What Do Weeds Sound Like? | Bioelectric Skiff Project

video upload by Musical Miscellany

"At this time of year in Texas, the grass is still dormant but the weeds are not. I thought it might be kind of fun to see if the weeds had anything to "say". This lightweight battery-operated Eurorack skiff was handy to accomplish the task. I even threw in a kalimba for good measure."

Plant-based Music

Flower drone plant listen to your plants, drowning different layers of sounds mixing with #chompiclub

video upload by errorinstruments paul tas

"Flower drone plant listen to your plants, drowning different layers of sounds mixing with #chompiclub sampler"

Also see:

flower field

Error Instruments Flower Field: Unboxing & Demo

Immersive PlantWave Performance at SXSW 2023

video upload by Lightbath

"Revisit my immersive PlantWave performance at SXSW 2023 where I used real-time plant biodata to animate carefully designed musical systems in my modular synthesizer and computer. Held in Data Garden's Plant Music Lounge, this concert of guided generative music was an interspecies collaboration between myself and four houseplants.

✶ PATCH NOTES ✶

Get detailed patch notes of the Eurorack and computer/controllers setup I used for the performance on Patreon. A Patreon membership gives you access to my private Club Lightbath Discord community, educational resources archive, plus optional group and one-on-one lessons through my Creative Mentorship program → https://patreon.com/lightbath

✶ THANK YOU ✶

Thanks to Data Garden and @PlantWave for making this event a reality. Thanks to Robbie Tharp for the beautiful cinematography.

Continued thanks to @BlackmagicDesignOfficial for the 6K Pro we used as well as @HosaTechnology for the cables that connect all the things and @djtechtools for the MIDI Twister that gave me such fine knobs for interacting with the computer 🙏

All modules + music gear in this video → https://lightbath.zone/sxsw-pw
Audio + Video gear → https://lightbath.zone/new-video-kit"

Love Hultén's TEGEL - Biodata to MIDI

video upload by Love Hultén

"Sound sculpture based on biodata"

See the Love Hultén label below for more.

Ghosts of Spring (bioelectric composition #6)

video upload by Musical Miscellany (Poorness Studios)

"Last fall, I made a bioelectric composition as these lilies were withering. Now that spring has arrived and they've broken through the ground, I thought it would be fun to do another one with the same plants. Both setups use the Garden Listener from Clatters Machines to interface the synth with the lilies.

See the first video here"

Desert Songs - Biodata to MIDI

video upload by Love Hultén

"Desert Songs uses Plantwave - a small device that translates biodata from organic material into MIDI. It's not magic and the plants are not composing, it's simply biofeedback creating true organic 'randomness'. Tiny changes in electrical current - the plants act as variable resistors. Cacti was used for this project due to their very sparse and sporadic activity. The cacti garden includes a few different specimens hooked up to probes, and outputs for individual plants can be changed as you go using patch points upfront. The MIDI signals are sent to a Korg NTS-1 for simple waveshaping and then drenched in atmosphere using the Microcosm from Hologram Electronics. To complete the biolab environment look, a custom MIDI visualizer was made mimicking chloroplasts under microscope."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Synthesizer - Plant Wave

video upload by Rubén Martín Villa

"There is no better way to start the year than playing with our passion. There so much kind of syntetizers, that’s why I love it, it’s pretty similar than a game but with sounds. In this case I have a plant wave to take the variations of the sound of a bonsai and put it in the synthe to modify it. To create textures to accompany the timbre of the sound. This was a 3-hour session condensed into 3 minutes. #Intellijel #mutableinstrument #makenoise #sounddesign"

Ambient Aloe Vera (bioelectric composition #5)

video upload by Poorness Studios

"Continuing with the plant music experiments I've been doing... I let this aloe vera plant interact with the modular synthesizer via the Garden Listener from Clatters Machines. This plant seems to be in a very mellow mood. It's somewhat mesmerizing."

Poorness Studios bioelectric compositions

Physical Synthesis Cicada Acoustic Vibration Synthesizer & Nymph Eurorack Module Update

video upload by Physical Synthesis



You might remember the Physical Synthesis Cicada - Acoustic Vibration Synthesizer posted back in April of 2021 - you'll find a playlist of demos there. The initial run was sold out. They are now teaming with USA-based distributor Electro Distro on a new run of Cicadas as well as a Nymph eurorack module.

