DRAGONLINE STUDIO blogs

Between the Stations - Latest post on Metapsychosis

Todd — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 07:28:55 +0000

A submission from Duncan to Metapsychosis’ Acousmatic Crossings series, Hertzian Mayhem is billed as: “Totally Crazed, Chaotic, Non-Human Shortwave Sounds. Opposite of Easy Listening, Ear and Brain Destroying.”

Listen at the highest volume you can take!

Read and listen at Between the Stations: Excavating the Invisible

From publisher Michael Eisenberg:

I want to sincerly thank you Duncan for submitting these two pieces to the Acousmatic Crossings series. The second one, “Spores” will be forthcoming later in the year. Both of these pieces have gone a long way in my developing a much greater appreciation for “noise” as music, and also for something deeper. The weird naturalism of their (and the sounds themselves) genesis is like icing on the cake making an imaginal journey a truly unusual and unique experience. My listening to them has been 100% through a decently high end pair of headphones and it’s really something to behold!

Dragonline Studio included in book appreciation of Rhode Island cottages

Todd — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:37:51 +0000

A newly published book from architect Thomas A. Kligerman, under Phaidon’s Moncacelli imprint, celebrates Summer through seaside cottages in Rhode Island. Photographs by Read McKendree

Summer by the Sea: Cottages from Watch Hill to Little Compton includes Dragonline Studio. With the studio having changed hands to new owners in 2025, this is an excellent remembrance of the amazing creativity that experienced at the site over the years.

Available at Bookshop.org and Amazon.

A book signing at Rizzoli’s Bookstore on 1133 Broadway, NY, NY, 10010, will occur on March 26, 2026 at 6:00 pm.

Art in the Age of Dreams, Pt 3 - Metapsychosis

Todd — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 03:23:04 +0000

A third installment of Duncan's writing is up on Metapsychosis. This part focuses on tuning into nature signals and working with them to create sonic and visual art.

Art in the Age of Dreams, Pt 2 - Metapsychosis

Todd — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 04:19:58 +0000

A second installment of Duncan's writing is up on Metapsychosis. This part focuses on paleolithic cupules and stone mark-making.

Art in the Age of Dreams - Metapsychosis

Todd — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 03:47:24 +0000

Duncan has new writing up on Metapsychosis. It is a wide ranging piece kicked off by Brian George, whom Duncan had first met at a Boston Visionary Cell event in 1994. A recent collaboration with Brian's imagery created in a "waking dream" state resulted in the pieces pictured above.

SPELLBIND at Atelier Newport

Todd — Tue, 25 May 2021 08:41:05 +0000

Image: Theodore Trocki-Ryba

A new group show opening May 26, 2021 includes Duncan's sculpture work.

This group of artists contemplate the meaning of spell, ritual, incantation and what it means to be transfixed. What moves us, what gravitational pull harnesses us, or better prepares us for the utter unknown on a spinning planet, meteors and all. What whets, enthralls, bedazzles or captivates the attention of the spellbound.

SPELLBIND runs through July 4, 2021 at Atelier Newport.

Gordon Salisbury passes away April 2019

Todd — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:07:29 +0000

Gordon Salisbury, electrical engineer and longtime collaborator, has passed away peacefully at home the week of April 12th, 2019.

Gordon is survived by wife Judy Bellamy, and son Ron.

A remembrance and tributes are here.

Duncan's sculpture included in Scratch group show

Todd — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 21:00:00 +0000

Image: Atelier Newport

Duncan's sculpture work is included the Scratch group show at Atelier Newport in Newport, RI. The show runs through May 12, 2019.

Duncan Interviewed on Conscious Living with Wendy Garrett

Todd — Wed, 05 Dec 2018 22:00:00 +0000

In a follow-up to an interview from August, Duncan spoke with Wendy Garret for her Conscious Living show on Empower Radio. Show notes at her Wendy's Coffeehouse site.

