Hi friends,
Here it is. For all of you who have asked about how these wild machines work. Or who haven’t asked but have wondered. Or who haven’t wondered but are now wondering.
Modular synthesizers first appeared in the early 60s and are relatives of the very first synthesizers built in the late 1800s - synthesizers being musical instruments that create weird and wonderful sounds electrically. Although there are many ways to make music with plants and mushrooms, the particular approach that I use leans heavily on modern approaches to modular synthesis. I first started exploring this world during the pandemic (the natural progression of a fascination with synthesizers that had been growing for years). I was immediately drawn to the lifelike energy so readily accessible in musical composition when using these machines. Although most modern modular systems pair both analog circuits and digital computing, there’s enough variability built into the system and enough easily accessible modulation possibilities to make electronic music really breathe and move. I fell in love.
I won’t dive too deeply into the philosophical underpinnings of this practice - check out my Field Guide for that. Suffice to say, there’s a lot of fun to be had with these systems, especially when using them to translate biodata signals. The very live and unpredictable nature of these signals is particularly easy to compose with when using the live and unpredictable nature of analog circuits and easy-to-set-up feedback loops. Essentially we’re creating generative music machines with biodata as the impetus that breathes life into our compositions.
The challenge is - modular synths have a steep learning curve. It took me some time just to get my head around thinking about musical synthesis as understood in this format. When playing a normal synthesizer, you press a key and you get a sound. On modular synths, the user defines the signal path and thus has to understand the basics about how sound synthesis happens.
There are some FANTASTIC introductions to modular synthesizers on the internet. I’m posting the video in this newsletter to show you how I use these machines, specifically in the context of making music with plants and mushrooms. I hope you find it useful!
In other news, in just a few weeks I’ll be hosting field trips in public parks across Western Canada. These events combine foraging and deep listening… we gather plants and mushrooms and then put on headphones and ‘listen’ to bioelectric soundscapes in public parks. I’ve hosted field trips all over the world but very few in Canada! I’m excited to be bringing this experience to my home country. Please join the fun 🌱
🗓️ Field Trips – Canada (July 2025):
July 13: Kelowna
July 15: Nelson
July 17: Calgary
July 19: Saskatoon
July 20: Winnipeg
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