Zazou approached Sony Records with merely the title and the concept of songs from the Arctic.[2] He travelled three years for the record.[1] He was accompanied by cameraman Philippe Roméo as he recorded traditional folk songs in and from Alaska, Canada (Newfoundland), Greenland, Iceland, Japan, Scandinavia and Scotland. He incorporated the shamanic incantations and lullabies of aboriginal people such as the Ainu, Inuit, Nanai, and Yakuts. "I didn't want to work like an ethnomusicologist and just go to Sweden and come back with a song." Zazou explained the process at the time of the album's release. "I was more interested in giving a poetic image of the North, which means that some elements are true; some are not true. It's my portrait of the cold seas."[3]
The only original composition, "The Long Voyage", was written by Zazou as an expression of gratitude to his record company for granting him complete artistic freedom on the project. The song was released as a single and featured several remixes, including one by Mad Professor and by Zazou himself.
As lyrics no longer exist for the traditional song "Annukka Suaren Neito" Sari Kaasinen of Varttina wrote lyrics based on the folk tale of the young girl Annukka who wants to marry a man who lives in the ocean.
The song "Adventures in the Scandinavian Skin Trade" was remixed by William Orbit but never released.
^"The Pop Life - Hector Zazou'". NewYorkTimes. May 11, 1995. Archived from the original on 2023-08-20. Retrieved 2023-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
