Can plants sing? Meet the man who creates music from mushrooms and fruits – Times of India

The term might be his prodigy, but ‘plant music‘ have been around for over a century now. In the early 1900s, Indian scientist Jagdish Chandra Bose discovered sounds emitted by plants and how they respond to external stimuli. During the pandemic, former biologist Tarun Nayar also stumbled onto this and started experimenting with it.
When asked how he makes plants and natural organisms ‘sing’, Nayar says, “There are no sounds produced by the organisms. There are electrical fluctuations, which I am turning into sound.”

Tarun Nayar has created music from kiwi, papaya, coconut, pineapples, maple leaves, fern and more.

So, the listeners hear human-generated music which is created by Nayar using equipment that convert bioelectric fluctuations to rhythms.
The process is straightforward — Nayar uses electrical clips to connect the plants to modular synthesisers. These are then used to pick up fluctuations in the organism that trigger note changes which produce sounds. Listeners, thus, listen to the sounds plants make in response to their environment changes or internal workings. Nayar says the music allows people to tune in more deeply to the aliveness of the natural world. “I try to compose music that inspires hope and connection with the natural world,” he says.
When asked if he is adapting to the sounds the plants produce or changing them to sound more appealing, Nayar said, “I’m making some very subjective decisions about what synths (and what timbre) these sounds have. It’s very much a collaboration, one that I’m shaping heavily.”

A man enjoys listening to plant music created by Tarun Nayar.

Based in Vancouver, Tarun Nayar has created music from kiwi, papaya, coconut, pineapples, maple leaves, fern and more. Mushrooms, however have influenced him to a great extent. “They are quiet unpredictable and fun to work with.” He further added that the amanita muscaria mushroom, the spotted white and red mushroom in Super Mario Bros, is the most interesting one. “Sometimes it’s very active, sometimes it’s very quiet. It’s a bit of a mystery to me,” he says.

Tarun Nayar says that the amanita muscaria mushroom is the most interesting one.

His project Modern Biology has over 150k followers on Instagram. He uses YouTube, TikTok and other streaming platforms to broadcast his music. Talking about the healing and psychedelic tendices of his music, Nayar said he has received messages from people saying his music helps them relax and connect to nature in a meaningful way.
“India has a long history of using sound and vibration for healing and spiritual practices. With this music, I’m trying to show that the world is alive, we are alive, and that we are alive in this world together. I think this recognition is inherently healing – and maybe a little psychedelic and consciousness expanding,” he says.
Despite having a background in science, Nayar has been deeply influenced by Indian Classical Music which he began studying at the age of 7. “The idea of taal and raga deeply influence the way I think. Even when working with plants and mushrooms I often choose the scales of certain ragas to capture the feeling of certain times of day.”
Nayar can now be seen doing a series of ‘field trips’ where he takes people into parks, forage for plants and mushrooms, and have a deep listening experience on headphones where he uses sound and vibration to tune into non-human consciousness. “At this critical point on the planet I think it’s more important than ever for humans to reconnect to nature. I believe music and art can be used in this way to remind us that we are a part of a living world – and that our survival depends on this remembrance.”

Tarun Nayar collaborates with plants to create beautiful tunes.