Duncan Interviewed on Wendy's Coffeehouse

Todd — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 21:00:00 +0000

Duncan was interviewed by Wendy Garrett of Wendy's Coffeehouse on a range of topics including radionics, singing plants and The Secret Art.

Originally broadcast on KCMO Talk Radio, a podcast version is available at Duncan Laurie, August 26, 2018 - The Secret Art. Radionics will trigger a worldwide shift in Consciousness when it hits mainstream..

Electric Plants

Duncan — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 11:18:21 +0000

PEDOT "wires" inside plant xylem. | Eleni Stavrinidou, Roger Gabrielsson, Eliot Gomez, Xavier Crispin, Ove Nilsson, Daniel T. Simon and Magnus Berggren

A paper published this month in Science Advances, engineers in Sweden have detailed a process to introduce waterborne PEDOT polymer into plants. The conductive polymer hardens inside the xylem, or vascular system, producing "wires" that can transport the small amounts of voltage naturally found in plants. The treated plants become analogous to electric circuits.

The engineers imagine powering small electronics from such "wired" plants. There is also speculation about using the resulting living circuit to interact with the biological functions of the plant, say to control the timing and duration of flowering.

Source ( New York Times )

Healing with stones in Kyrgyzstan

Duncan — Sun, 22 Nov 2015 17:21:49 +0000

Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times

The Nazaraliev Medical Center in the Kyrgyzstan capital of Bishkek is using stones as part of a treatment course for heroin addicts. The conservative culture in the central asian country makes it difficult for many addicts to speak about their addiction in public forums such as group therapy sessions usually associated with drug treatment programs. In place of group therapy, patients are given a river stone to speak of their trials and hardships caused by their addictions. With a recidivism rate less than 20% a year after the month-long treatment, the "lithotherapy" program has proven extremely effective.

At the close of the course of treatment, the patients add their stones to the Tashtar-Ata, ( the Father of the Rocks ), a local pilgrimage site in the form of a massive rock-pile where, in addition to the 5000 patients to graduate the program, countless individuals have placed stones to release all manner of problems in their lives.

Source: ( New York Times )

Georgia on my mind...

Duncan — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:28:01 +0000

On March 23rd I made my way to Atlanta, Georgia to be the guest of Craig Dogonski at Georgia State University where he and his wife Pam Longobardi are resident professors of art. It was also the weekend of the Atlanta Science Festival. Pam had a big role in that Festival having conceived Plastic Gyre, a forum for artist and scientist activists to raise awareness of the growing problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.

Craig and I were scheduled to stage a far more modest demonstration at his gallery, Whitespace. Our contribution to the ‘science’ festival would be to hook up plants and rocks to various detectors, including brain wave equipment, change the small voltages therein to pitch, and orchestrate the result as electronic music.

[ Craig Dogonski ]

[ Craig’s mysterious artwork ]

I had never met Craig before now, but for years he had been trying to find a way to get me to Atlanta. Now here I was, making a three hour presentation to his graduate students, doing a TV interview together for GSU Public Broadcasting, then the performance at Whitespace—all on the first day. Day two was morning crits with his large undergraduate class, followed by one on one follow up studio visits. Day three was a big luncheon at GSW for Pam’s forum, then a visit to the Language Research Center at GSU where Craig has developed a long and fascinating relationship with the resident chimpanzee population doing visual art.

[ Laurie Presentation ]

[ Undergraduates taking a break with improvisational theater exercises ]

[ Craig digging some sounds ]

Both Craig and I have been working for years with the IBVA Brain Machine. Craig uses it mainly for orchestrating brainwaves, while Gordon and I focused on generating sounds from plants and rocks. In addition, for the demo, I schlepped Gordon’s Wheatstone Bridge and Rate of Change Converter to Atlanta. The Whitespace demo/performance was crazy. Just as the film crew were setting up to record our transformation of plant voltages into music, my computer went dark screen. In retrospect, I believe it was plant retribution for insisting the plant do things it wasn’t properly prepared for. Plant music is a delicate task. Crowds of people plus show and tell are not an ideal venue for coaxing a beautiful melody from a Rhododendron. I have seen equipment shut down like this before, when the wrong vibe is in the mix. Soon, Craig’s computer crashed too. His came back in a hour, but mine took a week including a trip to the shop. (No evidence of damage.)

