"Voices From An Island" is a compilation CD featuring some of the musicians who live and perform on Madeline Island. Madeline Island is one of the 22 Apostle Islands located about 80 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota in Lake Superior. Madeline Island is the only inhabited island while the rest of the islands are part of the Lake Superior National Lakeshore Park system. Madeline Island is governed by the town of La Pointe, originally a fur trading post in the 18th century. La Pointe is the only town on the islands is home to about 300 year round residents and about 3,000 residents in the summer. Tourism is the island's biggest industry, drawing visitors from around the world. Ferry boats run between Madeline Island and Bayfield, Wisconsin about nine months out of the year, until wintertime, when the lake usually freezes. When the ferry boats stop running, a 25 passenger 'wind sled' is put into service to people and goods across the ice. Until recently, islanders could count on an 'ice road' in the wintertime, giving them freedom to drive their vehicles off the island at will. However, the effects of global warming have kept the lake warmer in recent winters, slowing down the formation of ice. Consequently, there have been winters where the ice was not thick enough to drive on, or no ice at all. Global warming has also caused the level of the lake to drop about 1 1/2 feet and the lake is expected to drop even more in the coming years. Summer is a good time to come to the island to see live music. The some of the musicians featured on this CD can be found performing at some of the local establishments in the including the Bell Street Tavern and Tom's (twice) Burned Down Cafe, a popular outdoor "hotspot". This project was funded, in part by The La Pointe Center and the Wisconsin Arts Board. The concept of this CD was to give island performers an opportunity to make "studio quality" recordings who would otherwise never have the chance to get their music recorded. All but one of the songs featured on this CD are original compositions. The CD features a wide range of musical styles including rock, country, jazz, new age, and symphony. This was the first time that many of the artists had worked in a studio environment, giving them the opportunity to experiment with their songs before they were finalized. Technology has played a big part in this production. There are no recording facilities on the island and these recordings were produced in our homes and garages using a digital recording deck. When the recordings were finished they were then transferred to a personal computer where they were mixed and mastered. The CDs are being produced on CD-R media using a CD burner in a computer while an inexpensive inkjet printer is used for printing the artwork on the CD and booklet. This allows us to manufacture our CDs on demand, keeping the production costs low. Any profits from this project will go towards a children's music project.