Indie in Antarctica Outside the long, low, grey buildings that make up Rothera Station, it's well below freezing. The light is dim and weak — and has been for months — bathing the endless fields of ice, towering glaciers and rocky peaks in a seemingly perpetual twilight. This is Adelaide Island, Antarctica. It's one of the most remote places on Earth. And one of the most beautiful. It's also about the last place on Earth you'd expect to find an indie band. But that's exactly where you'll find Nunatak. The folk-rock five-piece is made up a handful of the twenty-two scientists and support workers who are charged with the responsibility of holding down the fort at Rothera over the dark winter months. "We're pretty much the only band within a few hundred miles," admits drummer Rob Webster over the phone from the remote outpost. "As you might imagine, there's not a lot of live music down here." Webster, a Meteorologist for the British Antarctic Survey, has been in Antarctica for seven months, and won't return home until sometime in 2009. A native Scotsman with a degree in Physics, he was working as a volunteer teacher in Nepal when he saw a posting for a job at Rothera and leapt at the rare opportunity. "I really wanted to come to Antarctica. It's always been a place that fascinated me; ever since I was growing up. "It's dark quite a lot of the time," he admits with a chuckle. "And cold." But as far as he's concerned, the sacrifices are far outweighed by the benefits. "One of the great things we get down here are the lighting effects. There are the most incredible sunrises and sunsets — when the sun does rise and set. "It's a good life." And, of course, there's the band too. Back home, Webster had been an avid techno and electronica fan. When he headed south, he packed his guitar and fiddle, knowing he'd have plenty of time to kill over those long winter months. When he arrived, he was in for a pleasant surprise. "The music facilities are much better than I could have imagined. I'd always wanted to play drums and there was a kit already down here." And so, earlier this year, he helped to form Nunatak — thinking that they'd never play for an audience bigger than the other 17 members of their team. He couldn't have been more wrong. Thanks to Al Gore, Nunatak will be performing for an audience of two billion at this weekend's Live Earth concert (via satellite, of course). With events already scheduled on each of the other six continents, the organizers of Gore's 24-hour climate change fundraiser had originally hoped to fly an already established act onto the icy island and make it all seven. But that proved to be impossible — large planes can't land on Rothera's small airstrips during the southern winter. So instead, they turned to Nunatak. For Webster, the Live Earth show means another chance to fight for something he feels passionate about. "Climate change is the biggest problem we face as a race of people. And that was part of the reason I came down here: to help in some way; to do a small amount to help understand was happening. "Rothera station, here, is the place on the planet where climate change is having its most visible impact. There's been a three degree rise in temperature in the last 50 years. There are lots of glaciers here, and we know from the long-term data that they are retreating, and are retreating all over the continent." Which means, in short: things need to change. If they don't, Adelaide Island might not be the beautiful place it is much longer. And Webster, for one, is willing to take up the fight — whether it's with a weather balloon, or a pair of drum sticks.