Nanotopia is creating a podcast/radio station called, Midnight Mushroom Music. Tune in Saturday nights & float into the Mycelium network. Non-human lullabies and other non-human musical collaborations.
Track from Symbiosis/Dysbiosis: Sentience Scene One: MOTH THE GUESTS FIND THEY HAVE EMERGED FROM CHRYSALIS WITHIN A DENSE FOREST. STRANGE SOUNDS AND LOW-FREQUENCIES SURROUND THEM. A DENSE FOG FILLS THE AREA. AS THE GUESTS COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR NEW SURROUNDINGS, THEY HEAR SINGING-LIKE SOUNDS NOT TOO FAR FROM WHERE THEY STAND THAT DRAW THEIR ATTENTION TO THEIR RIGHT. FLOATING IN THE AIR IS A GIANT SILK MOTH TURNING TO FACE THE GUESTS. THE MOTH'S LARGE BLACK EYES GLEAM AS THEIR ANTLER-LIKE ANTENNAE GENTLY TURN. (surprised to see humans emerging from their chrysalis, Moth wonders aloud) "...How have YOU come to be?" Moth is still slightly confused by these visitors and their sudden appearance; Moth is curious and mumbles a bit to themselves, recognizing that the Guests are Human. MOTH "Well, you are an invasive species after all…" Moth's head tilts as they survey the situation and speak to the Humans, "We are invasive here... We are not meant for here, yet here we are. The forest needs you to SEE. The forest…. We don't have much time." A thrumming can be heard and felt by the Humans. The Moth's upper set of hands makes a tree form in the air above the humans. "You must locate the Great Tree. We can take you below. Look for sounds..." -Moth's multiple hands move in a circular pattern- "...They may appear like this..." Moth gestures -the Humans see glyphs above Moth's hands while a pleasant tone is heard. The Moth's 3rd eye begins to glow. "Look for them as they may help you... We are all connected." Pointing at the Humans with one hand while sweeping upward with another hand and pointing to the left with one of their other hands, Moth tells the Humans, "You must climb The Steps of Ganoderma to enter the Queendom to find the Mycelial Entity. She will help you see." Moth carefully studies each of the Humans, "Will you do this?"
Well, Danny* has been on our minds lately, somewhat due to working this past Venice Film Festival Immersive as a World Hop tour guide and the cacophony and fun chaos around being an Immersive Tour Guide. Our pal, Manglebird, is the programmer in chief for the Venice Immersive World Hops, primarily on the social VR platform VRChat. VRC allows artists, creatives and Devs to create and publish worlds and experiences to the VRChat global community. From DJ-driven club scenes, deep, immersive, otherworldly environments, and extra-terrestrial realms to physics-breaking realities! You name it; it can likely be found on VRChat. So it is also likely no coincidence that Manglebird's primary avatar is the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland....just a bit demented, looking like they've spent too much tea time with the Mad Hatter. ;) VRChat psychedelia - also known as Shaders, VFX are wild, like taking psychedelics without the nausea and hangover. Anywho, Nanotopia here playing with Euclidean rhythms, sub-harmonics and the lovely Shakmat Dual Dagger filter with the System80 Jove filter. Here is our stab at some form of Psy. Enjoy! *Danny and the Camberwell Carrot from Withnail & I :) released October 18, 2023 on Bandcamp
Symbiosis/Dysbiosis: Sentience Live performance - Nanotopia pays homage to Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and one of their favourite movies, Fantastic Planet. Imagine stepping into an old-growth forest, where your EEG data and the bioelectrical activity of living Mycelium influence the world around you. Symbiosis-Dysbiosis: Sentience is a groundbreaking immersive XR installation in which participants embark on a quest to connect with the Mycelial Entity at the heart of the interconnected forest. It offers a unique perspective on the delicate balance between humans and the non-human organisms around us. Embark on an interactive journey where your choices determine the environment's response. Your decisions can lead to either symbiosis, fostering evolution and new awareness, or dysbiosis, resulting in a cascade of adverse outcomes. This dynamic experience places you at the heart of a living, breathing ecosystem, a powerful reminder that everything is interconnected and that your actions matter. Symbiosis/Dysbiosis: Sentience invites audiences to slow down and experience an interconnected, psychedelic forest adventure through whimsical storytelling, live actors, and an evolving soundscape. It reminds us that the future depends on our ability to recognize our connection to the non-human world. Combining real-time fungal biodata streams with EEG data from Guests, haptic sensations, and scent emitters triggered by the living fungi create an environment where participants feel, perceive, and interact with the microscopic connections formed within us, on us, and around us. Within the expanded reality installation, Nanotopia creates an evolving Quadraphonic and 4D soundscape with living Mycelium that is directly connected to a custom synthesizer and bio-electrically connected to the virtual environment. Actors, embodying the spirits of the forest, will guide you through this immersive experience, making you feel like an integral part of the narrative. Live performance took place for Earth Modular Society https://youtu.be/E0iLBkuhH-s?si=n2RD3fr7xnAhmDL0 Full album coming 2025!
