Les Stroud sings the praises of his Arctic Mistress on his new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
A track from the environmentalist and adventurer’s forthcoming remastered and expanded vinyl edition of his 2019 album Mother Earth, Arctic Mistress is an artifact of one of Stroud’s innumerable forays into the ancient wilderness. The seven-minute track begins with a lengthy throat-sung prelude influenced by the Inuit musicians of Canada’s Pond Inlet, before segueing into a mesmerizing prog-pop number that exhorts us to “breathe the arctic air.” It’s a sentiment near and dear to the heart of Stroud, who has built up a sterling international reputation as an advocate for the natural world through his decades as a survival expert, filmmaker, composer, singer-songwriter and all-around champion of the wonders around us.
“I wanted to connect the listener to the arctic, to the land, to nature,” he says. The finished tune (co-conceived with Bryan Potvin of The Northern Pikes) is Stroud’s idea of “a love song to the Arctic. I wanted to picture the Arctic as a mistress, a lover. And so it became.”
That intimate relationship is cemented in the accompanying video, which relies on some truly stunning time-lapse footage of an expedition to the frozen north. Then again, breathtaking travelogues are de rigueur for Stroud, a highly accomplished environmentalist/adventurer who created the “survival TV” genre with the hit program Survivorman. (The footage from the video stems from an episode of his 2010 offshoot series Beyond Survival.)
Music has been a surprising but essential parallel career, in which the upcoming reissue of Mother Earth is merely the latest chapter. Expanded from seven tracks to 10, the record was produced by Mike Clink, best known for his groundbreaking work with Guns N’ Roses. Slash shows up on One Giant Farm, and virtuoso Steve Vai contributes to the title track — to name just two of the talented musicians who have joined Stroud in his multimedia mission to preach respect and protection of the world’s precious resources.
The new Mother Earth arrives June 14, gliding on the wind that’s been put in Stroud’s sails by some high-profile honors. His number Gypsy Soul was nominated for Best Country/Bluegrass Song in the 2024 International Acoustic Music Awards. That followed his strong showing in the 2023 competition, in which Arctic Mistress was a finalist for Best Song, and Les Stroud & The Pikes (his collaborative project with Potvin and co.) reached the finals for Best Group/Duo. The same year, the Canadian Screen Awards nominated Stroud in the categories of Best Direction, Lifestyle or Information and Best Original Music, Factual, Lifestyle, Reality, or Entertainment (with partners Kevin Kossowan and David Bateman).
Stroud promises that “hundreds of pieces of music” are coming in the next few years, swelling his already mighty repertoire of rock, world, prog, folk, blues and balladry. With plans that ambitious, he’s clearly well on the way to becoming a natural resource himself.
Watch the video for Arctic Mistress above, hear more from Les Stroud below, and join him on his website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
