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Live from the Lab
Where science meets music!
Live from the Lab (LFTL) is a celebration of Australian music, science, arts and culture. We’ve united musicians with scientists from the University of Sydney through a guided conversation series and commissioned the artists to compose new tracks in response to ground-breaking science. During National Science Week these tracks will be revealed on FBi Radio. We will also be holding two special live events to celebrate and showcase these amazing collaborations.
LFTL brings science to new audiences and celebrates its place in our shared culture.
Created and developed by Associate Professor Alice Motion and the Nanosonic Stories Team.
This initiative is supported by Inspiring Australia as part of National Science Week and is a collaboration between the University of Sydney and FBi Radio.
Listen to the Live from the Lab 2022 track reveals
Live from the Lab: In Conversation
Live from the Lab (LFTL): In conversation was held on Wednesday 17 August 2022 featuring the musicians and scientists discussing the personal stories behind the science, breakdown the wonders, complexity, connections and emotions captured in the new musical compositions. Hosted by Associate Professor Alice Motion.
Live from the Lab: Gig
Live from the Lab (LFTL): Gig was held on Thursday 18 August 2022 hosted by Associate Professor Alice Motion and featured the artists involved in LFTL 2022. It was the first time these science research inspired tracks were performed live, along with additional hits from each artist’s catalogue.
Line-up includes:
- FLOWERTRUCK
- GLOOMIE
- KID FICTION
- MS. THANDI
- MUNGMUNG
Our scientists and musicians
Associate Professor Alice Motion
School of Chemistry
Alice is a Westpac Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry where she leads the Science Communication, Outreach, Participation and Education (SCOPE) Research Group. Alice's research and practice is centred on ways to better connect people with science. Alice is the co-host of the ABC Science Podcast Dear Science, presented Up and Atom on FBi Radio from 2015-2021, shares science on ABC Breakfast News and writes a monthly column for Chemistry World Magazine.
Dr Caitlin Cowan
School of Psychology
Caitlin Cowan, Ph.D., is a psychologist and Research Fellow at the University of Sydney. Bacteria and viruses get a lot of bad press, no thanks to Covid-19. But not all microbes are harmful. In fact, we need some of them to keep us alive, and new research tells us that microbes have lots of different jobs that help keep our bodies healthy. As a psychologist, I’m interested in how these microbes (known as our “microbiome”) might also influence our mental health.
Sydney-based multidisciplinary Hip Hop, RnB and Pop artist MUNGMUNG is backed by her weapons of choice; powerful vocals, charismatic songwriting and sparkling keys with a weird and wonderful whimsical flair. A key element of MUNGMUNG’s artistry is her ability to showcase her broad range of talents, spanning from her genre-bending sound to the strong visual world she creates around her releases.
Professor Francois Aguey-Zinsou
School of Chemistry
Professor Francois Aguey-Zinsou is a global leader in hydrogen storage research and heads the MERLin research lab within the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney. He works to develop materials that enable the safe storage, distribution, and transport of hydrogen with the aim of advancing the technology and implementing it as a tool toward a decarbonised world.
His group has been working for many years on the properties of light metals for hydrogen storage application and is also developing technologies for enabling novel fuel cells and electrolyser architectures and advanced catalysts for hydrogen combustion.
Gloomie is an Eora-based artist who has been a fixture of the local music scene for several years, both in bands and as a solo act. Gloomie’s music chronicles her experiences through soft, breathy lyrics and synthy, adorned guitar melodies. Offering an energised blend of dream pop, bedroom pop, shoegaze and indie, her newly released debut EP, Storm Chaser, is a glistening, down-beat meditation on big emotions and heartache.
Associate Professor Jaime Gongora
Sydney School of Veterinary Science
Dr Jaime Gongora is Associate Professor in Wildlife and Animal Genetics and Genomics at the Sydney School of Veterinary Science. His research has increased our understanding of the nature of genetic variation underlying speciation, immune response and diseases in crocodiles, platypuses, peccaries, wild pigs, camels and the Arabian oryx. His work aims to inform wildlife conservation programs to save species from extinction in the Middle East and to use capacity building and citizen science to address socioeconomic problems and protect biodiversity in the Amazon.
Ms. Thandi is the latest to burst onto Australia’s flourishing R&B scene. Having grown up around Old Soul/Funk music, Ms. Thandi possesses a trove of creative influences which compliment her ever-evolving sound and style. Ms. Thandi isn’t afraid to express how she feels in her bold lyrics, inviting you into an intimate and playful view of her world, whether that be through rap, singing or anything in between. Finding inspiration and solace in her life experiences, her latest single ‘You Could Be’ celebrates healing and new beginnings.
Dr Shawna Foo
School of Life and Environmental Sciences
Shawna Foo is a marine scientist investigating factors that increase the resilience of marine ecosystems to climate change, from microscopic to global scales. She studies animals inhabiting extreme environments to understand adaptation strategies needed to survive harsh conditions. She also integrates satellite-based ocean mapping with benthic surveys to understand large scale patterns of resilience and recovery after climate stress.
FLOWERTRUCK are an Eora/Dharawal garage-pop outfit, creating songs of love, loss and overdue rent. The four-piece are beloved for their energetic live performances and have developed a unique sound stuck somewhere between The Go-Betweens and The Talking Heads.
Professor Zdenka Kuncic
School of Physics
Zdenka Kuncic is a polymath physicist who enjoys working on challenging problems that can only be solved with multidisciplinary expertise. Zdenka’s current research focuses on the question: “Is intelligence physical?” She’s developing nanotechnology-based devices that can emulate the intelligent machinery of the brain’s neurons and synapses, without the messy biology. Unlike Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is based on software algorithms that make statistical predictions using vast amounts of data, Zdenka’s research is revealing how intelligence can be produced by physical hardware using electrical signals, similar to the brain, which may ultimately lead to a new kind of machine intelligence beyond AI.
Out of Sydney city’s bristling underground scene, vocalist and producer Kid Fiction has made a name for himself with his own unique brand of dizzying electronica and moody pop aesthetics. Cutting lines through a seemingly endless landscape of musical influences his music is rich with animation, melody and memory. Grounded always in roots but with eyes to the horizon.