A start into Jamuary22 trying out a 3 patch challenge from Comparative Irrelevance. Maths/STØ/Rings only here we do not use the STØ (bc we do not own one) in its place we used the VCO side of a Maneco Labs Grone Drone.. with a short visit from a Mother 32. Things grow dark fairly quickly, this is the way of the Grone! Letting go of 2021 heading into the future.. output just as time turned.
Mycelia premiered as the opening performance for A MAZE. / Berlin festival 2021 in VRChat. A meta-immersive living mycelium musical entanglement. Nanotopia is known for hooking up fungi with electrodes and circuitry to record its various biodata and translating this biodata (often in real-time) through synthesisers both analog and digital. In 2020 Tosca Terán was an invited participant in the New Nature Climate Science Exchange hosted by the Goethe-Institute, curated by Samara Chadwick. Through this exchange with other like-minded artists, technologists and scientists Tosca presented a proposal towards bringing living fungi biodata into a VR environment, creating a macroscopic experience of human and nonhuman entanglements within a forest environment. Working project title: Symbiosis/Dysbiosis. After the presentations Tosca and digital technologist Sara Lisa Vogl connected and later began work on the Symbiosis/Dysbiosis project. Bringing in Neuroscientist/coder Brendan Lehman, Photogrammetric/new media artist Allison Moore, VR world builder Jason Stapleton, Sound designer Penelope Walcott, AR collaborator Peter Henderson, and early involved Arduino robot builder Lorena Salomé. Symbiosis/Dysbiosis is generously funded by the Goethe-Institute Montreal, Canada Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council with sponsorship from bHaptics and ARTIVIVE. Tosca and Sara Lisa thought it would be fun to participate in the A MAZE. / Berlin festival but knew the Sym/Dys project was far too large not to mention myriad COVID19 restrictions plus, looking at VRChat as a platform et viola! a Mycelia mood board branched out. Sara Lisa was introduced to the Meta Crew South Africa while working for SXSW and felt that this amazing group of creators might be interested in working on a Mycelia world - and they were!! Concept for Mycelia was, of course, to bring living mycelium bio-sonification into VRChat with reactive audio aspects via a live human & nonhuman electronic music performance. Sara Lisa had been learning how to work with a Sports Pole in VR and thought she could add to the performance with an interpretive full-body tracked dance as spores above Tosca's avatar. Living mycelium and human performances have taken place for A MAZE. / Berlin The Venice Film Festival 2021- VR Expanded and the Raindance Film Festival where Mycelia won the Spirit of the Festival award. nanotopia will be releasing the Mycelia performances soon. Here is a preview! xoxox Happy New Year 2022!
Forest UnderSound is an invitation to consider the sentience of fungi. Sentience is the ability to perceive one’s environment, and experience sensations such as pain and suffering, or pleasure and comfort. Many countries acknowledge animal sentience, and animal’s ability to experience pain, fear, distress, hunger, and thirst, in their laws, which are designed to protect animals from such suffering. In 1997, the European Union agreed to recognize animals as sentient beings under European law. Animals and fungi share a common ancestor and branched away from plants at some point aproximately 1.1 billion years ago. It was only later that animals and fungi separated on the genealogical tree of life, making fungi more closely related to humans than plants. For Forest UnderSound, mycelium from Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi/Lingzhi) and Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms), along with mycorrhizal fungi growing and connecting within the roots of various plants has been cultivated. Both the plant roots and mycelium have electrodes connected to them that send biodata into purpose-built circuits, which detect micro-fluctuations in conductivity between 1,000-100,000 of a second. This biodata is then translated in realtime to control analog and digital synthesizers. Empirically, when fully connected and music is being generated, Mycelium consistently generates periodic patterns that are both enigmatic but also very musical. For reasons that I do not fully understand, Mycelium reacts to the proximity of some people more than others. Growing more frenetic or more harmonic or completely silent, when humans are present. For the first iteration of Forest UnderSound fungi and plants will be allowed to grow over approximately 7 months, creating a real-time fungi forest soundscape. The soundscape will change over the seasons as the fungi and plants grow. During the 2021 Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall this soundscape will be recorded. Recordings take place on each of the 4 equinoxes. With support from: The Ontario Arts Council • A Space Gallery, Toronto • The Museum, Kitchener Ontario
Finally hooked up a Mother. After chatting with Aga (Ferment Radio) I wondered why I hadn't tried this yet. I mean, really. Prior to setting the electrode probes into the SCOBY I did a little test with Apple cider vinegar and another with a bit of water just to see if the activity would be the same or similar- it was not. Available for download, remix, etc.