[ Duncan and Craig setting up at Whitespace, Atlanta ]

[ Duncan and Craig performance and lecture at Whitespace, Atlanta ]

Working with Chimps

To quote their website:

“Researchers at Georgia State University’s Language Research Center examined how two language-trained chimpanzees communicated with a human experimenter to find food. Their results are the most compelling evidence to date that primates can use gestures to coordinate actions in pursuit of a specific goal.”

And consider this:

“Humans’ closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, have the ability to “think about thinking” – what is called “metacognition,” according to new research by scientists at Georgia State University and the University at Buffalo.” Craig, in turn, built upon the capacity chimps have for ‘metacognition’ to explore their capacity to mimic writing and make art.

The simplest way to grasp that amazing experience is through Craig’s video, “Dongoski Poem for the End”

Dongoski Poem for the End from Craig Dongoski on Vimeo.

[ Craig with marks made by his long time chimpanzee collaborator, Panzee, who died last year ]

[ Paintings by Craig and chimpanzee collaborator, Sherman ]

[ Panzee ]

[ The careful writing Panzee made (original rendering) ]

[ Panzee writing ]

I wasn’t allow to photograph the chimps currently in residence at the Language Center, nor get very close to them, but I was grateful for seeing their world and the place Craig has spent so many enjoyable afternoons.

The trip was winding down, but we had both enjoyed a wonder filled and creative meeting of the minds. I would leave the area soon, but not before I invited Craig to meet Ed Kelly at Kelly Research Technologies, Inc. in Lakemont, Georgia.

KRT

I knew Craig had a passing familiarity with Radionics, but there is nothing like visiting a lab where the machines are being built and classes taught. Ed Kelly’s father, Peter, had been my instructor on how to use a radionic instrument in this same dome lab some 30 years before. He had also introduced us to his new, recently upgraded BETAR sound system. The original BETAR had been purchased by the late R. J. Reynolds III and subsequently installed in my studio in Long Island City, New York. That device we still use and hack. Over subsequent decades it became The Music Machine and later, The Purr Generator. The Purr recently spent a year on display at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and had a follow-up sojourn at The Gregg Museum at North Carolina State in Raleigh.

Now, we were back at the origin of that long sonic journey of three decades. Ed was gracious enough to give us an afternoon of his and his sister Erin’s time to forge a new connection. Craig was blown away, and Ed immediately saw the potential of IBVA in demonstrating the efficacy of certain products he was making. My hope was that through Craig and Pam’s friends in the environmental movement, Ed’s work with agricultural radionics would get some much needed attention. Call it “Another fine afternoon of mad science & art”!

[ Kelly Research Technologies, Inc. ]

[ Interior of Kelly Research Technologies, Inc. ]

[ Ed Kelly with a new radionic antenna design ]

[ Ed’s redesigned BETAR ]

[ BETAR flyer ]

[ BETAR promo video! ]

[ Craig demos the IBVA to Erin, Ed's sister ]

[ With my brain in the hot seat! ]

March, 2015 Duncan Laurie

Biomusic duet with fungus

Gordon — Fri, 27 Feb 2015 19:42:10 +0000

[ Eduardo Miranda’s biocomputer. ]

Premiering March 1st at the Peninsular Arts Contemporary Music Festival is “Biocomputer Music”, a duet for piano and slime mould. Eduardo Miranda’s biocomputer is created with Physarum polycephalum cultures that act as memristors when voltage is applied to them.

