The Yellow Piece

The OKO group from Poznań presented The Yellow Piece – a sound improvisation for three performers who used home-made plastic tubes. In the context of the stadium where SURVIVAL took place, the work referred to fans playing the vuvuzela (which became famous during the 2010 World Cup in the RSA). Thanks to a careful choice of harmonious sounds, a multi-layer composition emerged, in the tradition of Tony Conrad and Arnold Dreyblatt’s minimal music. The slow, drone sounds resonated under the roof above the stands of the ‘Oławka’ stadium, creating an onerous sound space – an echo of a faraway sports game. The work emphasized the potential of simple, home-made instruments which express fans’ emotions and which can be used to make complex and intriguing compositions. The concept of combining folk tradition with avant-garde music thought evokes Harry Partch’s theories or Henryk Mikołaj Górecki’s early ideas.

Daniel Brożek

photo: Peter Kreibich