Planetary Listening
Willow Gatewood's Performance
"Planetary Listening: a deep listening series exploring kinship to the living Earth through more-than-human songcraft"
Join environmental scientist and interdisciplinary sound artist Willow for a performance series where deep listening meets ecological wonder.
Willow weaves intimate art-pop, field recordings, and musical improvisation made in collaboration with plants and fungi through a process called biosonification to immerse the listener in a provocative sonic ecosystem and inspire connection between ourselves and the living, breathing Earth.
An array of biosensors create emergent soundscapes influenced by conditions of the room and interactions between performer and organisms; biodata speaks to software, merging with Willow's voice and hands in an entangled stream of data that invites listeners to tune-in to both their bodies and vibrant diversity of life around.
Notes on Biosonificaton: Biosonification involves turning biological processes within organisms into music or sound. Electrodes and a midi-data biosonification device convert changes in micro-conductivity in plants and fungi to midi notes, which "play" digital instruments. Willow's interest in biosonification lies both in producing rich sonic landscapes that intrigue and connect viewers to the world around them and as a novel method for researching processes that influence micro-conductivity, including ion transport, water transport, and electrical activity in the body of the organism.
Artist: Willow Gatewood
Willow is an environmental scientist, interdisciplinary artist, and musician from Brooklyn. Fascinated by subverting the familiar, their music weaves recordings from the environment, biosonification, and re-worked classical instruments with minimalist pop beats. Willow routinely merges visual, literary, and sonic mediums to create ethereal performances across the East Coast. They are passionate about using intersections of art and science to tackle environmental and social issues, with hopes that their work inspires connection to the world around us.
Willow's work has been featured in publications including Grand | the journal of One Grand Books, Ambient Receiver | Journal of Creative Ecologies, and Rachel Carson Council's website, among others, and they have performed at festivals including Earth Celebrations Ecological City, NYC, and Deep Water Literary Festival ('22, '23, and '24), Narrowsburg, NY. Recently, their first poetry collections, tangerine and Salt, were published by Bottlecap Press, LA. Current projects include an album co-created with plants and fungi, "Plant Music for Tea Parlours" and poetry book, "this is the kiss of a black hole's sister".
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Come Early to Elevate Your Experience with Adaptogenic Foods and Teas
Reforesters Laboratory is an experimental adaptogen cafe and sound clinic located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We utilize music – including spatial, sub-bass-centered, and organic instrumentation – along with breathwork, meditation, art, plant care and adaptogenic, nutritional foods + beverages to cultivate kindness—both physical and spiritual. We aim to create an environment that offers peace, space, and clarity, helping people understand the connections between themselves, their communities, and the world around them. To that end, we offer "pay what you can" ticket options on all events and classes.