Discovered only recently in solid state electronics, memristors have the capacity to be programmed by voltages, which is how they are being used in the musical biocomputer.

Human input to a piano is transmitted electrically to the biocomputer. After the signal is processed by the cultures, the biocomputer responds, sending signals back to the piano strings via electromagnets.

Mr. Miranda is interviewed on the BBC Inside Science podcast. His segment begins around the 14:10 mark.

Via BBC News

Duncan Interviewed on WUNC

Todd — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:43:14 +0000

Duncan was interviewed on Frank Stasio's The State of Things today, talking about subtle energy, signals from rocks and plants, and the Purr Generator. Duncan is in Raleigh NC, for the opening of "Farfetched: Mad Science, Fringe Architecture and Visionary Engineering" at the Gregg Museum.

From the show notes:

In the age of constant digital stimulus, it can be hard to truly listen to all that's around you. Duncan Laurie will tell you that listening a little closer might bring you happiness or healing. Duncan has found ways to tap into the sonic energy of organic materials, like plants and rock.

Several of his pieces, including the joy-inducing Purr Generator, are currently on display at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design at North Carolina State University. They are part of the exhibit "Farfetched: Mad Science, Fringe Architecture and Visionary Engineering.” Duncan Laurie is an artist, researcher and author of "The Secret Art: A Brief History of Radionics Technology for the Creative Individual" (Anomalist Books/2009), and he joins host Frank Stasio in the studio.

And the exhibit notes:

The Gregg Museum’s spring 2013 exhibition Farfetched: Mad Science, Fringe Architecture and Visionary Engineering takes as its basic point of departure British mathematician Alfred North Whitehead's famous quip that, “Every really new idea looks crazy at first.” The exhibition will feature objects that question (and push) the boundaries of what is considered “normal” in art and technology.

For example, Frank Lloyd Wright was considered a great architect, and Norman Bel Geddes was recognized as a great designer, but neither Wright's visionary mile high city (The Illinois), nor Geddes's proposed flying wing (Air Liner Number 4) ever proved feasible (no wonder; the air liner would have had nine decks and incorporated areas for deck-games, an orchestra, a gymnasium, a solarium and a machine shop for in-flight repairs).

Meanwhile, an uneducated Hispanic handyman named Simon Rodia, who was labeled insane, really did manage to build the famous Watts Towers in Los Angeles—singlehandedly and so sturdily that the towers couldn't be torn down (city engineers tried). Some of the greatest scientists, architects, and engineers who ever lived—Galileo, Newton, Tesla, Marconi, the Wright brothers—were accused of insanity at one time or another during their careers.

Thinking big (or “thinking outside the box”) in both art and science means taking risks, and even risking failure. To make this point, Farfetched will include works by both mainstream and “outsider” artists and scientists, ranging from Perpetual Motion Machines to Orgone Generators.

Bio-Sensing Art in the 1970s

Todd — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:39:23 +0000

[ Brainwave and plant music from The Secret Life of Plants, 1976. ]

Artist and eco-systems designer Richard Lowenberg discusses his pioneering efforts in bio-sensing art and his proposition for a slow-tech movement in an interview at Data Garden.

Mr. Lowenberg worked with Woody and Steina Vasulka at their "Kitchen" space in New York, devising EEG biofeedback systems to integrate with audio/video synthesizers. By the mid-70s' he had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to collaborate with scientists at NASA Ames Research Center. It was during that time he worked on a number of sequences for the The Secret Life of Plants film.

Radio Event No. 20: Rhododendron (October 18, 1972)

Duncan — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 19:27:01 +0000

Early bio-sensing electronics wiz Tom Zahuranec invited an audience to a special radio event situated in the KPFA Music Office. Tom had wired a Rhododendron with liquid electrode sensors which were amplified and fed into the oscillators of a Buchla Synthesizer. The plant itself acted as a conduit between the studio environment and supposedly- the psychology of surrounding participants. Far-out commentary was provided by Tom and curious listeners who dropped in on the happening.

