This was the first DIY choir, and it was formed in the spring of 2006 by three people who had been part of the original complaints choir of Helsinki. These three people, being teachers at the primary school in Poikkilaakso, wondered what it would be like to have a complaints choir of children from the school, and so the Poikkilaakso choir was born. The children were initially confused when they were given the opportunity to complain, but once they were assured it was okay, they did not disappoint! Some complaints were funny whilst some were sadly about bullying. Roughly 50 pupils from different classes joined the choir, with Elisa Hilli as conductor and Matti Salo as composer (two of the three teachers). The song was played on a local radio station and recorded later in the year.
Ireland
On the opposite end of the age spectrum, the Bealtaine Festival (dedicated to supporting creative expression of people aged 50+) established the first complaints choir of Ireland in February 2013, with their debut performance to open the festival on 1st May. Conor Linehan of the Royal Irish Academy of Music turned the complaints into song. Some typically Irish complaints feature, such as 'six feckin euros for a pint of warm beer', 'that stupid bugle song that they play on Ryanair' and many complaints about specific Irish people, such as 'am I the only one who finds Bono annoying?'
A complaints choir competition between different Irish city choirs was held in June 2014, coordinated by Hilary O'Shaughnessy for the All-Ireland Performing Arts Conference in Limerick. Also in June 2014, the IAPI (Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland) launched a complaints choir to perform at the ADFX awards (the 'Oscars of the advertising industry') on 4th September. The complaints lyrics were to come from various advertising agencies for the Dublin Gospel choir to sing, and these lyrics had to work to the tune of either 'Titanium' by David Guetta or 'Every Teardrop is a Waterfall' by Coldplay. The awards were held at the same theatre complained about in the Bealtaine song!
Edinburgh
2013 saw the complaints choir of Edinburgh, directed by Daniel Padden and Peter Nicholson for the summer's Edinburgh Art Festival. Choir member Heidi Docherty explains how it was a good way to get involved in the festival for a change, though the song itself in fact complains about the festival, such as how every year it makes it difficult for people who live in Edinburgh to get to work. Daniel says it was difficult to narrow down the complaints, but the main complaints for the choir were the city's developing tram lines, dog mess and recycling.
Hong Kong
The non-profit arts events group Pep! kicked off the project in January 2009, and a roadside exhibition followed to spark interest, where people were able to stick complaints slips onto a cart until late at night. Pep! even set up a blog and designed a crest for the choir:
Each element of the crest symbolises something. For example, the Andy Warhol banana signifies a 'sincere wish for good health' to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, after a banana was thrown at him in protest in 2008.
Ironically, the choir received a hacked complaint on its website saying 'silence is golden', originating from mainland China where freedom of speech is not a fundamental right. The hacker also added a virus blocking the site to other users.
The choir gave many performances, the first of them being at the annual pro-democracy demonstration on 1st July, which marks the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. A diverse range of complaints were in the song, but many were about a desire for change in society. In the following video, Vangi (the organiser) notes how the complaints are based on the fact that the choir still cares about its city, which is summed up in the chorus.
The choir ran until 2010 with a 45-minute long 'symphony of complaints' performance on 30th August, since so many complaints had been submitted.
Canada
The CBC radio show 'As it Happens' created a Canadian choir, with the complaints provided by listeners of the show and 80 singers volunteered from Toronto. Its debut performance at the Glenn Gould theatre happened on 21st February 2007. The song was composed by Eric Robertson and the choir was conducted by Kelly Galbraith.
Later that year, Sointula also created a complaints choir on its small island. With a population of only 800 people, it was easy to advertise and organise; a 'Complaints Box' was set up with a poster in the local Co-op, and in two weeks there was more than enough material. Though it was easy to establish the choir, it was difficult to keep the complaints from getting too personal, since all the people on the island tend to know each other well. They performed on 28th July at their summer arts festival 'Artopia'.
Most interestingly, Canada produced the first (and so far only) one-man complaints choir in July 2009, originating from the British Columbia province. The song, called 'Come to Canada', was produced by the Canadian Complaints Commission, and citizens were able to send in their complaints.
With other choirs in Vancouver, Toronto, Gabriola Island and Port Coquitlam, not only does west-coast Canada have a high density of complaints choirs, Canada is likely to have the lead over Sweden for the most amount of choirs.
Big Songs for Big Choirs: Tampere, Finland; Gdansk, Poland; Cairo & Cologne
The complaints choirs of these cities were especially impressive in terms of the amount of work produced. The Tampere University Association of Researchers and Teachers created the first academic complaints choir song in May 2009, which didn't manage to fit in all the complaints even though the lyrics had over 20 verses! Gdansk composed 5 whole songs in June 2009, each with a different musical influence from Polish folk to reggae. This choir was initiated by The Baltic Sea Cultural Centre. Cairo produced 4 songs, each with a different theme in the lyrics ranging from political to personal and trivial, and with the help of a standup comedian. These were performed in May 2010, accompanied by the oud and tabla. (The Choir Project was born out of the Cairo complaints choir - see here for more information.) Perhaps most impressively, Cologne formed a choir with over 150 members earlier in July 2008, and they performed a 30-minute piece that September.
One Just Wasn't Enough: Seoul (South Korea) & Rotterdam
Similar to the simultaneous choirs of Berlin and Dresden, Rotterdam held two choirs, one in the north (23 members) and one in the south (17), since its inhabitants identify themselves as being on the north or south side of the river Maas. In a typical rivalry fashion, the south complained about northerners being 'arrogant money spenders' who 'don't know how to work', whilst the north complained about southerners being 'ignorant peasants' with no sense of culture. Despite this, they performed together in five public locations across the city on 3rd March 2010, travelling from south to north. More information on their performances can be found here. The complaints song was even added to the repertoire of a local choir, from which some of the complaints choir members came!
Rotterdam Complaints Choir
Eleven complaints choirs organised in South Korea all performed on 9th October 2008 in the capital Seoul, as part of a conference on social innovation hosted by the Hope Institute, who also organised a Grand Complaints Choir Festival with 8 choirs, held on 11th October at the Korean Buddha Memorial Centre. There was even a TV show dedicated to the complaints choir project hosted by MBC, with the pilot airing on 24th October.
A good method used by the Seoul complaints choir whilst creating the lyrics was the Traffic Light Game, where approval of a complaint was stated by raising a green, yellow or red card. Each person was asked why they chose that colour, and if a complaint or lyric line got more than half of the people raising green cards, it was accepted for the final lyrics, with a few left for discussion at the following rehearsal. Complaints that were met with 100% approval were:
- What do they do with my tax money?
- I'm not lazy but I just like doing nothing
- Why are people so lonely, even in groups?
See more...
For information on a number of other DIY choirs, including the 'Skunk Cabbage Complaints Chorale' of Juneau in Alaska (performing songs annually since 2007), and the Åland 'Islands of Peace', visit the complaints choir website!