The press release follows:

NEW YORK, NY, USA: having sold out of its initial production run, unique products-producing hardware startup Physical Synthesis is proud to announce that it is working with San Clemente, CA, USA-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers (https://www.electro-distro.com/dealers) to bring its game-changing Cicada — an ‘acoustic synthesizer’ that transforms electronic signals into physical vibrations that can be fully manipulated before being reconverted back into a new, never-heard-before electronic sound — to a wider audience in advance of Nymph, its upcoming Eurorack module…

It is fair to say that every once in a while, a moment comes along whereby human interaction with sound changes completely. Cicada is effectively one of those moments — one of those new instruments that moves the needle in music technology. Indeed, it is pioneered by unique products-producing hardware startup Physical Synthesis as an ‘acoustic synthesizer’ that transforms electronic signals into physical vibrations that can be fully manipulated before being reconverted back into a new, never-heard-before electronic sound. Says company founder Spencer Topel: “Cicada was the first step in introducing physical synthesis methods to the synth community; it is an award-winning interface that really lets musicians explore microscopic sounds with precise control.” Clearly, Cicada made musical waves when winning the Judge’s Special Award at the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition 2022, hosted by Georgia Tech School of Music — one of the few schools in North America that offers Music Technology as a major in undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D levels of study — as an annual event dedicated to identifying the newest and greatest ideas in music.

Musical waves notwithstanding, ‘noise' is a subjective term; while electromechanical devices like speakers or headphones try to minimise the distortion inevitably introduced in physical systems, Cicada is designed to precisely exploit these distortion products as the basis of a new kind of synthesis. Cicada converts voltages to vibrations in a mechanical oscillator to create intermodulation — the addition of frequency content in a nonlinear system — in place of typical analogue or digital oscillators. By bringing the signal chain into a physical space, Cicada allows users to shape such content with natural, tactile gestures that truly transcend twiddling with a knob or pushing a slider. “As a violinist and composer, my experience of creating sound is highly physical,” proclaims Spencer Topel, adding: “With Cicada, I wanted to make an instrument that connects these elements, allowing musicians to produce complex, compelling sounds, but through tactile interaction.”

Insofar as actually doing what it does, Cicada receives two Eurorack-level signals that drive oscillation in a cantilevered Bridge positioned atop a Soundboard at an adjustable height. Digging deeper, distortion caused by the Bridge-Soundboard interaction adds frequency content to the input, determined by the specific qualities of the system. Self-explanatory Polycarbonate Soundboard, Foam Soundboard — made of EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) foam, and Wood Soundboard — made of Birdseye maple — options each provide a range of resonating/filtering properties that combine uniquely with the likes of the Coral Wing Bridge — tip made of solid oak (resulting in a bright, clear tone), Coral Dual Tip Wing Bridge — tip made of premium rubber (allowing for a hard, precise attack with a balanced low-end), and Grey Wing Bridge — tip made of soft neoprene foam (resulting in a mellow, balanced acoustic effect); each pairing opens up a portal to a distinct sonic universe.

Users can dynamically change the system (and, therefore, how it is transforming signals) by adjusting the Bridge height, changing the region and degree of contact between Bridge and Soundboard, or applying pressure to either — effecting real-time, tactile timbral control, in other words. With that being said, premium vibration damping materials, such as Delrin, and custom circuitry minimise unwanted noise, allowing the intermodulation products to shine, while the output, captured by a pickup microphone positioned beneath the Soundboard, can be monitored directly, processed modularly, or recorded into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

With behaviours akin to those exhibited by a traditional acoustic instrument, Cicada is highly responsive to differences in the excitation mechanism — the input signal, in other words. As an example, striking a snare drum with a stick or using it with brushes produce vastly different-sounding results; driving Cicada with quiet or loud, spectrally simple or complex, or bass- or treble-heavy signals similarly yield very different timbres.

Though Cicada is designed to work with a Eurorack setup out of the box, one of its strengths lies in its inherent flexibility. Indeed, it can just as easily receive signals from a DAW, boosted to the appropriate 5-10Vpp level via an outboard mixer. Moreover, the choice of input is completely left open to the user: an Ableton Live loop run through Cicada acting as a physical filter to provide timbral variety over time, for example; an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) from a Eurorack module, generating rich percussive tones on the maple Soundboard as the foundation of a beat; or a harmonically dense signal — similar to the output of a Max/MSP FM patch (which many would, without doubt, prefer to navigate physically rather than digitally) — made by moving the Bridge around the Soundboard to amplify certain harmonics and suppress others, finding a grittier sound with the Bridge barely touching or coaxing a more ethereal tone with it centred and depressed.