Back in August 2020 I started cultivating Pleurotus djamor towards a presentation for the Remote Realities residency awarded to myself and technologist/collaborator Sara Lisa Vogl (regarding Symbiosis/Dysbiosis). After the presentation I gently placed the Pink oyster mushrooms aside. Last week, while exiting my music/sound making studio I noticed "Pinkie" and !! there was this beautiful mass of pink oysters emerging out of its grow bag. After apologising profusely I brought Pinkie back into the music studio and started recording. The Electrodes had been left within the mycelium, which is what I usually do. Here are the results of that music session. Hope you enjoy!
Created during COVID self-isolation. Moon in Cancer was recorded during our August 15th live stream. Check it out over on https://nanotopia.bandcamp.com Thanks for listening!
Created during COVID self-isolation. Moon in Cancer was recorded during our August 15th live stream. Check it out over on https://nanotopia.bandcamp.com Thanks for listening!
Created during COVID self-isolation. Moon in Cancer was recorded during our August 15th live stream. Check it out over on https://nanotopia.bandcamp.com Thanks for listening!
Created during COVID self-isolation. Moon in Cancer was recorded during our August 15th live stream. Check it out over on https://nanotopia.bandcamp.com Thanks for listening!
The Dye Maker - Composed by: Phaeolus schweinitzii for Music Works magazine - The biodata of Phaeolus schweinitzii (common name: the Dye Maker’s polypore) was recorded during a Fall foray with the Mycological Society of Toronto at Dufferin forest, Mansfield ON 2019. MIDI translation took place in Toronto at co:Lab/nanopod studio Performed by: Nanotopia (Tosca Terán, Andrei Gravelle) who brought the midi translation of the biodata into Ableton Live and gave Phaeolus schweinitzii a timbral voice. The challenge to collaborating with non-human organisms is to try to minimize the sense of our own involvement in the process. While I mediate the biodata gathered to temper it to determinant pitches and give it a timbral voice, I feel that the sense of rhythm and pattern captured in my field recordings represent a unique aspect of the fungi. While the biodata can sometimes be a starting point for further development, I chose this track, which has had minimal intervention on our part to convey the richness of the source material I gathered and hope that it creates inspiration and dialogue for not only new creative processes but to awaken new ways of seeing the diversity of life on our planet and lead to further multi-species entanglements. - © info: Nanotopia.net/Midnight Mushroom Music -Tosca Terán
Solstice Live Stream from June 20th, 2020 5:30 PM EDT Into the New Nature Travelling without moving into the Mycelium Network with Nanotopia. Mycelium bio-sonification through modular synthesis. Electrodes are placed within Ganoderma lucidum aka Reishi. The electrodes detect micro fluctuations in conductivity between 1000 t0 100000 of a second. This biodata is then translated to MIDI & CV enabling Humans to hear the Mycelium. Relax into the Mycelium Network... Prior to lift-off we will show our set-up and then fade into reactive TouchDesigner visuals. Thank you for tuning in. Generative TouchDesigner visuals react/respond to the mycelium biodata. Spaceship controls: Flute/Pluck/Bow/Percussive sounds= Mutable instruments Plaits & clones: Atom & Piques Paths, branches, roots = Qu-Bit's amazing Bloom (fractal sequencer) Make Noise= Morphagene, René, Tempi, Pressure Points Along with= Pittsburgh Instruments, Doepfer, Moog(s), Korg (keystep to Mother32), Erica Synths. Visuals both chance & purposeful: Mermaid painting= @sarah_gravel on insta Images used in TouchDesigner Mycelium network: Tardigrade footage= @atinyworldorg on insta/twitter NASA, Planet Earth, nanotopia. Follow us on Instagram: @nanotopia_net @MothAntler @Nanotopian Support artistic efforts: https://www.patreon.com/nanotopia_net
Live stream Midnight Mushroom Music • May 30th, 2020 Ganoderma lucidum biodata recorded in realtime - translated into MIDI & CV into Mutable Instruments Yarns which in turn sent this data into various Synth voices: Plaits, Braids, Clouds, Mother32, Erica synths Black Wave Table and more... contemplative. The Mycelium sounds mutated over time into some ear piercers and pitch shifts, we just allowed it to do its thing. Reactive/generative TouchDesigner visuals were created to go along with the live stream and can be viewed on Instagram (10+min clip) @MothAntler or Youtube: https://youtu.be/HQkNj5YA9yQ Thanks for tuning into the Mycelium Network!