Images of Tim and his 'plant amplifier' can be found at Data Garden.

( via Henry Platt )

Pulsu(m) Plantae

Todd — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:21:25 +0000

My acquaintance Leslie Garcia, from Tijuana Mexico, has been working on a plant sonification project analogous to those here at Dragonline Studios.

Develop self-sustaining sound devices, designed as hybrid systems, from the integration of a living organism (plant) and an interface address (biosensors) to create a network-based motif in coded language sound frequencies. Project in process

Her work was recently exhibited and a large amount of documentation is up on the site for the Pulsu(m) Plantae project, original in Español, English translation by Google Translate.

The singing plants of Damanhur

Duncan — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:50:21 +0000

Can plants be conscious? My friend Cleve Backster thought so. Watch this striking short video and it will answer that question. It's a totally remarkable clip, with enormous implications.

Plants can be wired to musical synthesizers and heard actually altering the sounds and creating their own melodies consciously. Here is a video made by the commune of Damanhur.
Listen now to the "sound" of conscious awareness. It's delightful to behold!

( via The Renegade Guru )

ENCODE - New insight into Human DNA

Duncan — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 00:39:04 +0000

The first wave of papers on a massive research project delving deeper into Human DNA were released on September 5th. The project, started in 2003 and entitled ENCODE, involved 440 scientists from 32 laboratories around the globe.

When the Human Genome Project completed its mapping in 2001, scientists thought that only 2% of Human DNA was used, the rest thought to be evolutionary leftovers. Based on the preliminary reports just released, it appears that 80% or more is active. Most of what had been previously discovered were the genes directly responsible for encoding proteins. The new mappings reveal a much larger set of gene 'switches' used to control the protein encoding genes.

The revelation of gene switches allows for entirely new approaches in research around cancer, genetic disorders and a host of other areas.

An explorer for the papers published is at ENCODE on the Nature site.

An iPad app is also available Nature ENCODE

( via The New York Times )

Electricity from trees

Todd — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 02:51:09 +0000

Researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), in Brisbane, Australia have published findings from a study showing ion concentrations in heavily wooded areas to be twice that of grassy areas. The increased ion counts are believed to be caused by the trees transporting watersoluble radon from ground water into the atmosphere as they transpire. The research paper is available from Environmental Science & Technology.

Abstract
The role of ions in the production of atmospheric particles has gained wide interest due to their profound impact on climate. Away from anthropogenic sources, molecules are ionized by alpha radiation from radon exhaled from the ground and cosmic gamma radiation from space. These molecular ions quickly form into ‘cluster ions’, typically smaller than about 1.5 nm. Using our measurements and the published literature, we present evidence to show that cluster ion concentrations in forest areas are consistently higher than outside. Since alpha radiation cannot penetrate more than a few centimetres of soil, radon present deep in the ground cannot directly contribute to the measured cluster ion concentrations. We propose an additional mechanism whereby radon, which is water soluble, is brought up by trees and plants through the uptake of groundwater and released into the atmosphere by transpiration. We estimate that, in a forest comprising eucalyptus trees spaced 4m apart, approximately 28% of the radon in the air may be released by transpiration. Considering that 24% of the earth’s land area is still covered in forests; these findings have potentially important implications for atmospheric aerosol formation and climate.

( Via PhysOrg )

Brains from the BBC

Duncan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:55:24 +0000

3 BBC News items on brains

Is this what thoughts sound like?

University of California psychology and neuroscience professor Bob Knight explains how computers are being used to decode imagined speech.

World premiere of brain orchestra

Brain waves from thoughts of sounds used to move cursor

Moving a computer cursor by thinking about a series of vowels.

Archaeoacoustics around the world

Duncan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 21:18:03 +0000

The Landscape & Perception project of Jon Wozencroft & Paul Devereux is conducting ongoing research in "Archaeoacoustics."