Endless exploration possibilities are a given, guaranteeing that any sonically-ambitious Cicada user is likely to while away the hours playing with input signals, system configurations, gestures, modulation combinations, and more.

It is hardly surprising, then, that Physical Synthesis sold out of its initial Cicada production run, really hitting a home run by counting luminaries like renowned electronic music composer and performer Hainbach — citing Cicada as being “The Tesla of electro-acoustic workstations, miles ahead of standard piezo and solenoid boxes...” — and Ableton CEO Gerhard Behles amongst its fan base, and has now turned to working with US-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers to bring its game-changing ‘acoustic synthesizer’ to a wider audience. “I want to bring acoustic synthesis to a wider range of musicians,” maintains Spencer Topel, before ending on a high note: “We are building some really exciting expansions of Cicada to different formats, including a Eurorack module called Nymph, which is coming soon.”

Physical Synthesis’ ‘acoustic synthesizer’ is now available as Cicada Founders Edition Extended — encompassing two dual AMPs, one PRE, one Actuator, five Bridges, three Soundboards, three Meanwell power supplies, three custom SATA Cables, and one custom Nanuk 935 Flight Case — for $2,700.00 USD or as Cicada Pro Series individual modules — starting at $79.00 USD — via San Clemente, CA, USA-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers (https://www.electro-distro.com/dealers) or directly from Physical Synthesis’ online Shop (https://shop.physical-synthesis.com).

For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Cicada webpage here: https://www.physical-synthesis.com

Succulent Sonata (bioelectric composition #4)

video upload by Poorness Studios

"I'm doing some more experimenting with the Garden Listener from Clatters Machines. In this video, a small succulent is used to control the modular synthesizer. I used a combination of quantized (via a sequencer controlled by the plant's trigger) and unquantified pitch signals.

See more videos made with plants here:"

Who Knew a Snake Plant Could Sing? (bioelectric composition #1)

video upload by Poorness Studios

"The Garden Listener from Clatters Machines is the heart of this patch. The snake plant is producing all of the CV in this patch aside from a few free-running LFOs. Think of it as a musical composition made by a plant.

See more videos made with plants here:"

[SOUNDMIT 2022] CLATTERSMACHINE POCKET GARDEN LISTENER - Transducteur musical de plantes vertes

video upload by

"Michelangelo nous parle de son transducteur pour plantes vertes, qui permet de transformer les signaux biologiques d'une plante verte en des notes MIDI. Plus d'infos : https://clattersmachines.com/prodotto..."

"Michelangelo tells us about his transducer for green plants, which transforms the biological signals of a green plant into MIDI notes. More info: https://clattersmachines.com/prodotto..."

"The Pocket Garden Listener is a portable random control messages generator from biometric signals and it’s meant to be the compact and desktop version of our Garden Listener eurorack module.

It detects conductivity variations on living beings’ surface and transforms them into MIDI notes, ranging from C-1 to C8, and CV signals (0 – 5V). Its behavior can be tamed through the one-knob menu from which you can choose and modify:

probes’ sensitivity (making it more or less sensitive to current variations);
scale (chromatic, major, minor, indian and arabic);
MIDI channel (1 – 16);
LEDs’ brightness.
USB powered.

MIDI data are simultaneously transferred:

via USB, to control DAW plugins and sequences;
via TRS, to control any other gear with a MIDI port;
Equipped with Trigger, Gate and Control Voltage to control modular and semi-modular gear.

Conductivity variations are detected by the Probes Input and converted into MIDI notes in real time according to the Main menu settings. Each MIDI note exits through the MIDI output and the USB, allowing you to take advantage of the sound of either any synthesizer equipped with a MIDI port or any VST in your DAW, and gets converted into an analog signal.

Trigger and Gate are fired every time a new note is generated (5V).

All the MIDI notes are converted into variable voltages (0 – 5V) depending on their pitch and exit through the CV output (1V/oct)."