Meant to be a live stream to Instagram (@nanopodstudio) there was a technical melt-down of sorts (phone related) so, we had to cancel. Meanwhile, we were recording (thank the fungi!) and here it is. Pleurotus ostreatus that has grown into/around sawdust w/coffee grounds had electrodes placed on to it about a week or so back.. time being a crazy thing during our self-isolating COVID-19 curve flattening regime! Mycelium has grown over and around the electrodes and has started pinning! We get asked a lot about the mycelium 'generating' music so, I decided to conduct a bit of a walk-thru on one of our set-ups. Mycelium 'playing' our Eurorack. MIDI: our Bio-Sonification modules (we sell them & offer kits) takes MIDI out into (??) a synthesizer, and digital synth app, or other devices that can accept MIDI. The module itself does not make sound, it read micro-fluctuations in conductivity and sends out MIDI notes and/or controls. This data can be used as CV(control voltage) which can then be sent out into our Eurorack modules via Patch Cables- woo hoo!! Here's where the fun begins! While we are definitely not the first to 'listen' to plants, we are the first to record fungi in this manner and run with it. Unless there is someone else out there we have yet to meet!? In the field we tend to record raw bio-data and later turn this data into 'music'. It is simply an easier way to store large files when trekking around. Back in our studio we can work with synths and sequencers, surreal guitar pedals and other random noise making devices that accept MIDI or CV in. A step x step for this particular sound: The Oyster mushroom mycelium was plugged into a BASTL 1983. The 1983 (https://bastl-instruments.com/eurorack/modules/1983)is a polyphonic MIDI to CV interface with creative voice allocation and automatic tuning capabilities. There are four channels of CV and GATE outputs that can be configured in various Layouts, such as hybrid splits between monophonic and polyphonic voices or velocity, Control Change, aftertouch, triggers, clock or reset. This means we could take the MIDI notes (which general trigger 1 note at a time, not polyphonic) and send the info out into different Oscillators and Wave Shapers. Which we totally did. CV/Gate was taken out from the 1983 into a Moog Mother32, an Erica Synths Black Wavetable VCO, Mutable Instruments Braids, and the Doepher A111-5. At around 1:58 in we switched mushrooms from Pleurotus to Ganoderma and later, back to the Pleurotus- which severely changed pitch once the container holding the Ganoderma was opened. We wondered what the Peurotus sensed, why did the sound change so noticeably? Was it due to the Pleurotus mycelium being unable to locate the Ganoderma mycelium? They can both be found populating in the same forests, or even neighbouring trees so, what is going on here? The Ganoderma did not audibly seem to care about the Pleurotus. The only time I've encountered similar was when Ganoderma came into contact with Physarum polycephalum. There was a distinctive battle cry from the Ganoderma - or what we like to infer to the sound change. How are we collaborating with the mycelium? In this instance the Eurorack set-up is the collaboration. By sending the MIDI notes/controls out into the other modules. Other than that- the sounds are the mushrooms. Feel free to DM us with any questions concerning our set-up, modules, kits, mycelium or collaboration! Enjoy :)
Ahoy! Some listeners of 28/03/20's live stream asked what the fungi were contributing so, we isolated the layer to share here!
Growing mycorrhizal threads pushed through MicroFreak & Particle into Live and out the donut hole. Headphones always.
Monster Zero is in the works! I believe I've mentioned looking into Phoneme databases, to use with the fungi biodata? Well, here we have some mycorrhizal fungi triggering numbers. As if it is counting out otherworldly lottery numbers, or perhaps numerical sequence end dates? ;p Actually, it is simpler than that! I was gifted a MicroFreak (Arturia)for use in an upcoming installation. This little synth has so many features! It is super fun, you can sculpt your own custom sounds, it is polyphonic, etc., etc. Here I had the fungi triggering a counting sequence, randomly. Fed into a Red Panda Particle (LOVE!). Meanwhile, I continue my research into phoneme bio-sonification. :) Thanks for stopping by! XO
Remember how everyone seemingly got all up on Grimes for saying AI will replace musicians? Well, actually that may not have been her exact wording or sentiment, however, if the Age of Spiritual Machines is soon then Grimes may not be too far from the truth (IMHO). AI has definitely played into my curious imagination since picking up and reading my first Science Fiction story. So, for the past several years I have, behind the scenes been studying and taking workshops in Machine Learning. In 2003 I created Transgenic Morphosis with collaborators/artists, Steve Storz (storzart.com) and Andrei Gravelle. Not really thinking about it at the time we built pods that highly resembled what would later hit the market as Oculus Rift headsets. Ours, however, encased Super 8 loops, and stereoscopic images (it was '03 after all). Not too long after than installation, I dove into a Transhumanist movement and read more Kurzweil, Negroponte.. Gibson ;p I guess my thoughts here are: I've been studying ML/AI since learning html/java/action script and learning about Jaron Lanier. Fungal AI was created from biodata collected from mycelium. Bio-sonification through Ableton Live then given to an AI that took the rendered bio-sonification as an influence, and through random zeros and ones delicately spat out this composition (so to speak). I then brought this new data into Live and layered over the original biodata, added some delay and reverb here and there - don't judge me! It's a start ;p Thanks for listening.
