The OSTOYAE

The Ostoyae is named after one of the biggest and most ancient living beings on our planet, the Armillaria Ostoyae, a master at collective community flourishing. The Ostoyae instrument has been built so that you can try out this new future of diverse multi-species co-creation, future building, and creative thinking. The Ostoyae works through a number of electronic developments wtihin the body of the sintrunment, the mushrooms are live in the space with the player and data collected from the spiking patterns of their communication have the ablity to control various elemetns of the insturment while the musician plays live. This data from the mushrooms can live tune the instrument using robotic tuners, operate a lo-fi e-bow type addition which allows them to activate harmonics on the strings, as well as control the spatialisation of the sound in space – the Ostoyae is equipped with a quadraphonic pickup system. 

​

The Ostoyae was commisioned by the Diversifying Improvisation project through the Royal Scoeity of Edinbrugh

Premiered at the UNESCO week of sounds, Ediburgh, November, 2023

​

The Ostoyae was also featured in an article in the Wire by Una MacGlone: https://www.thewire.co.uk/in-writing/essays/of-music-mushrooms-and-machines-the-ostoyae-chim-re-and-you

​

Subsequent performances include the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra 'Gallus Disruptors' concert, the Edinburgh Storytelling Festival, and various venues around the Yorkshire area.