The Fleet Ice Cream Van Orchestra

The Fleet Ice Cream Orchestra is a collection of six vans which utilize the twelve notes available on the onboard electric toy xylophone, known as a ‘Pixiphone,’ to create new music with a recognizable sound quality.  The group debuted last summer at the Whitestable Biennale and are headed by Chris Yates and Kelvin Pawsey, two art technicians from Folkestone.  The Telegraph reports on the musical style:

The unique tinny sound which heralds the arrival of sticky dairy products and recognised by children across the land is thanks to the Grampian horn bolted to the van’s axel and pointed towards the road to disperse the sound.

Fleet came about at the culmination of a long period of research into the ice cream trade by Pawsey and his partner in art Chris Yates. Yates says “I have discovered many wonderful things about ice cream – did you know it takes approximately 50 licks to finish off a scoop?”

[via Lost at E Minor]