Lately, we've been researching electrodes. Nano, micro, tiny, made of fine silver and gold. For this biodata recording, we used needle-fine silver electrodes. The electrodes, like hypodermic needles, were placed within the roots of our Crassula portulacea (Shrek plant!). As well as experimenting with various electrodes we have started to work with Phonemes. Soon: Fungi (non-human intelligence) and AI triggered speech.
A colleague is experimenting with Cordyceps, growing them on rice... Several jars of fruiting bodies so I thought why not record some biodata! Here it is.. curious.
This was my last day in the Blue Mountains and I had to record biodata from a Mountain Blue Gum, Eucalyptus deanei as well as a Grey Gum, Eucalyptus cypellocarpa. Not too far from BigCi the soil changes to where these particular beauties thrive. What's more, is there is what looks to be a field of them within the Dharma Cloud Monastery an approximate 40-hour trek northeast. Incredibly beautiful land. The residents of Dharma Cloud have cleared the land of all Understory, creating the appearance of a gum tree orchard. Giant stone buddha stand within this magical forest. I spent around 90 minutes outside of the monastery gates... I also stepped through the large red circle, into this peaceful land. The biodata recordings were each taken separately, however, here I have decided to mix the Blue and Grey together. The two trees were fairly similar looking in size, but the Grey gum sent a rush of activity where the Blue was seemingly more subdued. The separate recordings will be uploaded within the next week. Hope you enjoy listening to the processed tree biodata, and thanks for listening! XO
Tuesday evening, Oct 8th I was generously invited to visit (& record biodata if possible) the Glowworms residing in a section of Rainforest looked after by Lionel Buckett, founder/builder of http://lovecabins.com.au/ (check out his amazing cabins & Tree House!!). So, Glowworms can now be marked off the bucket list! What I was not aware of, however, is Glowworms turn into Fungus Gnats!! Ha. :) We arrived a bit early so I was able to walk around the forest a bit as the sun slowly made its descent... GIANT Blue gums above us, incredible ferns and I spotted a bracket mushroom at least 9-10 meters up living on a Gum. Amazing. This bracket has to be at least 4 meters across! Massive. Lyrebirds gave us a soundscape as we waited... slowly it grew dark, constellations began to appear in the caves. I carefully placed electrodes into an area where several larvae were glowing- their activity was wonderful. I recorded the raw MIDI data and later brought that into Ableton where I added Pads, a tiny bit of Decay and some Reverb. Though, their activity was off the charts and really doesn't need any intervention other than adding a Synth voice. A Github repository now exists for those interested in utilizing the raw data. Thanks for listening! Next time I visit Australia I am definitely booking Lionel's Tree House or Cave House! Amazing. Arachnocampa luminosa (Skuse, 1891), Three genera of fungus gnats are bioluminescent, and known as "glowworms" in their larval stage. They produce a blue-green light. The larvae spin sticky webs to catch food. They are found in caves, overhangs, rock cavities, and other sheltered, wet areas. They are usually classified under the family Keroplatidae, but this is not universally accepted and some authors place them under Mycetophilidae instead. Despite the similarities in function and appearance, the bioluminescent systems of the three genera are not homologous and are believed to have evolved separately. Genus Arachnocampa - around five species found only in New Zealand and Australia. The most well-known member of the genus is the New Zealand glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa. The larvae are predatory and use their lights to lure prey into their web. The species was first formally described in 1891 with the species name Bolitiphila luminosa and was assigned to the family Mycetophilidae.[4] In 1924, it was placed within a new genus of its own, Arachnocampa, because the wing venation of the adults and the behaviour of the larvae differed significantly from other Bolitophila fly species. It was given the genus name (meaning "spider-worm") on the basis of its building a silk nest and using silk threads to capture prey.
