The Secret Life of Plants | From Instruo Scion to PocketScion

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"This video is about making music with biofeedback from living organisms like plants, animals and humans. I made a video about Instruo Scion five years ago, and I couldn't resist getting the small PocketScion.
I don't know how to explain this, it's a brilliant design with huge potential, but it doesn't come out on its own. Sonically it's a bit tame with the inevitable additive 'organ-ish' sounds, the pluck, a subtractive voice and a very cool noise preset - which sounds amazing, but doesn't really match the mood of plant music. Most presets use a 5 or 6 note scale to avoid dissonants, so it sounds a bit like musical wallpaper.

Its main goal is to take it outside and capture the secret life of plants translated to ambient music, but it can't possibly survive a rainy day in the forest without a cover (or in the pocket).

So is it any good?
YES!

The Controller app allows you to change scales, ranges, midi channels and a control channel (default CC1 - ModWheel) you can route to other destinations (e.g. expression). Since you have five channels, you can make breathtaking generative music in the DAW, controlling five different CC's. It's brilliance is revealed when you hook it up to your DAW and drive 5 midi channels with an ambient VST for each channel (or VCV Rack?). It's truly amazing as a generative midi controller. On it's own, I'd say it's a 6 of 10. With MIDI, it's an 11 (strictly personal opinion)."