Previously mentioned here by Gordon, ancient sites with acoustic "ringing rocks" have been discovered all over the globe. Of note is research conducted by the L&P team with ICRL fellows ( lead by Robert Jahn, formerly of PEAR ) whose paper "Ancient Architectural Acoustic Resonance Patterns and Regional Brain Activity" appeared in Time and Mind, March 2008.

Percussionist Z'ev has played on lithophones in Carn Menyn, Wales ( see the bottom of the sidebar here for photos and a sampling of the sound ).

The Sound Machine

Duncan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:27:15 +0000

Roald Dahl's "The Sound Machine", first published in the September 17, 1949 issue of The New Yorker, proposes a device that can pick up high frequency sounds and convert them into the range audible by humans. The inventor of the machine first hears shrieks of roses being cut by a neighbor. Taking an axe to a beech tree the next day, he is surprised to hear "a harsh, noteless, enormous noise, a growling, low-pitched, screaming sound..."

A radio dramatization of the story is on archive.org in MP3 format.

Several short films have been inspired by the short story. Two on YouTube are embedded below.

Scans of the original issue of The New Yorker are available via one-time payment or subscription at their site.

Leafsnap

Todd — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:28:24 +0000

Researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution have joined forces to develop a series of electronic field guides. Their first effort, Leafsnap, uses visual recognition algorithms to identify trees via photos of their leaves. Their species list is currently limited to trees found in the New York City and Washington D.C. areas, but will soon grow to cover the continental United States. Leafsnap is available as a free iPhone app at the iTunes App Store. ( Via Kottke and Garden Design )

Singing Mice

Duncan — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:24:30 +0000

Featured in the May 2011 issue of Smithsonian magazine is an article about the vocalizations of different species of mice. Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell, biologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, is a behavioral ecologist with expertise in how animals use sound. While working a California field site in 2004, she used an ultrasonic recorder ( analogous to Gordon's Bat Box ) to capture nighttime sounds, some of which she suspected to be those of mice she was studying.

Bringing the recordings into the computer, Matina's team noticed a fairly loud four-note song that turned out to be from a deer mouse. A slowed down recording of the mouse song sounds eerily akin to whale song. Have a listen.

Dubspot Hi-Fidelity Sessions - Boston - April 22

Todd — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:19:20 +0000

Photo: Todd Thille

Duncan will join Richard Devine and Steve Nalepa to discuss "Sounds of Unseen Worlds" at Dubspot's Hi-Fidelity Sessions in Boston this Friday, April 22, 2011. Their presentation begins at 5PM at Bristol Studios and is free with RSVP. The event is part of the larger Together Festival taking place all week in Boston.

Wales to DNA barcode it's native flowering plant species

Todd — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:48:51 +0000

Wales aims to be one of the first countries to catalog DNA barcodes of all of it's native flowering plants, 1143 species in total. The reference barcodes being assembled would allow for identification of any plant species from the tiniest fragment if the plant.

This effort is in sync with global initiatives to catalog DNA barcodes for all living things. The growing database is meant to be a freely accessible online global resource.

Further information about the Welsh initiative is at The National Botanic Garden of Wales. More information on DNA barcoding can be found at International Barcode of Life, Barcode of Life, and Barcode of Life Data Systems.

Via ( UK Plant Science )

Examiner Interview

Todd — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:23:03 +0000

Duncan interviewed by Dan Godston for the Examiner. An overview of early influences and ongoing projects.

Steampunk Radionics

Todd — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:30:56 +0000

( Photo: Joseph Max )

'Aetheric Artist' Joseph Max will be showing a number of radionic devices at the Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition in Santa Clara, CA March 25th-27th, 2011. Mr. Max will be presenting his Reflexophone 2.0, Aetheric Shield Generator, and a Steampunk Hieronymus Machine (pictured above).