Raw Midi biodata recorded from the Eucalyptus haemastoma. I brought it into Ableton for some lite-processing. Added a 'voice' to hear the data. The notes formed what looked like cuneiform. Letters. Maybe, symbols? Do you hear a pattern? Eucalyptus haemastoma, commonly known as scribbly gum, is a species of tree that is endemic in the Sydney region. It has white or silvery grey bark, lance-shaped or curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers and conical or hemispherical fruit. It is one of three eucalypts with prominent insect scribbles in the bark.
Its been raining up in the Blue Mountains- which is a good thing! Out early morning Wednesday, Sept 18th and I found giant Cauliflower-like, slightly Lion's Mane-ish fungi under gum trees. Turns out these giant fungus clumps are Laetiporus portentosus. Here's what Wiki has to say: Laetiporus portentosus is a species of polypore fungus in the family Fomitopsidaceae. It is found in South America, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been used traditionally as a tinder and to carry fire by Australian Aboriginals, and by New Zealand Māori people. The Māori have also used it as a "wound protector, to soften and ease a difficult labor. The white-throated treecreeper (Cormobates leucophaea) has been recorded feeding on this fungus in a heathy dry forest in Victoria. Super happy to find this mushie, I set to recording its biodata and here ya go! Thank for listening!
Bio-data recording from a Wollemi clone. Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. Wollemia was only known through fossil records until the Australian species Wollemia nobilis was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges 150 km north-west of Sydney. The genus is named for the National Park. The Wollemi Pine is one of the world's oldest and rarest plants, with less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival. Wollemi pine, although it is not a true pine (genus Pinus) nor a member of the pine family (Pinaceae), but, rather, is related to Agathis and Araucaria in the family Araucariaceae. The oldest fossil of the Wollemi tree has been dated to 200 million years ago.
Out collecting biodata I wandered into Wollemi's Gardens of Stone. The Scribbly Gum is a magnificent tree. Its bark is an iridescent blue, graphic as if someone painted it camouflage patterns in multiple shades of graphite. The particular Scribbly that called to me grew out of what appeared to be a giant root bulb, split in two at the top, identical twins. Walking around this 'bulb' I discovered the tree had quite literally been split open! The bulb appeared 3 dimensional from one side, however, the other side revealed the bulb to be a shell perhaps 15cm thick. All blackened, charred- but from what? The rest of the tree and bulb had no sign of fire, only this odd, cave-like interior. The tree(s) lived on, thrived. I sat with the twins, watching the sunset over the mountains, bringing the rain.
Early morning biodata recordings of Banksia serrata aka Old Man Banksia/Saw-tooth Banksia Artist residency 16, August 2019 to 16, October 2019. Blue Mountains World Heritage site Wollemi National Park. 2019 Bigci Environmental Award. @MothAntler
This morning I headed out around 4:30/5am to explore the Zig Zag path in South Titirangi. The hike down was easy... I was in search of Kauri. WikiP says: Agathis australis, commonly known by its Māori name kauri, is a coniferous tree of Araucariaceae in the genus Agathis, found north of 38°S in the northern districts of New Zealand's North Island. Kauri forests are among the most ancient in the world. Kauris are currently endangered, dieoff is taking place due to a fungal pathogen carried in on feet/shoes. Kauri are naturally found throughout the upper North Island of New Zealand, in the Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions, and in parts of the Bay of Plenty. Kauri have existed as a species for around 20 million years. I found a small Kauri (maybe a metre across!) and gently placed electrodes onto its skin. For the past couple of days here my friend and I have wondered if sick versus healthy Kauri could be heard, would there be a significant difference in their sound? Later in the afternoon, I was taken to Arataki Visitor Centre where there are many Kauri growing on the land around the centre. The rangers were very friendly and listened to my friend and I describe what I was up to in Australia and New Zealand (recording biodata) and they were entirely open to my placing electrodes onto one of the Kauri on site! The thing is, most Kauri are inaccessible. Platforms and walkways have been built up as walking tracks, to keep people off the Kauri roots. A beautiful 100 or so year old was close enough to a platform (easily 9 metres from the forest floor), with this Kauri reaching a height of... at least 30 metres or so? I have a habit of thanking fungus, plants, and trees as I go to place electrodes onto them and today was no different. Kauri are beautiful. Majestic very much like Redwood. It turns out they are very musical, too. As I recorded and listened to the kauri biodata the park rangers came over to listen and talk about what exactly was going on! As we chatted, Joc (pronounced, Joss) came up. Joc works at the visitor's centre and wondered what the heck was going on! I think one of the rangers was telling their colleagues the Kauri was making music! ;) Joc placed the headphones on and looked instantly blown away- like we all were! Further important info= Joc is Maori. Joc shared incredible information with me. Her family and Maori people often cleanse themselves with the wind. Joc's family come up to this particular area for wind cleansing. A word used for this medicine or feeling/sensation (if I recall correctly!) is Rangoaa or Rongoā. Joc told me that the sounds she was hearing from the Kauri were Rongoā. Healing/feeling/cleansing. Then, something truly unexpected happened. Joc took my shoulders and pulled me close saying, I must Hongi with you. Our noses and foreheads touched, like a close hug. I felt connected, grounded to the earth and connected to Joc. Joc, if you read this- thank YOU. Image shown: two trees. At a certain point down the Zig Zag track I felt like something was watching.. looking at me. I quickly turned and saw this tree! These markings were a knot and what appeared to be naturally formed creases. The other tree is the Kauri listened to up at the Arataki centre. Thanks for tuning in!
