A few years ago, artist Modern Biology became a viral sensation when he posted videos of himself controlling a modular synth with mushrooms on TikTok. Pocket Scion gives anyone similar capabilities, but without having to spend thousands of dollars on a Eurorack rig – and in a much more portable package.

A core part of Modern Biology’s setup is a module called Scion from Glasgow-based Instruo. Scion turns biofeedback, whether that’s from houseplants or your own skin, into CV (control voltage) for controlling other synth modules in a larger setup. Touching two sensors to your hand or a mushroom completes a circuit, and then electrical fluctuations in that circuit can be used to trigger different notes, or change the cutoff on a filter, for instance.

A little over a year ago, he approached

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