VIDEO: Vancouver ‘folk’ orchestra ScrapArtsMusic

Credit: Fred Van Diem

On Earth Day, Vancouver’s Stanley Theatre will bring together music, art, performance and… recycling?

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Stanley Theatre will present the unusual, high-impact percussive orchestra ScrapArtsMusic, which comprises five performers on 145 invented instruments, all hand-crafted from salvaged materials and found objects plucked from the scrap yards, construction sites, Army/Navy surplus depots and “anywhere you find people” around Vancouver.

“Metal, muscle, movement + music!” The orchestra is performing its first full performance in Vancouver since 2003, after playing the Grande Finale of the 2010 Olympic Closing Ceremonies and a critically acclaimed US tour.

In anticipation of the show, I stopped by the ScrapArtsMusic studio to meet the talent behind the music and to check out some of these uniquely Vancouver instruments. Here’s the video…

VIDEO: This. Is. ScrapArtsMusic.

‘Our very own Vancouver folk instruments’

ScrapArtsMusic performs all original music on one-of-a-kind instruments that both produce incredible sound and are dazzling to watch. Think Stomp but with a more home-grown Vancouver feel.

“In an odd but very accurate way, these are our very own Vancouver folk instruments,” says Gregory Kozak, ScrapArtsMusic’s co-creator, artistic director, lead performer and welder. “They’re made by materials from around Vancouver, by Vancouverites and created in Vancouver.” Love that!

The instruments-slash-“musical sculptures”—including the Thunder Sheets (seen in the video—and are so fun you’ll want your own!), B-52 drums, Ziggurat drums, Mini-Zig Traps and Whorlies—require tight choreography, high energy and a playfulness of performance.

Naming their influences as “limitless human potential, meteor showers, gothic cathedrals, body surfing [and] the choreography of treeplanting,” ScrapArtsMusic is sure to entertain. Get your tickets now!

See ScrapArtsMusic perform on Earth Day 2010

ScrapArtsMusic performs Thursday, April 22 (Earth Day) and Friday, April 23, 2010, at the Stanley Theatre on South Granville. For tickets, visit VancouverTix.com.

Become a Facebook fan for updates on the group’s upcoming projects, including a film score, and international touring dates.