APRI L 2 0 1 7 I BOROMAG.COM 39 pretty random and noisy, and it’s hard to shape it to make it go in a particular musical direction. It was more important to me to get the drama and emotion right than it was to make things sound exactly as they do in the real world. One of the sounds I needed was the calving of an ice shelf. That’s when thousands of tons of solid ice crack off and fall into the ocean. It’s one of the most dramatic and terrifyingly beautiful things in nature — so much so that you have to be really far away to record it safely. All the recordings sound distant and wimpy. So I cooked up my own version of it using various percussion and synth elements. Like a foley artist might for a film. BORO: As I listened to the album’s tracks in order, one of my personal takeaways was a progression from a feel of impending doom to a feeling of hope, despite a sense of danger that still persisted. What messages are you hoping to convey to those who listen to your album from beginning to end? MS: Thanks for saying that. That’s actually exactly what I was going for! There is a narrative arc to the album that people will get if they listen to it in order. It begins with the formation of the glaciers long ago, then passes through human discovery and the consequences of that, and ends with a reflection on the current state of things. The hopeful tone at the end also reflects that we are at something of an inflection point. Activists and responsible politicians have had a lot of success making climate change part of the national conversation. Whatever the politics of the moment, there are millions of Americans who are paying attention and changing how they live to protect the planet. There is reason to be hopeful. BORO: For you, how do music and activism go hand in hand? What would you tell artists of all kinds who want to use art to change the world? MS: Here’s how I see it: artists traffic in ideas, and popular ideas are eventually made real. When you change what people think about and talk about, you might start to change their choices. The current administration seems hell-bent on setting back environmental policy by a few decades. People should definitely protest, organize and engage with their representatives. But as artists I think we also have a special role to play when the politics aren’t going our way, by holding vigil for what we know to be true and good. This administration will be gone in a few years, but we — and the ideas we share — will still be here. “Music for Icebergs” will be released by Teknofonic Recordings in early May and will be available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Tidal and other digital outlets. Sayre is planning on donating a portion of the album’s proceeds to organizations that combat climate change. Visit musicforicebergs.com or like Sayre’s Facebook page (facebook.com/mike.sayre. composer) for more information.
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