Polar explorer Ben Saunders reveals his favourite song and the soundtrack to his sub-zero adventures
What’s your favourite album or song?
Logical Progression Vol. 1 by LTJ Bukem
What associations does it hold for you?
As a teenager growing up in a relatively conventional, middle-class household (my stepfather was a church warden) I was fascinated by the illicit, underground rave scene of the mid-to-late nineties, and have fond memories of sneaking out on more than one occasion to dance until sunrise on the concrete floor of some derelict Medway warehouse. The first — and I think finest — Logical Progression album came out in 1996 and is to my mind both a peerless retrospective and a paragon of all that was good about that era. And despite my nostalgia, the album still stands on its originality and musical merit; it’s more melody and jazz than glow sticks and Vicks VapoRub. It was the soundtrack to my first trip to the Himalayas, 18 years ago, and it’s been on heavy rotation whenever I’ve felt tempted once again to sneak away from home for a bit of adventure.
Ben is a record-breaking polar explorer. In 2004 he became the third person in history to ski solo to the North Pole. No one has been able to repeat the journey since. A pioneer in one of the most demanding fields of human endeavour, he is currently preparing for a new ambitious expedition: four months, 1800 miles, retracing, with two colleagues, Captain Scott’s ill-fated return journey to the South Pole on foot. Read more at bensaunders.com
