This portable synth lets you make music using plants and mushrooms

Glasgow-based Eurorack modular synth company Instruō has announced a new portable synth that lets you make music using plants and mushrooms.

Developed by Instruo in collaboration with ecologist and artist Tarun Nayar aka Modern Biology — known for his viral ‘mushroom music’ videos — the Pocket SCíON turns the bioelectricity given off by living organisms into notes and rhythms.

The battery-powered pocket-sized synth features four sounds—Secret Garden, Fungal Waves, Treebeard’s Koto and Soil Circuits—and is built from Instruō’s previously released SCÍON Eurorack module, created in 2018.

The onboard sounds, designed by Modern Biology, can be triggered by interacting with the touch plates on the front of the synth. However, sensor clips also allow you to connect the synth to a plant, mushroom, or any living organism.

The Pocket SCÍON also works as a MIDI controller for other devices and DAWs. It also works as an OSC controller.

Check out a demo of the synth and the video reference manual below.

The Pocket SCÍON is available to buy now in the UK and Europe and costs £129, €149 and $149. Pick one up from Instruō here.

Learn about the wealth of electronic musicians collaborating with nature through bio-sonification here.