Live from the Lab 2021

August 24th 2021

Where science meets music! FBi Radio celebrated National Science Week 2021 (August 13-20) on Up For It with Live From The Lab (LFTL).

Live From The Lab is a celebration of science, music, arts and culture. Six musicians and performers were partnered with six science researchers from the University of Sydney, Faculty of Science

This year’s phenomenal LFTL line up featured Mi-kaisha, Setwun, Romaeo, Megafauna, MAXINE, and Baby Beef. 

Each morning at 8:15 on Up For It during National Science Week, the musicians debuted brand-new compositions inspired by their emotional response to this cutting-edge research and our scientists react in real-time, as they hear the tracks on-air for the first time. 

Hosted by Associate Professor Alice Motion (School of Chemistry, University of Sydney) and Courtney Ammenhauser as part of FBi Radio’s weekly science segment, Up and Atom.

Keep scrolling to hear all of the 2021 Live from the Lab original tracks & read about the science that inspired them!

Setwun + Professor Anita Ho-BaillieSchool of Physics

  • Setwun :: Live from the Lab 2021

Professor Anita Ho-Baillie 

Anita’s research interests include exploring new materials for next generation solar cells, and engineering solar materials and devices and integrating them onto all kinds of surfaces generating clean energy for different applications.

Setwun

Setwun is an Eora/Sydney-based producer, musician, and DJ. He is rich in influences thanks to some fortunate exposure to primo examples across genres growing up. From listening to reggae music and choirs as a child in the Solomon Islands to his mother and grandfather’s CDs and recordings, including Marvin Gaye, The Supremes and easy listening instrumentals. Already a much-respected figure on Eora/Sydney’s underground scene, the hype for those on the outside has been bubbling with every small offering and tip-offs from some of the world’s most revered.

Mi-kaisha + Dr. Anna RomanovSchool of Mathematics and Statistics

  • Mi-kaisha :: Live from the Lab 2021

Dr. Anna Romanov

Anna received her PhD in pure mathematics from the University of Utah in 2018, then immediately traded mountains for beaches and moved to Sydney for a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. She’s currently a Research Associate at the University of Sydney, where she spends her time thinking about symmetry in all of its various guises.

Mi-Kaisha

R&B Soul artist, Mi-kaisha, grew up on the streets of Sydney’s music scene. The soundtrack of her childhood included soulful tunes from the 90s and island tunes from her father’s Koori Radio Hip-Hop show ‘Island Hopping’. Mi-kaisha is a Darumbal/Tongan woman, who was born and raised in Sydney’s South. She is a ‘city girl through and through’ and her lyrics represent hard-hitting, often political messages about being a young Aboriginal & Tongan woman in Australia.

Romaeo + Associate Professor Ben ColagiuriSchool of Psychology

  • Romaeo :: Live from the Lab 2021

Associate Professor Ben Colagiuri

Ben’s research aims to understand how expectancies shape health outcomes via the placebo effect. He has published more than 80 scientific papers and won several national and international awards for his research.

Romaeo

Having only released a handful of singles, Romaeo has already solidified her place in the Sydney music scene. Her idiosyncratic vocals and diaristic composition style is complemented with thoughtful art-pop production. Over the last year, Romaeo has impressed fans and industry with her first few tracks, giving listeners a taste of her ethereal pop style but advising audiences to expect the unexpected.

Baby Beef + Dr Jonathan Danon  – School of Chemistry

  • Baby Beef :: Live from the Lab 2021

Dr. Jonathan Danon

Dr Jon Danon is a postdoctoral researcher working as a medicinal chemist at the University of Sydney. He has studied at the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester, and worked for AstraZeneca, all in the UK. He moved to Sydney in 2017 to fulfil a life-long dream of using his chemistry knowledge to discover new drugs that improve people’s lives.

Baby Beef

Baby Beef is a project that grew from three dear friends experimenting in the realm of pop music. As they work on extracting the surreal from their lived experiences. Baby Beef has come to realise that the only consistent theme in life is the unknown. They welcome you along for the ride with open arms.

Megafauna + Associate Professor Tanya LattySchool of Life and Environmental Sciences

  • Megafauna :: Live from the Lab 2021

Associate Professor Tanya Latty 

Tanya‘s research focuses broadly on insect behaviour and ecology with an interest in the intersections between entomology, behaviour, pest management and bio-inspired technology. Her research directions include understanding the impacts of urbanisation on insect pollinators, and new methods for predicting and preventing colony collapse in honeybees.

Megafauna

Megafauna is an all girl, all fun, all-for-the-hell-of-it five piece from Sydney, playing sparkly freak rock that celebrates the Aussie landscape. The band sprung from a desire to traverse the great COVID divide and connect women who just wanted to make some music.

MAXINE + Dr Thomas FellowesSchool of Geosciences

  • MAXINE :: Live from the Lab 2021

Dr. Thomas Fellowes 

Tommy is a marine geoscientist with expertise in coastal geomorphology. He works in both temperate and tropical coastal environments on beaches, in estuaries and on coral reefs. His research focuses on the physical mechanisms that erode, transport, and deposit sediments, to provide a better understanding of the processes that shape and modify coastlines.

MAXINE

A natural stage performer, MAXINE has been on a musical journey from a young age, performing nationally in shows and musicals that captivated the crowd’s attention with her powerful presence and sensitivity. Her songwriting capabilities have graced her with the strength to express reflective thoughts, that are brought to life through push-pull rhythm and an organic 70s soul-styling arrangement that tangos with the ease of 90s R&B, varnished with contemporary production.

LFTL 2021 Producer and Up For It’s resident science expert:

Associate Professor Alice MotionSchool of Chemistry

Alice is an open source scientist and director of Breaking Good – a project that empowers young people and citizens to make molecules that matter. Her research is centred on ways to connect people with science. Alice has presented a weekly science segment on FBi Radio since 2015 and is the co-host of the ABC Science Podcast Dear Science.

This project is supported by the Australian Government National Science Week Grant and is a collaboration between the University of Sydney and FBi Radio.

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