What links a dead explorer and a living rock star?
Classical composer Paul Frith, Ted Dwane of Mumford & Sons and creative designer Ross Stirling are bringing to life the fabled journey of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition.
Attempting to cross the Antarctic by land, the expedition suffered a series of calamities but managed to return to civilisation after struggling through the harshest of conditions. Although failing in its objective, Shackleton’s expedition is remembered as one of the great feats of human survival – it was indeed aptly named.
To mark the 100th anniversary of the expedition, the trio have launched a limited edition vinyl box set featuring a newly composed symphony and never-before-seen archive photography from Shackleton’s journey. The book is the first release from Stop + Fix – an independent publishing company founded by Dwane, Stirling and Marcus Haney.
Presented in a replica Venesta case – inspired by the original storage materials used on-board during the voyage – the photo collection chronologically follows Frith’s symphony. The four-part composition, recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, comes on four vinyl records encased in hand-stitched sleeves.
We spoke to Ted Dwane about the project and his plans for the future.
How did your love of Shackleton begin?
My good friend Paul Frith began writing a symphony after being inspired by the book 'South' which recounts Ernest Shackleton's journey to Antarctica 100 years ago. As Paul's symphony came together, my interest grew and grew. We share a recording studio and as the work neared completion, I realised that this was a musical work that needed to be recorded and shared, especially on the centenary of that famous journey. It was only really at this point I began reading every polar book I could find which of course heightened my enthusiasm for the project.
Is exploration a passion of yours?
As one quarter of Mumford and Sons, I have the great fortune of never going home. I moved around a lot as a kid so I've always been itchy footed and I'm happiest exploring places I don't know. Whether it’s a passion is debatable, it’s more circumstantial. But I couldn't imagine it any other way.
What inspired the fusion of photograph and music?
While we call the 'Shackleton Collectors Edition' a photo book, it began with Paul's music. Thankfully, Shackleton took photographer Frank Hurley on the expedition and while a large number of his glass plate photos were destroyed to save weight on their perilous rescue, the images that remain are of notoriously high quality. There are many academic accounts of this journey, but by telling the story with Hurley's imagery and Paul's music, the narrative becomes far more emotional.
Are there any other great figures you'd like to celebrate?
Plenty, but future releases won't always focus on individuals in quite the way this book does. So many conversations yield a book. I recently met a photographer for The National Geographic who told me about the assignments he was sent on in the 70s and 80s that were never printed by the magazine. He has stacks of incredible images laden with narrative, fading in his basement. That makes me sad.
What's next in the pipeline for Stop + Fix?
When Marcus Haney, Ross Stirling and I set about creating a publishing company, it was always going to reflect our collective passions, as well as the talents of the people in our network. We saw great work being made in our respective fields, but not enough of it was getting into the public domain. With Stop + Fix, we hope to bridge the gap between artists and the people who enjoy art by creating high quality, small editions that present the work in the greatest of actualities possible. Our next release is entitled 'Fanatics' and features the photography of the aforementioned Marcus Haney. The images are largely sourced from festivals and live shows, except the camera is turned away from the performers and into the audience. It’s shaping up very nicely.
Shackleton Collectors Edition: Standard costs £350 and Shackleton Collectors Edition: Deluxe costs £450. Pre-order at stop-and-fix.com