Can Plants Make Music? (Clatters Machines Garden Listener Demo)

video upload by Poorness Studios

"I found this really cool Eurorack module which is designed to interact with plants. The Garden Listener from Clatters Machines creates bioelectric gate, trigger, and CV (pitch) signals from any living organism. In this video, I test it out with a pothos plant.

Intro - 0:00
History & Overview - 0:17
Hooking up the Plant - 1:51
MIDI Test w/Volca - 2:33
CV Test w/Modular Synth - 3:26
Final Thoughts - 6:09

You can find out more about the Garden Listener here: https://clattersmachines.com/prodotto...

See the podcast I referenced during the video here: https://www.synthux.academy/blog/desi..."

"The Garden Listener is a random control messages generator from biometric signals. It detects conductivity variations on living beings’ surface and transforms them into MIDI notes, ranging from C-1 to C8, and CV signals (0 – 5V). Its behavior can be tamed through the one-knob menu from which you can choose and modify:

probes’ sensitivity (making it more or less sensitive to current variations);
scale (chromatic, major, minor, indian and arabic);
MIDI channel (from 1 up to 16);
LEDs’ brightness.
Conductivity variations are detected by the Probes Input and converted into MIDI notes in real time according to the Main menu settings. Each MIDI note exits through the MIDI output, allowing you to take advantage of the sound of either any synthesizer equipped with a MIDI port or any VST in your DAW, and gets converted into an analog signal.

Trigger and Gate are fired every time a new note is generated, their voltage output can be modified with the respective attenuator (0 – 5V).

All the MIDI notes are converted into variable voltages (0 – 5V) depending on their pitch and exit through the CV output (1V/oct).

The CV output behavior can be modified via the Octave Selector which acts as a “CV equalizer” from which you can choose to generate CV only if the respective MIDI note lies within a certain octave range.

For once, leave those LFOs alone, and let any living conductive being modulate your signals.

The module comes with 3.5mm white probes and a set of snap-on adhesive reusable electrode pads. A MIDI-TRS type A adapter (not included) is required for the MIDI output.

The module requires calibration for a proper 1V/oct output."

Amanita rhopalopus Plays Eurorack Modular Synthesizer: Mushrooms Talking

video upload by MycoLyco

"Through the use of bio data sonification we can listen in on the bio electric activity of this Amanita rhopalopus specimen. It was rather old and had lots of bugs crawling all over it but there was still some beauty to be found. I love mushrooms and their unique morphology.

Changes in electrical resistance are converted to control voltages for a eurorack modular synthesizer. This produces what has come to be known as Mushroom Music. The resulting sound is dependent on the artists style, synthesizers and patching choices. I try to patch into many parameter to create a sonic universe of potential sounds that the mushroom can explore freely."

Plants play Modular 🪴 w/ SYMBIOTIC

video upload by Andrea Marzilli

"I’m very happy to introduce you SYMBIOTIC :)

Made by the awesome guys and girls from @spad_electronics , this is a little but powerful utility that converts plants biodata in midi or cv signal! (It also functions as a midi to cv converter). It has a sensitivity knob that you can use to choose the amount of received signal and a setting button allows you to change some interesting stuff (threshold, MIDI channel, note scale and LED brightness).In this way, you just need some cables to easily jam with your plants by just connecting SYMBIOTIC to them!

So in this simple but effective patch, my gorgeous monstera is sending a mutating trigger through SYMBIOTIC to the @qubitelectronix Bloom, who is then sending its 'always-changing' sequence to the @mutableinstruments Plaits V/oct input.
Some lfos from Stages are modulating Data Bender.
Monsoon in Clouds mode is creating the right ambient for this biometric interaction. ✨🌱

Headphones as always. 🎧"

SYMBIOTIC is available on on eBay, Tindie, and Etsy.

Diy kits symbiotic biodata sonification midisprout

generate music and listen to your plants with our new symbiotc biodata sonification board, Just attach the electrodes to the leaves of your favorite plant or your skin or any living thing and the fluctuations of the galvanic conductance will produce MIDI/cv notes. sampling the pulse widths and identifying the fluctuations will generate control messages and MIDI notes. You can set the threshold, the scale, the midi channel and the brightness of the leds. you will only need a plant, a 9v battery and a synth (hardware or software) and you are ready to listen to them. if you buy the diy kit we send you the assembly pdf"


midi sprout a biodata sonification make singing plant thank our biofeedback

video upload by Spad_Electronics

"Our new version of randomic note generator based on electro micro variation of plant is ready to go. It can send midi note and cv/gate/trigger signals at your digital or analog synthetizer"

SYMBIOTIC is available on on eBay, Tindie, and Etsy.

