SOUNDING MYC-A
‘Sounding Myc-A’ is an experimental sound score that accompanies Bianca Tainsh’s exhibition ‘Intimate Organisms’, which features Myc-A; a large form terrarium and ecosystem of mycelium, plants, and fauna.
From Bianca Tainsh’s website:
“In contrast to the self-centric over-exploits of contemporary humankind, there is an obscure underground industry of intelligence between intimate organisms. Electric impulses and chemical amalgams transmit esoteric communications. Long before a human internet, nature had initiated its own network. A multi-species affiliation, manifesting from primordial relationships with fungi.”
To compose this work, I engaged with a body of research that explores how sound might effect biodegradation and the growth of mycelium. Introduced to this research by Bianca, I read experiments in which researchers found that sustained tones of certain frequencies played to mycelium resulted in faster growth, and that these same frequencies also suggested faster breaking-down of organic material. In the piece’s tuning and use of drones, I aimed to reflect this research, and hopefully compose something that may benefit Myc-A while the piece is played over the duration of the exhibition.
Additionally, Bianca and I were keen to show off the amount of sound that actually occurs beneath the ground, as Bianca’s experiments with hydrophones and contact mics in soil have revealed intricate sound worlds where subterranean beasts move, water is sucked into roots, and plant roots click as they ingest nutrients. Bianca’s recordings are mixed and re-mixed into this piece to establish a sense of this dark, underground, parallel universe.
Performing live at the Intimate Organisms opening with Bianca and Sara Moore
All images on this page were taken by Teddy Horton at the Intimate Organisms exhibition opening at the Maroochy Botanical Bushland Gardens