Join us for EcoLit’s first public event, The Sound of Trees: A Symphony of Attentiveness, featuring biologist and musician Tarun Nayar, a.k.a Modern Biology, along with local artists from the South Asian Diaspora: Senthuran (Flute), Moonlit Brooks (Poetry) and Zainab Lax (Harp). In collaboration with Cologne’s Forstbotanischer Garten and urban mushroom farm, Pilzling, we are thrilled to create this opportunity for collective experience and connection through place-based storytelling, music and poetry.
Event Info
When: May 7, 2025, 4:00-8:00 p.m.
Where: Peony meadow, Forest Botanical Garden, Rodenkirchen, Cologne
What to expect:
- Live improvised music with trees and mushrooms
- Guided meditations and poetry
- Place-based learning, storytelling and participation
We recommend you to please bring a picnic blanket, water, snacks as well as any writing or painting materials you may wish to bring.
About the artists
Modern Biology:
Modern Biology has brought “plant music” to the masses. Originally educated as a biologist, veteran musician Tarun Nayar brings his passion for nature and sound together in an ambient project that is organismic, immediate, uplifting, and deeply contextual. He uses modular synthesis, home built synthesizers and other analog equipment to improvise with the natural vibrations of a certain place and time – via plant bioelectricity, latent electromagnetic radiation, and even the earth’s resonant hum. Trained from childhood in Indian classical music, he uses the system of Indian raga to mold his musical choices for time of day and season. His performances are an effort to bring the listener into the present moment through vibration, space, and connection.
His videos have been viewed over 100 million times and amassed him over 1 million followers online, and he has been featured by The Guardian, LA Times, BBC, Genius, Vice, The Verge, and DJ Mag among others. His recent albums have received editorial support on Spotify’s Music for Plants, Deep Listening, and Lava Lamp playlists. Recent live performances include Art Basel (Miami), MOCA (Los Angeles), New York Botanical Garden, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Tarun’s ‘Field Trip’ project is an effort to reconnect listeners to the natural environment, especially in urban settings.
Zainab Lax:
Zainab Lax is a harpist and music therapist who grew up in a family of musicians. Inspired by the rich sounds and rhythms of Eastern traditions, she brings these influences into modern music. With the help of loops and electronic effects, she creates layered, atmospheric performances that take listeners on a journey across space and time.
Her music blends the old and the new, mixing traditional melodies with a fresh, urban feel. Zainab’s style is personal and creative, shaped by her diverse background. She performs around the world in different setups, always aiming to connect cultures and push musical boundaries.
Senthuran:
Senthuran is a multi-instrumentalist and facilitator of sound healing sessions in Cologne. His music is deeply inspired by meditation and spiritual practice. Combining guitar, vocals, and the Bansuri (a traditional Indian bamboo flute), he creates calm, atmospheric sounds that invite reflection. His music crosses cultural boundaries and offers a gentle, healing journey inward.
Moonlit Brooks:
Moonlit Brooks, aka Tanya Gautam, is a Cologne-based spoken word artist from Surat, India whose work explores the beauty and brutality of living, belonging and passing.
The event is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of our research and development project (Eco-critical Literacy in music- and literature-related practices of cultural education).
—
About the event (easy read):
Join the event. The event is called Sound of Trees. It is with EcoLit. The musician and biologist Tarun Nayar is there. He is also called Modern Biology. Musicians from South Asia are there too. Senthuran plays the flute. Moonlit Brooks reads poems. Zainab Lax plays the harp. The event is with the Forstbonatischen Garten. It is also with the mushroom farm Pilzling. There is music and poetry. The event connects people.
When: 7th May 2025, 4–8 PM
Where: Pfingstrosenwiese, Forstbotanischer Garten, Rodenkirchen, Cologne
What to expect:
- Plants and mushrooms
- Music
- Meditation
- Poems
- Learning about the place
- Telling stories
Tips for the visit: Bring a picnic blanket. Bring water. Bring snacks. Bring writing material and drawing material.
About the project:
The project EcoLit gets money from the Federal Ministry of Education. EcoLit explores music and books. The project shows why culture is important. It is about environmental problems. The problems are important now and in the future.