Last night it rained (finally!) leaving the earth wet this morning so, I took an early walk down to the Scarlet fungi to record their bio-data. Curious birds chirped, trilled and squawked at me while I placed the electrodes onto the mushrooms. That said, this recording is from Ganoderma steyaertanum, a Tasmanian clone. I am currently experimenting with the steyaertanum mycelium towards an upcoming workshop here at Bigci October 12th, 2019. It fruits low on hardwood trees deep in the rainforests here. New intro! Artist in residence and new mate up here at Bigci.org, Madeleine Shaw aka Maddy allowed me to record her voice to highlight and mark my time here. Check out her work when you get a chance! https://maddyshaw.com.au Meanwhile, I am excited and honoured to share the following news! Some of my mycelium bio-data/bio-sonifications (along with images and text) are being integrated into artist/film-maker Lisa Jackson’s upcoming massive installation, TRANSMISSIONS, large-scale three-part multimedia installation about the power of language, in an indigenous futurist setting. Premiering September 5-28 downtown Vancouver at Simon Fraser University's Milton Wong Theatre. Tour to follow. So, if you are in or around Vancouver Sept 5-28 make sure to check it out!
Coming to you from the Blue Mountains in NSW Australia! I am excited to have made it at long last. A recipient of the BigCi Environmental award I am residing at the edge of Wollemi National Park. The trees here are spectacular! This morning I went on a short walk to a beautiful red gum to test out new coding I've recently added to one of the Bio-Sonification modules I brought along with me. Terrestrial. Indigenous. These trees have many stories to tell...
Today Andrei and I were interviewed by Ground magazine quarterly (Ontario Association of Architecture) During the interview mycelium was softly playing in the background. Later in we hooked up the writer and then ourselves to each other. Look for our interview in the Fall issue of Ground (Toronto). Thanks for listening :) Image AI created. Amanita crossbred with a terrier
It feels like forever! After the Mycelium Martian Dome, prototype 1,0 went up we needed some serious downtime to recoup. We left a panel growing at the Dressler's for over two weeks now so, we thought we better check-in! Out of its growing chamber, it was slowly drying. It felt only a day or two out and hyphae could be seen growing in valleys and crevices. I gently nestled the electrodes down into some hyphae clumps and started recording. About a minute in I gave the mycelium some water in places then we went and kicked back for a bit allowing it to do its thing. After thirty or so minutes we went back in and I made a connection between myself and the Hyphae. Not expecting anything to happen. Then 38 minutes in the Mycelium and I are making a connection. Thanks for listening! Nighty night.
Saturday afternoon, June 29th 2019 and the Mycelium Brain over in the MOCA studio is still alive and growing! It is incredibly active. I hooked the module up to an Eowave Domino (droneOrama!) and eventually brought that MIDI data through a Volca fm with the always amazing Strymon Blue Sky- courtesy of Moog Audio Toronto. Mark your calendars for Vector Festival July 11-14 2019. July 14, 1PM to 4PM I will be set-up on the 1st floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto with InterAccess. Plants, moss/lichen generously provided by Emblem flowers Toronto, subwoofer and mixer supplied by Moog Audio. Mycelium supplied by Mushroom Guerrilla and Ecovative Design. Come experience bio-sonification and interact with the plants and fungi!
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' A central theme of the "Ozymandias" poems (excerpt here by Shelley) is the inevitable decline of rulers with their pretensions to greatness. Physarum polycephalum does not see Humans as ruler, nor their pretensions.
