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Our application of bionic engineering is novel: we are interested in developing hybrid hardware-wetware systems for music. This paper introduces receptacles for culturing Physarum polycephalum-based memristors that are highly accessible to the creative practitioner. The myxomycete Physarum polycephalum is an amorphous unicellular organism that has been found to exhibit memristive properties. Such a discovery has potential to allow us to move towards engineering electrical systems that encompass Physarum polycephalum components. To realise this potential, it is necessary to address some of the constraints associated with harnessing living biological entities in systems for real-time application. Within the paper, we present 3D printed receptacles designed to standardise both the production of components and memristive observations. Subsequent testing showed a significant decrease in growth time, increased lifespan, and superior similarity in component-to-component responses. The results indicate that our receptacle design may provide means of implementing hybrid electrical systems for music technology.

This chapter presents an account of our investigation into developing musical processing devices using biological components. Such work combines two vibrant areas of Unconventional Computing research: Physarum polycephalum and the memristor. Physarum polycephalum is a plasmodial slime mould that has been discovered to display behaviours that are consistent with that of the memristor: a hybrid memory and processing component. Within the chapter, we introduce the research's background and our motives for undertaking the study. Then, we demonstrate Physarum polycephalum's memristive abilities and present our approach to enabling its integration into analogue circuitry. Following on, we discuss different techniques for using Physarum polycephalum memristors to generate musical responses.

Abstract. The field of computer music is evolving in tandem with advances in computer science. Our research is interested in how the developing field of unconventional computation may provide new pathways for music and music technologies. In this paper we present the development of a system for harnessing the biological computing substrate Physarum Polycephalum for sonification. Physarum Polycephalum is a large single cell with a myriad of diploid nuclei, which moves like a giant amoeba in its pursuit for food. The organism is amorphous, and although without a brain or any serving centre of control, can respond to the environmental conditions that surround it.

Our research concerns the development of biocomputers using electronic components grown out of biological material. This article reports the development of a novel biological memristor and an approach to using such biomemristors to build interactive generative music systems. The memristor is an electronic component regarded as a resistor with memory. After an introduction to harnessing the Physarum polycephalum organism to implement biomemristors, the article presents PhyBox, a biocomputer that uses four biomemristors to generate music interactively. The resistance of a biomemristor varies as a function of the voltage that has passed through it. Music input is represented in terms of voltage transitions and music output is encoded as measurements of the current yielded by the system's memristive behavior. An example of a musical composition using PhyBox is detailed. The article concludes with a short discussion of how the combination between artificial machines and biological organisms is paving the way for the development of new technologies for music based on living processors.

Advances in technology have had a significant impact on the way in which we produce and consume music. The music industry is most likely to continue progressing in tandem with the evolution of electronics and computing technology. Despite the incredible power of today's computers, it is commonly acknowledged that computing technology is bound to progress beyond today's conventional models. Researchers working in the relatively new field of Unconventional Computing (UC) are investigating a number of alternative approaches to develop new types of computers, such as harnessing biological media to implement new kinds of processors. This chapter introduces the field of UC for sound and music, focusing on the work developed at Plymouth University's Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research (ICCMR) in the UK. From musical experiments with Cellular Automata modelling and in vitro neural networks, to quantum computing and bio-processing, this chapter introduces the substantial body of scientific and artistic work developed at ICCMR. Such work has paved the way for on-going research towards the development of robust generalpurpose bio-processing components, referred to as biomemristors, and interactive musical biocomputers.

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