The journey to the Pole of Cold
With financial support from the Arts Foundation of North Rhine-Westphalia, Staack and Neumann set off for Yakutsk, the capital city of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), in January 2012. The minus 35 C that confronted them at the airport was just a foretaste of the temperatures awaiting them at their actual destination, Oymyakon. In 1926, a temperature of minus 71.2 C is said to have been measured there, qualifying the village for the title of Pole of Cold . The first week was taken up with planning the onward journey. We had to wait until there were enough passengers to fill a minibus to Oymyakon, Juergen Staack recalls. When the driver had finally got enough passengers together so that we could set off on the 24-hour trip, I must admit that we felt a bit queasy. What if the bus broke down in these temperatures ?
The Kolyma Highway, the Road of Bones , took them around 700 kilometres in a north-easterly direction. The village of Oymyakon lies in a wind-protected valley that prevents the cold air from escaping, thus causing extremely low temperatures in winter. During our first days there it was minus 48 C, which was don't laugh apparently too warm for ice whispering. It meant that we had to correct the temperature that had previously been considered necessary for ice whispering, 45 C, downwards. As we couldn't hear any noise, we started to get a bit nervous. Although there had been reports of ice whispering, no recordings actually existed. Was the whole thing perhaps just a myth?
Staack filled the time waiting for colder weather, and therefore the opportunity to record the whisper of the stars', with other audio and video recordings for SAKHA, including conversations with a local meteorologist and inhabitants who talked about their experience of ice whispering. Some of them were not even aware of the phenomenon, while others reported on how they had experienced it when they were young, Staack recalls. The sound seems to have become increasingly seldom. For me, this example makes global warming tangible. A nearby coal-fired power station might also play a part in preventing the temperatures in Oymyakon from falling quite as low as they did some years ago.
At their destination
But Staack and Neumann persevered and had their equipment ready night after night. And their patience was finally rewarded. Juergen Staack: We went out every night to make recordings, but on this particular night the temperatures had dropped even further, to minus 57 C. And suddenly: there it was! Our breath and speech produced a noise, a jangling sound, a kind of rustling crackle that reverberated after each word and each breath and followed it like a shadow. Against the light, we could see our breath billowing and vortexing. The next night, the magical spectacle was already over against all expectations, it had got warmer.
After spending around three weeks in Siberia, the two returned to Germany, where Juergen Staack set to work preparing the material and designing the SAKHA exhibition over the course of the year.
The installation in Berlin
Visitors to SAKHA at the Konrad Fischer Galerie in Berlin first enter a white room. Visually, a peaceful, observational video sets the mood for the tranquillity of the landscape and life in Oymyakon. On the floor, there are four dark-grey loudspeakers made of concrete and arranged in a square, which reproduce a walk in the snow. I had noticed that snow in Oymyakon sounds different at each temperature. For the installation, I walked around a square shape and recorded the crunching of my steps in the snow. When visitors stand in the square, they can hear a person walking around them through the deep snow.
On one wall, Cyrillic letters have been painted a text that describes the whisper of the stars. From there, visitors move into a darkened room in which Valery Vinokurov (geologist and meteorologist) speaks in Yakut: recorded against the light, he describes the whisper of the stars, while his breath creates white turbulences and veils as it dissipates into the blackness. Another dark room is then given over entirely to the whisper of the stars itself which was recorded for the very first time thanks to the artist.
Information on the exhibition
SAKHA runs until 1 March 2013 at the Konrad Fischer Galerie Berlin, Lindenstra e 35, 10969 Berlin, Tel.: +49 (0)30/5059 6820
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 11 am to 6 pm.
Information on the MKH 8060
The MKH 8060 is a short gun RF condenser microphone that is ideally suited for high-quality sound recordings in climatically difficult environments. Juergen Staack's journey to the world's coldest inhabited place also sets a new low-temperature record for the MKH 8060, explains Sennheiser Product Manager Kai Lange. Thankfully, due to their RF condenser principle, MKH microphones are already equipped with two advantages for use in inclement weather: a high RF voltage at the capsule and very low capsule impedance.
The high RF voltage at the capsule has the effect of pressing' the humidity out of the microphone in critical situations, for example when making outdoor recordings in mist and fog, Lange continues. We could say that the capsule notices' the high humidity in the air and dries itself.
The second advantage is the low internal capsule impedance, which is less than 1 kohm, while conventional capsules have a much higher impedance of between 200 kohms and 200 megaohms, depending on the frequency. At these high levels of impedance, the slightest fault in the insulation results directly in the failure of the capsule, whereas RF condenser microphones are absolutely robust.
High res images are available for download from here
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
The journey to the Pole of Cold 
