Plants and mushrooms will help create the soundtrack for an unusual electronic music event coming to Stroud later this month. Plants Can Dance (and Mushrooms Sing) will use signals produced by living organisms to generate sounds and rhythms, offering audiences a performance built around the electrical activity of plants and fungi.
The event will be held at the Brunel Goods Shed at 8pm on Friday, November 20. It will be hosted by Brian d’Souza, the electronic music artist also known as Auntie Flo, and Lamine Toure, co-founder of Repot plant shop.
How biosonification turns nature into sound
The performance will use a process called biosonification. Plants and fungi will be connected to electronic equipment and modular synthesisers, which convert their electrical signals and data into sound and music.
Organisers describe the approach as a way of bringing the natural world to life through electronic music. Rather than using plants and fungi simply as a visual backdrop, the event will use the signals produced by the organisms as the source material for unusual musical textures and rhythms.
Alongside the evening performance, Brian will lead a free interactive workshop. The session will explain the science behind biosonification and give participants the opportunity to try a range of easy-to-use tools that transform signals from nature into music.
No previous musical or botanical knowledge is required. The workshop is suitable for all ages, making it open to people who are curious about either electronic music, plants, fungi or the technology that links them.
Free terrarium workshop
A second workshop will be led by Mona, Lamine’s partner and fellow Repot co-founder. Participants will be able to build a miniature, self-sustaining plant ecosystem inside a small vial.
The finished terrariums can be worn as necklaces or kept as decorative keepsakes. Materials will be supplied, and those taking part will be able to bring their completed creations home after the session.
The workshops are part of the Living Soil Workshop Series. They are being offered free of charge through funding from the EU’s SoilTribes initiative, which is part of its “A Soil Deal for Europe” mission.
Organisers are particularly keen to welcome people interested in the Cultivating Connections project. Anyone seeking a workshop place is asked to email [email protected].
More information about the event and performance tickets is available through SVA. Further information about the Cultivating Connections project is available at the project website.
The supplied article was published on November 4, 2026, and gives the event date as Friday, November 20. It does not state the year separately in the event details, although the publication date places the event in the same month.