Apologies for a couple missed evenings. Andrei and I have been contemplating our losses. Andrei's father last year, my mother this year along with everything else. Positive thoughts, too. Many projects and changing the code on our bio-sonification modules- which you hear here. Andrei and I hooked up to each other, our bio-data simultaneously chugging through the MIDI channels, making sounds. Sirin and Grandmother. Then we venture towards Mars. Andrei and Grandmother. Meanwhile, we are working on the Mycelium Martian Dome project, generously sponsored by: Ecovative Design, Moog Audio, Brothers Dressler, The Mushroom Guerrilla in partnership with MoCA and the Ontario Science Centre. Installing later in July, 2019.
Electrodes placed on my scalp, MIDI out to Mother 32 running into various Eurorack modules; Karl Marx, Braids, Clouds, Black Hole and some Make Noise.. It has been a difficult week. Wondered what that might sound like.
Listening to the Mycelium sculpture that was grown for GrowOp 2019 every other day, it changes. This episode is a bit Bjork + Matmos = some high pitched pings so, watch out if you're wearing headphones! Oh and May the 4th be with you! :) Scanning electron mage taken from Lichen growing on a birch branch that I found.
Today has been a hell of a day! Positive/Negative/in-between. Regardless, tonight the Ganoderma lucidum is very active. Brought the midi biodata through the Grandmother and then decided to simply bring it through Ableton. Thanks for listening!
Grow Op 2019 installation at the Gladstone. The Mycelium Shrine; Primordia was created. An immersive environment where visitors could listen to the Mycelium and commune with it. April 17-21st at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto Room 206 Primordia won the GrowOp Jury Award! For Grow Op: ENERGY I created an immersive underground environment. Visitors could enter the world of Mycelium and interact with it sonically. Over a two month period, I formed and grew a large-scale mycelium sculpture during my residency at MoCA Toronto. The living mycelium sculpture served as the centrepiece within the installation. The walls within the space were covered with black scrim, for the floor we brought in 8, 25-litre bags of topsoil. I sprayed the topsoil with hydrogen peroxide and diatomaceous earth to keep the possibility of fungus flies to a minimum. Fibre optic lighting was hung from the ceiling to represent mycelium growth and networks. A pedestal was placed within this space for the living Mycelium sculpture to stand upon. Once on the pedestal, the sculpture stood approximately 7′. 6 sets of electrodes were placed upon the Mycelium sculpture to read its bio-data and translate that information to MIDI which in-turn powered 3 analogue synthesizers. Copper electrode pads were placed on the top of the pedestal running into the mycelium. Visitors could place their hands on the copper and have their bio-data translated to MIDI along with the Mycelium. Visitors started referring to the installation as a Shrine to Mycelium. Entering the room visitors were first introduced to mycelium’s ability to bio-remediate toxins from the environment. Jars containing Ganoderma lucidum with aniline dye and PVC, Pleurotus ostreatus and motor oil were on display. Within less than 2 days the Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms) completely absorbed the motor oil and started thriving off of the hydro-carbons.
During my residency at MoCA I'm exploring myco-remediation, growing mycelium sculptures, on agar plates, in jars, in bags... Last night Andrei and I hooked up ourselves and mycelium to experiment with some ideas we have for the bio-sonification at Grow Op April 17-21 2019. We brought midi into 2 Mothers and a Minitaur, reverb via a T2 pedal. We are also constructing touch-pads for visitors into the 'Underground' in room 206 at the Gladstone Hotel (Toronto). If the pads work, visitors will be able to directly interact with the mycelium bio-data. Stay tuned... :)
March 31st. Blizzard outside, mycelium inside. First bio-sonification recording during the MoCA residency. A bit strange.. the mycelium was very active, incredibly buzzy- toned it down a bit with a Lowpass filter.
Workshop at U of T March 7th. Nanotopia shared our Bio-Sonification studies with Masters and PHD students. During the last half of the workshop we set electrodes onto our Hosta undulata.
Bio-sonification during York Universities 1st annual Makers Fair. Spider plant hooked up sending its bio-data into Ableton. We added some Bach style arpeggiator, a little delay and lowered pitch -12 ;) We also had some amazing volunteers allow us to hook em up! 12 kids completed a circuit. Lots of fun.
After the Bio-sonification module building workshop (Feb 23) participants placed electrodes onto a plant and recorded its bio-data to midi (Animoog) and Ableton. Here are the results!
My Stropharia rugosoannulata aka wine cap mycelium is in danger. Somehow the bag was compromised and Trichoderma entered the scene... I kept the parameters simple. The beginnings are all healthy mycelium then, I placed the electrodes onto the Trichoderma. Time for the compost bin!
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