Biomusic duet with fungus

[ Eduardo Miranda’s biocomputer. ]

Premiering March 1st at the Peninsular Arts Contemporary Music Festival is “Biocomputer Music”, a duet for piano and slime mould. Eduardo Miranda’s biocomputer is created with Physarum polycephalum cultures that act as memristors when voltage is applied to them.

Discovered only recently in solid state electronics, memristors have the capacity to be programmed by voltages, which is how they are being used in the musical biocomputer.

Human input to a piano is transmitted electrically to the biocomputer. After the signal is processed by the cultures, the biocomputer responds, sending signals back to the piano strings via electromagnets.

Mr. Miranda is interviewed on the BBC Inside Science podcast. His segment begins around the 14:10 mark.