Maybe not a simple as it sounds, but proven to be doable by a Polish musical band called the Recycling Band. Consisting of Kamil Kędzierski (water bottle guitar, instrument creator), Marcin Nenko (water bottle bass guitar), Dominik Stankiewicz (“waste” drums), and Piotr Bolanowski (selfmade keyboard).

The idea of creating recycled instruments started in 2011 with a want to draw attention to a global environmental issue of waste and the importance of recycling as well as a need to make a bass guitar cheaply but effectively on a student budget. This band was able to accomplish both in a very short period of time by performing on street and stages around Europe and even advancing to the finals of the fifth edition of the Polish version of Got Talent.

The backgrounds of Recycling Band’s musicians are quite unique as Kamil Kędzierski is a metallurgy alumni from Krakow’s University of Science and Technology (AGH), Marcin Nenko and Dominik Stankiewicz are students at Krakow’s Music Academy, and Piotr Bolanowski is a musician/instrumentalist and an alumnus of Nowy Sącz’s National Music School.

They have performed using bass and acoustic guitars, ukuleles, drums, trumpets, violins and a keyboard made out of materials such as old wooden door, tables, water bottles, mattresses, combs, and paint cans and buckets. Maybe they will create some new special instrument for October’s TEDxKraków, you never know!

The band is comprised of Brit David Molus on vocals and guitar, American Thymn Chase on keys and vocals, and Poles Tomasz Zapała on guitar, Kris Bodzon on bass and Jarek Wyka on drums. Don’t Ask Smingus is a Kraków based five-piece rhythm and blues rock band with a deep sentiment for folk, real feel for funk and a permanent penchant for raw, soul-rattling lyricism.

Last November, the band released its first album, Landslide, to enthusiastic reviews. You can often hear their tracks on Polish Radio 3, which premiered the album as well.

Comprised of two members of the Tamtamitutu Group, drummers Tomasz Majewski and Marcin Urzędowski, Drums&Drums arose as a result of countless experiments and an exploration of unconventional percussion instruments, a fascination with recycling, and a constant crossing of borders in the general understanding of music as a whole. The band mixes traditional instruments together with their own creations made of recycled materials, all skilfully joined together on stage.

What sets Drums&Drums apart as a band is not only their unique instruments, but the artistry with which they use them. Their concerts are theatrical performances in their own right. The ease with which the musicians transform everyday items into instruments is impressive, as is their ability to incorporate humour into the performance. Oh, and did we mention that their shows tend to be interactive?

For more on this year’s performers at TEDxKraków, stay tuned to our blog, Facebook and Twitter feeds!

Acoustic Acrobats are clarinetist Piotr Skupniewicz, accordionists Bogusław Zięba and Jacek Hołubowski, Adam Leśniak, Jędrzej Łaciak and Damian Rękas. Formed in April 2010, Acoustic Acrobats was born out of the Max Klezmer Band, when some of its members decided to explore ethnic music from different parts of the world. Their music sits on the border of ethno and jazz, with sounds characteristic of Klezmer and Balkan music as well as Latin American and African and other more subtle intercultural inspirations from around the world.

The Acoustic Acrobats’ debut album, Live, was released earlier this year. Its ten original tracks were written while on the road and recorded live (hence the name).

Camero Cat began playing together in 2007 right here in Kraków, and the original trio of Xawery Renczyński, Julia Renczyńska and Jakub Dobrowolski released their first album, Cats and Clocks in 2009 under the Mystic Production label. Later, the band added cellist Mateusza Kolankowski, keyboard player Alicja Margolin and drummer Grzegorz Fieber to complete the now five-piece group.

The band’s musical style can best be described as ‘theatrical rock’. Their performances, like their music, are often full of mystery, absurdity and horror laced with sarcasm and humour. Their most recent album, Mad Tea Party, has been called mystical and theatrical – just like their concerts.