Our first cube installation has arrived at V&A Dundee, Scotland’s design museum on the waterfront of the Tay. These miniature growing laboratories have inspired 13 new music commissions from artists across Scotland and the world, and you can hear 11 of them as part of the installation.

Composers and musicians include jazz musician Fergus McCreadie, Maya Youssef - “Queen of the Qanun”, an extraordinary 78-stringed Middle Eastern plucked zither and Indian classical music vocalist and composer Vedanth Bharadwaj.

Collaboration has been a major part of the project with individuals from different musical genres coming together to create music together. Edinburgh-born harpist, composer, and producer Maeve Gilchrist has teamed up with Arooj Aftab, the first Pakistani woman to win a Grammy, whilst Iceland’s amiina, known for their work with Sigur Ros partner with South Uist native Kathleen MacInnes. Whilst BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy-winner, Craig Armstrong has worked with Steve Jones.

Each commission explores ideas of sustainability and nature, some harnessing the sounds of plants including droop by sound artist, beatboxer and performer Jason Singh and Brian D’Souza (aka Auntie Flo) whose biophilic soundscape harnesses the power of nature through sound, created using a Plant Wave device to pick up electromagnetic activity from the different plants translating each into MIDI notes.

Other artists include Sri Lanka’s Ravi Bandhu, a unique Scots / African collaboration from Trio Da Kali, Manu Delago, master of the hang, a melodic percussion instrument, accordionist Padruig Morrison and Claire M Singer whose acoustic and electronic music draws inspiration from the dramatic landscapes of her native Scotland.

Find out more about the artists here.

Donald Shaw, Dandelion’s Music Director said “Just as plants can grow from tiny seeds, great music can grow from small ideas that we nourish till they bloom into full art forms. The cubes can demonstrate accelerated growing in a wide range of settings, both the expected and unexpected. Placed in a particular environment they create a micro-world within a world, allowing musicians and listeners to imagine a sonic landscape that surrounds us, providing a space for contemplation and for us to imagine a future where we sow, grow and share differently.”

As well as V&A Dundee the cube installations will be visiting: Kelburn Garden Party, 1–3 July, Edinburgh International Book Festival, 13–29 August and Inverness Botanic Gardens, 15–29 August.

Find out more information here.