Nick Russell, who once was the WOW techie, has a habit of sending the Report some cunning sites. His latest entry, the First Vienna Vegetable Orchestra, billed as serving up “music with taste,” replaces guitars and drums with carrots and cucumbers (play that funky cuke-o-phon, white boy).

the instruments consist exclusively of vegetables although additional kitchen utensils such as knives or mixers are employed where necessary. this creates an autonomous and totally novel type of sound which cannot be compared with conventional sound conceptions. the preliminary work for practices and concerts is elaborate as all instruments must be bought and produced anew. the amplification – a mixture of microphone types – condenser, voice and contact microphones – is constantly reworked and improved together with the ensemble’s sound technicians. this makes the amplification of the often very delicate and soft tones of the vegetabile-resonating bodies possible.