Music with plants. Plant plays a Synthesizer. (Microfreak)

video upload by Mutlu Karaköse

"Hello. for a change, a slightly different video. Let your plants play synthesizer. I present you 2 small gadgets to experiment (Playtron/Playtronica) (MIDI Biodata Device V3/Leetronics). The devices were here for testing. if you are interested in the devices. below I have linked the products. if you like the video feel free to leave a like and comment. the days there is another techno jam. take care of yourselves.

PLAYTRON: https://shop.playtronica.com/products... [additional posts here]
MIDI BIODATA: https://electricityforprogress.square..."

MIDI BIODATA is new to the site. Pic of the DIY kit and some info for the archives:

"Build your own Biodata Sonification system and connect to synthesizers using MIDI, Bluetooth, or Wifi! This kit contains all of the parts required for assembly including the Biodata circuit board, 555 Timer, Adafruit ESP32 Feather, LiPo battery, and 3D printed Enclosure. You will need soldering equipment, a small phillips screwdriver, and a well ventilated space for assembly. This kit can be 'modified' to exclude the Enclosure (if you want to print your own!), the Adafruit ESP32 Board (the brains of the operation, you might already have one!), different sized batteries, or just a bare circuit board.

https://github.com/..."

Also see MIDI Sprout for an alternative, non DIY plant based controller.

PLANT MUSIC - Peppers

video upload by Marc Mennigmann

"The music in this video was played by a peppers plant. I just gave the peppers some sounds to play with. I think she had fun...

If you want more information about the modules I used in this setup, please have a look at the rack on ModularGrid: https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/v...

For more music, please visit my BandCamp page at https://music.mennigmann.com/"

Smokey Quartz - Plant Music 22 (Aloe + PlantWave, Polygamist & Wretch)

video by Smokey Quartz

"In this Plant Music video I connect the Plant Wave to a lil Aloe we have growing in a pot outside. The MIDI coming from the PlantWave plays the Knas Ekdahl Polygamist which then sends pulse waves and trigger signals to the Metasonix S-1000 aka Wretch Machine."

Data Garden PlantWave - galvanic MIDI hardware 1st demo/experiments

video by SynthAddict

Little plant playing music.

"PlantWave converts measured plant (or any other organism's) galvanic resistance over time between 2 points to MIDI, like biofeedback devices (galvanic skin response in animals). Enjoy the experiments. A few synths were used in the demo.

I experiment with lights and wavelengths, as well as a simple impromptu chaotic jams at the end with a plant bandmate. :-)

The PlantWave mobile app has onboard synth presets & other features, but this demo is only for MIDI hardware.

Galvanic refers to Luigi Galvani, who was an 18th century physician, physicist, biologist and philosopher - considered the pioneer of bioelectromagnetics.

00:00​ PlantWave inro, hookups, etc.
01:24​ First connection & sound demo
01:48​ Light demos and theory
03:43​ Sound demo 2 with lights
05:30​ Touch demo
06:04​ Sound patch change
07:03​ Plant change
08:10​ Human/plant improv live jam"

Mushrooms Talking Live: Cordyceps Militaris Plays The Make Noise Strega and A Few Others Things

video by MycoLyco

"Cordyceps Militaris Mushrooms are connected to the new Make Noise Strega via the Instruo Scion. The Scion measures changes in resistance and converts them to control voltages and gates. In addition to the Strega there is another voice controlled by the Scion. This voice is the DPO into optomix QPAS and Mimeophon. This voice is then fend into the external input of the Strega. The all parameters being controlled are being controlled by CV from the mushrooms except the filter cutoff which is being controlled by the onboard envelop follower for the external input."

Ten Minutes Of Cordyceps Playing Modular Synth While Being Harvested
"Using a bio data sonification device and a eurorack modular synthesizer I hook up a tub full of Cordyceps Militaris to play synth as it is being harvested.

Electrical resistance is measure by passing a small current through the mushrooms similar to a lie detector test. The changes in resistance are then converted into control signals which determine the rhythm, pitch, timbre and effects parameters of the modular synthesizer."

More mushrooms here