František Hruška: Mushroom Music, Or Not?

The audiovisual performance by sound artist František Hruška promises an unusual experience of the author’s iteration of the “mushroom instrument” and a reflection on the sonification of non-musical data.

A diode pinned to a fly agaric hat and cables connected to the musician’s mixing box. Pleasant sounds oscillating on the edge of meditative electronic music let the fungi and lichens speak. It’s likely to have come across similar content and maybe even been captivated by it while scrolling through social media. However, the presentation of a “sound” mushroom and the catchy “singing nature” headline go with a well-thought-out clickbait. The reflection on the pitfalls and benefits of the trend of resonating natural organisms are accompanied by a live concert with an audiovisual performance.