Indian Summer Festival plugs into plants with Modern Biology's live synth performances
Tarun Nayar, a biologist and musician, will perform his mushroom-music project at the VanDusen Botanical Garden as part of the 16-year-old festival.
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When Tarun Nayar, a biologist and classical Indian musician, wanted to pursue the arts, his parents—both scientists—had other ideas. But rather than abandon science, he merged both worlds: tapping bioelectric signals from plants and mushrooms to create live electronic music.
"While other people were making sourdough, I was playing with synthesizers," Nayar recalls of the pandemic pivot that led to Modern Biology, his stage name for what audiences describe as "mushroom music."
Using synthesizers and instruments, Nayar converts electrical changes in plants into sound. The signals vary depending on light, water, and time of day—photosynthesizing plants produce different bioelectric signatures than resting ones. Plants with waxy leaves prove trickier to interface with than succulents. Nayar brings this unlikely fusion to life at the VanDusen Botanical Garden during Indian Summer Festival, running July 9 to 19 across various Vancouver venues.
Am Johal, executive artistic director for the festival—now in its 16th year—calls the pairing ideal. "I think it's fantastic that a local festival has prioritized staging local artists," Nayar said of the festival's commitment to multidisciplinary work.
Indian Summer 2026 also features comedian Vidura Bandara Rajapaksa (opening night), singer Rashmeet Kaur (July 11 at the Playhouse), Indigenous writer Julian Brave NoiseCat (July 10), sitarist Mohamed Assani (July 18), and visual art by Farheen Haq. The festival closes with a free party.
