A unique sound: Scrap Arts Music concert event features 145 handmade invented instruments

Gregory Kozak has always loved to work with his hands.

Years ago, he had the idea to take scrap metal and create unique musical instruments.

It was then he founded Scrap Arts Music alongside his wife, Justine Murdy.

A unique sound: Scrap Arts Music concert event features 145 handmade invented instruments

About four years ago, the trained musician wanted to go bigger and decided to make an art film.

Then he wrote and conducted the music for it.

Kozak and crew are taking “Children of Metropolis” on the road with numerous performances in New Mexico.

“I’ve made well over 100 instruments for this project,” he says. “The film has taken me about four years to complete. I wrote the music and found the musicians to perform in it. We’ve been rehearsing to get back on the road.”

Scrap Arts Music will make stops in Alamogordo, Socorro, Farmington and then finish its New Mexico trek at Popejoy Hall on Sunday, April 14.

Kozak is excited to return to New Mexico with a new show in hand.

“The last time, we showed up with the invented instruments,” he says. “I wanted to push myself to see what I could do with my own two hands. The film took years to complete and it’s a very athletic show.”

Scrap Arts’ Invented Instrument Percussion Project has been described as intricate, playful, powerful, contemporary, experimental, retro-futuristic and genre-defying.

The “Children of Metropolis” will bring five athletic musicians to the stage to perform with more than 145 invented instruments — all handmade by Kozak.

New Mexico Tech Performing Arts Series Director Dana Chavez said audiences will be inspired and delighted by the Canadian group’s performance.

“We’re thrilled to welcome back to Socorro Scrap Arts Music,” Chavez said. “This will be the group’s third visit here.”

Kozak says his group is looking forward to its return to the New Mexico Tech campus, and the opportunity to interact with young inventors and their families.

“We are super excited to be touring in New Mexico again and thrilled to be performing ‘Children of Metropolis’ in Socorro at New Mexico Tech,” he said. “We still remember the great reception and passionate audience reactions from our previous tour through the state, and felt that New Mexico would be a perfect place to debut our new show.”

According to Kozak, “Children of Metropolis” is a whimsical journey of invented musical instruments, lots of percussion and its own adventurous art-house film.

“We’re hoping the audiences will be delighted by our beautiful handmade instruments and unique music and surprised by our creative filmmaking.” he said. “We’re bringing a lot of ideas and, I hope, inspiration to our performances.”

Kozak says the film should appeal to budding scientists and inventors because it tells the story of an inventor who uses his big heart and mind to help his neighbors, and, in the process, saves his whole world.

“We’ve created a film peopled by Metrognomes, Gremlins, Sea-Flunkeys and regular folks who have fish-face submarines, embiggener guns and smallifier rays, and communicate with a cat-stronaut in space,” he says.

Kozak added that the 16 mm silent film is accompanied by the group’s quintet, playing on instrument/inventions, such as the xylobe, pippolini, nonettes and bagoleons.