Tarun Nayar

electronic musician & former biologist, unites his love of music & the natural world with Modern Biology - bringing “plant music” to the masses

  • This electronic musician & former biologist unites his love of music and the natural world with Modern Biology - using his TikTok account and YouTube page to show off his serenading spores. His work has been viewed 10s of millions of times and amassed him over 900k followers on TikTok. His latest album FIELD NOTES is the product of two years of sonic experimentation. He is currently embarking on a series of pop-up shows in public parks in LA, San Diego, Vancouver, Victoria, and Salt Spring Island
  • A trained biologist, he also had formal training in Indian classical music since childhood. He discovered mushrooms can be used for more than just food – they can make music too. Many of his pieces, which he calls "organismic music," are created by recording the bioelectric pulses from living plants and fungi, which are then overlaid with his original compositions. He says “it’s a beautiful practice of connecting and collaborating with nature” 
  • He has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, Genius, Vice, The Verge, and LA Times, among others. His recent albums have been featured on Spotify’s Music for Plants, Deep Listening, and Lava Lamp playlists. Recent performances include the Museum of Contemporary Art (LA), Art Basel (Miami) and New Forms Festival (Vancouver)
  • He is passionate about protecting wild places and has committed the majority of the proceeds of this project to supporting the natural world 
  • He is the Executive Director of 5XFest - a South Asian millennial festival inspired by the SXSW and Afropunk fests. He is also a co-founder of the digital label Snakes x Ladders
  • He is a founding member of Delhi 2 Dublin - a live-electronic, bhangra, hip-hop, world-pop, hybrid act. Famous for their energy onstage, the four member crew has played over 100 shows a year for the last decade
  • He resides in Vancouver
  • This electronic musician & former biologist unites his love of music and the natural world with Modern Biology - using his TikTok account and YouTube page to show off his serenading spores. His work has been viewed 10s of millions of times and amassed him over 900k followers on TikTok. His latest album FIELD NOTES is the product of two years of sonic experimentation. He is currently embarking on a series of pop-up shows in public parks in LA, San Diego, Vancouver, Victoria, and Salt Spring Island
  • A trained biologist, he also had formal training in Indian classical music since childhood. He discovered mushrooms can be used for more than just food – they can make music too. Many of his pieces, which he calls "organismic music," are created by recording the bioelectric pulses from living plants and fungi, which are then overlaid with his original compositions. He says “it’s a beautiful practice of connecting and collaborating with nature” 
  • He has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, Genius, Vice, The Verge, and LA Times, among others. His recent albums have been featured on Spotify’s Music for Plants, Deep Listening, and Lava Lamp playlists. Recent performances include the Museum of Contemporary Art (LA), Art Basel (Miami) and New Forms Festival (Vancouver)
  • He is passionate about protecting wild places and has committed the majority of the proceeds of this project to supporting the natural world 
  • He is the Executive Director of 5XFest - a South Asian millennial festival inspired by the SXSW and Afropunk fests. He is also a co-founder of the digital label Snakes x Ladders
  • He is a founding member of Delhi 2 Dublin - a live-electronic, bhangra, hip-hop, world-pop, hybrid act. Famous for their energy onstage, the four member crew has played over 100 shows a year for the last decade
  • He resides in Vancouver
pictures
press & video
biography
related topics
voice
No items found.

Biography

Modern Biology has brought 'plant music' to the masses. Originally educated as a biologist, veteran musician Tarun Nayar brings his passion for nature and sound together in an ambient project that is organismic, immediate, uplifting, and deeply contextual. He uses modular synthesis, home built synthesizers and other analog equipment to improvise with the natural vibrations of a certain place and time - via plant bioelectricity, latent electromagnetic radiation, and even the earth’s resonant hum. Trained from childhood in Indian classical music, he uses the system of Indian raga to mold his musical choices for time of day and season. His performances are an effort to bring the listener into the present moment through vibration, space, and connection.

His videos have been viewed over 100 million times and amassed him over 1 million followers online, and he has been featured by The Guardian, LA Times, BBC, Genius, Vice, The Verge, and DJ Mag among others. His recent albums have received editorial support on Spotify’s Music for Plants, Deep Listening, and Lava Lamp playlists. Recent live performances include Art Basel (Miami), MOCA (Los Angeles), New York Botanical Garden, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Tarun’s ‘Field Trip’ project is an effort to reconnect listeners to the natural environment, especially in urban settings. Audiences assemble in a public park, forage, and then listen to music improvised from the bioelectric impulses of collected plants and mushrooms. Recent field trips include New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, Vancouver, and Toronto. In the fall of 2023 Modern Biology opens the Nobel Prize Museum’s Fungi Exhibition in Stockholm.

Tarun is passionate about protecting wild places and has committed the lion's share of the proceeds of this project to supporting the natural world.

Voice

No items found.
No items found.
BiographyPicturesPress & VideoRelated TopicsVoice