Vintage Moog, PlantWave MIDI, and Modular Improvisation Unite in New Video

Anthony Marinelli staged a live improvisation session on December 28, 2025 that brought together a vintage 1969 Moog IIIc "Plantasia" modular synthesizer, modern wavetable power from a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, and plant-generated MIDI from PlantWave. The collaboration with Joe Patitucci explored how changes in a plant's electrical conductivity can be translated into musical notes, rhythms, and evolving patterns, and used in real time alongside human performance.

PlantWave connects to a plant's leaves and measures fluctuations in electrical conductivity. Those fluctuations are converted into MIDI data that can trigger or modulate synthesizers and sequencers. Marinelli framed the project as more sonification of otherwise unnoticed signals than as plants literally "playing" music, using the plant output as an additional creative input in an improvised set. That approach foregrounds unpredictability: the plant-generated phrases evolve organically and cannot be recreated exactly on repeat.

Marinelli described the session as a blending of eras and technologies: "In this special session, I'm improvising on the legendary 1969 Moog IIIc 'Plantasia' Modular Synthesizer, the same model used on Mort Garson's Mother Earth's Plantasia, along with my Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, while the plants themselves generate melodies through PlantWave. As PlantWave transforms real-time electrical signals from the plants into beautiful, evolving musical patterns, I'm tuning in, responding, and improvising on the Moog IIIc and 3rd Wave, matching their phrases with my own melodies and rhythms. Every moment emerges organically, completely unique, and impossible to recreate the same way twice. This is a rare combination of vintage analog synthesis, modern wavetable power, plant-generated musical data, and real-time human improvisation. I hope you enjoy this unique collaboration between nature and machines."

For the vintage synth community, the session has practical value. It demonstrates a clear workflow for integrating bio-derived MIDI into modular rigs and hybrid setups: use PlantWave as a control source to generate melodic and rhythmic material, then respond with patching, filtering, and manual improvisation on analog and digital gear. The result shows new sonic textures and performance dynamics that differ from algorithmic sequences or human-only improvisation.

The collaboration also reinforces community interest in cross-disciplinary experiments and live performance techniques. Expect more players to experiment with sonification for spontaneous sets, studio sketching, or teaching demonstrations about signal-to-sound translation. The session is a reminder that combining historic instruments with modern control methods can yield fresh creative paths while honoring the distinctive character of vintage hardware.