Ep. 112: Making Music with Mushrooms - Transcription of Bioelectric Action Potentials (Michael Allen Z Prime)

For more than two decades, Michael Allen Z Prime has pioneered the art of making music in collaboration with plants and fungi. His albums: L-Fields, One Hour As Peyote, Borneo, and The Ascent Of Sap were the first to be made in collaboration with the bioelectrical fields of plants and fungi. In his work, the fluctuations in pitch and rhythm that you hear directly follow the fluctuations of the bioelectrical fields of the organisms he is working with. Michael has presented his plant and fungal sound installations at venues around the world, including The Mendel Museum (Brno), the NTT InterCommunication Center (Tokyo), the Halles de Schaarbeek (Brussels), the Arnolfini Gallery (Bristol), the Centre for Experimental and Improvised Music (Madrid), and the old Franciscan Abbey on Sherkin Island (Ireland). His recordings of fungi have also been featured on the BBC. Michael is also a qualified ecologist, and his work in that field led him to establish the Comillane Gardens botanical gardens and nature reserve on Cape Clear Island, 10 miles south of the Irish mainland.   

TOPICS COVERED:   

• Early Explorations of  Electroacoustic Music & Mycology  
• Translating the Bio-Electrical Activity of Organisms into Sound  
• Different Approaches to Translate Biodata from Organisms  
• Audio Translation of Electrical Resistance vs Bioelectrical Action Potentials
• What Does Sound Coming from Mushrooms Tell Us?  
• Acoustic Differences Between Day and Nights Cycles of Fungi  
• Does Translating Bioelectrical Activity Also Us to Communicate with Other Organisms?  
• Bioactivity Translation Equipment  
• Michael's Mushroom Sound Exhibitions  
• Different Sounds of Mushrooms Indoors vs Outdoors  
• Differences in Sounds Between Mushroom Species  
• Understanding Bioactivity as Future of Understanding Fungal Networks  
• Demonstration Transcribing Bioelectrical Action Potentials of Mushrooms into Sound   
• Upcoming Projects and Collaborations  

EPISODE RESOURCES:      

• Michael Prime Bandcamp: https://michaelallenzprime.bandcamp.com/music  
• Michael Prime Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSX2bfcI0BR-phhw1DGH7JA  
• Tony Bassett (only reference we could find): http://www.fsr.org.uk/spi/spibass1.htm  
• Merlin Sheldrake: https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/  
• Peziza repanda (fungus): https://www.mushroomexpert.com/peziza_repanda.html  
• Laricifomes officinalis (AKA Agarikon mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laricifomes_officinalis  
• Macrolepiota procera (AKA Parasol mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera