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 :)