Midnight Mushroom Music

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!

Recording bio-data off friends while they meditate.

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!

Thursday, January 17th, 2019 the opening reception for Planete Sauvage took place as part of the DesignTo Festival. During the event, I held a demo/intro to sculpting with mycelium and midi bio-sonification. Brave participants placed electrodes onto their fingers, earlobes and I recorded their bio-data, making sure to use the same parameters for each subject. Ashley starts the set. At 6 minutes, 5...

The mycelium has engulfed the substrate and is now overtaking the soil! I carefully buried electrodes down into the substrate over the mycelium and recorded their bio-data.. I've left the electrodes in place to see what will happen. Last time I did something like this with Ganoderma lucidum the mycelium grew over the silicone insulating the wires. Listen to this translation with really good headph...

Mycelial ghosts.. I recorded more bio-data from the Stropharia. This is less squelchy, less hectic. Happy dreaming!

January fifth by Mycelium Network

Last night at Sím (2018) many of the artists in residence allowed me to record their bio-data. E.Sher, visit her at www.eleonorasher.com Image, E.Sher's Tessilations, was taken during our group exhibit at the Icelandic Arts Association Gallery in Reykjavik, extruded in Toronto.

The Mycelium is fruiting.

I've been growing Pink oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus djamor) since early August (2018) and admittedly forgotten them in my downstairs greenhouse. There they were, beautiful as ever. Fruiting and the substrate entirely myceliated.

Mycelium grown over several months in a stainless steel bowl. Reacting to light and dark and touch.

During the summer I inoculated experimental substrate with Hericium erinaceus, left for Iceland and returned to find the mycelium growing and toothy, spiky fruiting bodies fruiting :) Meanwhile, I am putting together kits towards November 18th and the Make Change Conference, thought I would try out some new electrodes...

The Sím residency has allowed me time to further my experiments with Icelandic Obvara mixtures and íslenskur Fagradalsleir, through the creation of a small body of work towards a future publication documenting Obvara mixtures around the world. Wild yeast capture & culture: Conduct your experiments in either the Sour Dough Starter method or the Beer Brewer’s method. In Iceland, I tried both methods...

Walking back to the residency last night and I noticed some very large Woolly Milkcap (Lactarius torminosus*)growing near an Elf rock. So, I set up the computer and started recording their bio-data and here are the results! *what I think they were. Thank you for tuning in! May the spore be with you ;) XO

Yesterday I met beekeeper Elín Siggeirsdóttír, walked through the forest on her land, met her ducks & chickens! Her bees make incredibly yummy buttery honey. I set Petri dishes out by the hives (wild yeast!), collected a dead bee & was shown good vs poorly designed (though architecturally stunning!) hive sections. Spent the entire afternoon talking about bees & the environment. Elín allowed me to...

Back in Iceland harvesting wild yeast(s) towards a process known as Obvara*. Some of the plants, lichen, mushrooms I find towards capturing yeast is also (of course!) hooked up with electrodes and their bio-data is translated to midi. This evening I was working with wild clover. This clover is dying as winter storms have been raging off and on over here, but this particular flower had a lot of lif...

Chaos Fungorum is a journey into the Terrestrial solar system. Mycelium hooked up with electrodes feeding biodata through a Bio Sonification Module to midi. Midi sent through a NoCoast, 3 Mother32s, a Minitaur, a DFAM and Subharmonicon. From the multiverse into the Oort cloud, through dark matter. Branching out, we breath it in. Enjoy. If you are in Toronto September 29th, please visit the Baba Ya...

Rehearsing as much as possible with the Mycelium, with each other towards our September 29 performance. Here we have the Mycelium sending voltage out to 3 Mothers through a NoCoast into a Subharmonicon and Minitaur. Krell squared.

Sitting in the Mushroom Haus this morning, plating specimen. The Blue Oyster mushrooms are growing off the charts! I had to listen to them :)

For the past week, I've been working with Krell patches on a NoCoast. Bringing midi in from the Bio-Sonification module I first started by hooking my self up (via electrodes). This evening's Krell patch has midi coming in from a large block of Mycelium. Patching the Krell into a Korg SQ-1 and Werkstatt 01 I turned off all the lights and left the room.. allowing the Mycelium to do its thing. All of...

Friend and colleague, Steve Storz inspired this particular Krell patch. I used the NoCoast brought into Ableton. No decay or reverb added until .... Visit, http://www.stevestorz.com/web/ To see what Steve's up to! Art On!

Special Wednesday edition: Mycelium + Krell = are Mycelium the Krell in a form we can understand? For our Nuit Blanche performance, taking place September 29th 9:30pmEST onward. At 906 Queen street West, Toronto. We will be using various versions of Krell along with the mycelium's electrical impulses coming into some Mothers. Stay tuned!

Growing over 100 pounds of Mycelium towards an installation taking place Nuit Blanche Toronto, September 29th, 2018 at 906 Queen Street West. This episode is uploading late due to Suzanne Ciani being in town holding a workshop at Moog Audio! I was there, front row in front of her Buchla. It was a very inspirational talk. Lot's to think about. Earlier in the day, I was over at Guttman Laboratory au...

Tonight I worked with the Pink oyster mushroom, Pleurotus djamor. I am currently growing over 100 pounds (possibly more) of Mycelium towards Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2018 taking place September 29th. Installation at 906 Queen Street West with the Bio. Chrome Collective September 26-Oct 7, 2018. More information posting soon! Thanks for tuning in :)

Sitting outside this evening we were marvelling over how beautiful all of the Echinacea purpurea is this year. We have a field growing and thought it might sound lovely, with the bees landing, collecting pollen then flying back to their hive... electrical impulses sent into the Model 15, mixed down in Ableton X. Thanks for tuning in!