The Vegetable Orchestra: "We create new sounds"

Wikipedia:

The group, founded in February 1998, consists of ten musicians, one cook, and one sound technician. The members of the ensemble are all active in various artistic areas (for example trained musicians, sound poets, sculptors, media artists, designers, and architects) and have worked together on conceptualizing and carrying out their project. The interdisciplinary approach is a crucial factor in researching and further developing the vegetable music. The intention is to create a sonorous experience which can be perceived with all senses. Musical concepts of the Fluxus movement, for example compositions from John Cage (Branches, 1976) could be considered as a source of inspiration for this unique orchestra. Their distinctive repertoire also seems to be deeply rooted in sound art and experimental and electronic music because they play unheard-of interpretations of Igor Stravinsky, the German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk or the Austrian band Radian as well as their own compositions. All the pieces feature various forms of graphical notation and are exclusively composed for live performance.

Their instruments, which are all of their own invention, include carrot recorders, clappers made from eggplant, trumpets made from zucchini, and numerous others, which are amplified with the use of special microphones. The instruments are made from scratch just one hour prior to each performance using the freshest vegetables available, then all ninety pounds of vegetables are cooked into a soup following the performance.

The Vegetable Orchestra has released three CDs: Gemise (1999), Automate (2003) and Onionoise (2010). They have toured Europe, the USA and also performed in China and Singapore.

The ensemble consists of Christina Bauer, Juergen Berlakovich, Nikolaus Gansterer, Susanna Gartmayer, Barbara Kaiser, Matthias Meinharter, Jörg Piringer, Richard Repey, Marie Steinauer, Ingrid Schlögl, Ulrich Troyer, and Tamara Wilhelm.

Links:

www.vegetableorchestra.org

https://soundcloud.com/the-vegetable-orchestra

Interview:

Concerning Your Q and A list (a really big one), it seems there's nothing to ask. Anyway, were there questions that were not asked? What about? What would YOU like to talk about?

//that is quite a hard question to answer. we would actually talk about most anything. as long as the focus is on our music and the soundscapes we create.

I will try to do my best and ask. Hopefully, for the first time. So, would You play with (preparated) meat/fish instruments? Why no/yes? Maybe sound of meat and/or fish is better?

//that is for a meat or fish orchestra to do. not for us. personally we think that the thought of raw meat in any form is rather unhygenic. also, those don't smell as good as vegetables.

Concert with us is for all the senses, even the nose.

Anyway, sound is universal - actually, it doesn't matter where it comes from, as long as it is music. But, from the ethical point of view, is it ok to play with so many vegetables when people starve in different countries? Maybe it's better to sing a cappella and give all those vegetables to the starving people? First my impression when i saw Your band playing was not very good. I thought that today i have nothing to eat, especially vegetables. And here, some people, make fun of it. I wanted to curse You all. Later, i understood - it's Art. Is it?

//there is no such thing as sending vegetables to starving people. that is ridiculous. people are not starving because there is no food in their countries, they are starving because of a global capitalism that grow food in their origins to then transport them to rich countries in for example europe.

(beans from zimbabwe for example). the vegetables transported there would go bad on their way anyways. everybody who has a problem with us using things that could be eaten for creating Art, should also have a problem with demanding fresh things in the supermarket, bakery and restaurants everyday where tons and tons of food/groceries are simply thrown away everyday because they don't "look or seem" fresh enough to be sold. as long as peoples demands are higher than what we actually consume, the problem is going to be there. to demand a new mobile-phone every year is a way bigger problem than us using carrots for instruments.

Would You play with anything? Dead bones, for example? Are there limits of The Vegetable Orchestra? What are they?

//We are the vegetable orchestra and as it says in our name we create music on vegetables. that is where our limit goes. Other objects are for other bands or orchestras to explore.

What is Your message to the world? Is it serious, funny, philosophical or "we just do it"?

//We create new sounds that you can't find in regular instruments and want to let the audience have an experience that they haven't had before. The sounds, The colours and the smell of the instruments are all a part of that. and we are very serious about our creating music. If one wants to see that as a "message", so be it.

How did You like Lithuania in 2005 and its public? How public liked You? How do You call Your venues - concerts or performances?

//concerts and performances. both works. And we liked it very much in Lithuania and we were very well received by the people there. would be great to play there again in the future!

Can i call Your music experimental (not looking at the vegetables)? In what niche of variety of music styles You consider Yourself?

//The sounds produced by the vegetable instruments are amazingly multi-layered: transparent & crackling, shrill & massive, dark & hypnotic, funky & groovy – a heterogeneous multitude of acoustic gems and strange, unfamiliar sounds whose organic origin is not always immediately recognizable.

The compositions are tailored to suit the specific characteristics of the vegetable instruments being used, in terms of their sonic attributes and practical considerations to optimize performance. Stylistically the music oscillates between organic pop music and aural sound experiments, with inspiration from various sources: Minimal Techno, Ambient, Noise, Pop, New and Electro-Acoustic Music.

Will You come to Lithuania again?

//hopefully YES!

Have You ever received rotten tomatoes from public in Your concerts/performances?

//no. not yet.

Your taboos. (F.e., some vegetable that should not be played)

//as long as it is a vegetable and it can be played, we play it. we don't play fruits (since they are not vegetables), I guess that could be called a taboo.

Thank You.

//thank you very much!!