Turkish band tunes into magical sound of waste

ISTANBUL－An unused old-fashioned case for glasses and a reception bell attached to an empty plastic container, along with a synthetic cleaning brush connected to an old drumstick, are parts of a musical instrument created by a Turkish band.

"This is a simple yet rich instrument," Herman Artuc, a Latin jazz singer and percussionist, says at the band's studio, which is located in an industrial zone on the European side of Istanbul.

"The glasses case gives the sounds of a keyboard while the reception bell acts as a cymbal, which is widely used in percussion. We also combined a drumstick and a cleaning brush to obtain the scraping sound," he adds.

The three-member band, Fungistanbul, has been creating musical instruments out of various bits of waste collected from trash cans, junkyards and zero-waste points to draw attention to the growing waste problem and raise awareness on "up cycling" as much as recycling.

Artuc defines "up cycling" as transforming an object into a more valuable one and creating something of use.

"Our resources are running out. We do not want to embark on a road of no return," the musician says, adding that people must act by thinking about the future, both while producing and consuming.

Roni Aran, another band member, used a small plastic box he found in a trash can, a thin and long piece of wood, and some old wires to build a saz, a type of string instrument used in Ottoman classical music.

"We are trying to express an opinion here," Aran says. "By using plastic pieces, we are trying to manifest that plastic is something that we should not use at all."

Aran designed his instrument with great concern, worrying whether he would get a decent sound, but the outcome turned out better than he expected. Several luthiers have been helping Fungistanbul to get maximum sound quality.

"We have to do constant practices. If some materials do not give the sound we expect, we must drop them and find others," Aran says, adding that there are many alternatives in waste centers or junkyards across the city.

He says there is no such thing as garbage as long as objects are transformed into more valuable gadgets that can be used in daily life.

The band has also designed a bass using a plastic can, bamboo stick and a clothesline.

"When you pull it backward, the notes change," says Serhat Ayebe, a musician and sound worker, who introduced his instrument after a small performance.

The musicians aspire to cooperate with private companies in wind and solar industries to make their voices heard about recycling and "up cycling".

When they played at a recent concert at a festival with their transformed instruments in Istanbul, the group received positive feedback. They invited the audience to go beyond routine and produce new ideas and solutions on environmental issues.

"Children approached us, touched the instruments and asked questions before the concert started," Artuc says.

"Later, when they listened to the music and the rhythm that came out of these objects, everyone was surprised."

Xinhua