, guitar, drums, xylophone and rolandophone (okay maybe we don't know that one - it's a percussion instrument that looks like a gigantic pan flute).

Tim Linhart is the original ice artist who founded the Ice Music project in Lule, Sweden. Linhart who has been an ice carver for more than 30 years, crafts each of the delicate ICEstruments by hand.

Their Web site explains:

"Building the ICEstruments is a delicate craftsmanship that requires great patience and also the right cold temperature, so that the ice will have the right elasticity and be possible to sculpt without breaking."

Ropes hung from the performance cave ceiling are used to assist the artists when tuning and playing some of the instruments, such as the violin. The ice carvings are covered with a thin layer of plastic protective shield to "prevent the musicians warm breath from making a hole in the body of the ICEstrument."

Ice Music Founder Tim Linhart creates each piece by hand in his frozen Swedish garden (Ice Music, Karen Arburg).

The ICE orchestral music is highlighted by colorful lights throughout the frozen musical lair (Ice Music, Karen Arburg).

If you find yourself tempted to visit the Ice Music lair, be prepared to bundle up. The constant indoor temperature of the hall is about 23 degrees; they even constructed the concert hall with special ventilation to keep the warm breath from the audience at bay.

Enjoy a blast of cool music at your desk now:

(H/T: Sploid)

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