Aarktica is a musical collective based in New York City which was initially a pseudonym for Jon DeRosa, the collective's principal member.

Aarktica was conceived in the winter of 1998 with Jon DeRosa’s permanent loss of hearing in one ear as a distraction from his other musical interests. As his hearing loss became less of a distraction and more of a new way of listening, Aarktica became a means to execute the soundtrack of the life in mono now thrust upon him. One of audio distortions, aural hallucinations and a reliance on painkillers. The first album No Solace in Sleep was recorded on a dying 4-track cassette recorder in vario