Touring and DJing can be extremely tiresome activities. That's why I'm trying to compile a series of records for those moments when DJs are trying to lead 'normal lives'- you know, like sleeping at night, making love or growing plants.
I've had a lot of plant talk lately; it may have something to do with my sharing with Chlorys of photos from international botanical gardens or swooning over succulents.
''I know you don't have time to talk to your plants, so I'm going to talk to them for you. You can go on about your business whether that's going to class, or the office, or fixing dinner, or making love. Don't worry, they'll listen to me. Let's begin.'' Molly Roth's Plant Talk.
My friend Luc always makes time to talk to his plants when he's not touring. I have also met a girl in Berlin who had little nametags for all her houseplants.
So yeah, plants were on my mind.
As far as coincidences and planet alignment goes, I had a very pleasant surprise when I received an email from my friend Markus from DIY Church about his next radio show - the title read Nu World Music - Ecogoths in Nu Plantasia and features a gif of a 70s hunk's crotch unzipping his pants to pull out a pink daisy. This coming from a guy making techno-noise live collages. I don't know if he was eating salad to stay on theme with the show, however I do know I've been pretty much oversharing Mort Garson's Plantasia, the core reference in his newsletter.
I know, you probably know it already or may have heard of it a million times. This is one of those records that my mum would probably listen to or that my dad may have bought it back in the '80s, along with his weird RFG electronic pressings about the cosmos and Sandra singles.
After the first couple of listens and getting over the incredibly tongue -in -cheek plant-name puns in the track titles, I am still entranced by this very good and charming record, all novelty value and cutesiness aside, even if some might find it dated, or relying too much on the '70s instantly recognizable Moog sound, or even pathetically melodic. What seems to make it so special is its '70s authenticity - the sincere love of nature and pursuit of an alternative lifestyle you may find in The Monkey Wrench Gang or that scene in Alain Tanner's Jonas qui aura 25 ans dans l'an 2000, when they stop sending their kids to school and create some sort of Waldorf school in a green house and listen to records of whale songs.
At the time of making this record, Mort Garson was a Buddhist and was trying to step away from his prog-rock past. He truly believed in the positive effects of melody for plants and I simply cannot see this record as an attempt to cash in on the whole 'plants have feelings trend'. I don't know how much Mort was trying to satisfy plants as to create beautiful songs for an actual real legit standalone album. His refreshing humor, using all the classical music and plant word play, shouldn't distract us from the actual music though.
Maybe my daily sun salutations have gone to my head or maybe that neglected spider plant from my room is sending some weird mind control waves the way, but I sincerely recommend Mother Earth's Plantasia - Warm Earth Music for Plants and the People Who Love Them. I can't guarantee it will make your plants happier, but trust me, it will surely feel like a long, soothing bear hug.
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*read also: Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe's ideas on making music out of plants, during a Skype interview for The Attic, together with Ariel Kalma.
Tracklist:
A1. PlantasiaA2. Symphony For A Spider Plant
A3. Baby's Tears Blues
A4. Ode To An African Violet
A5. Concerto For Philodendron & Pothos
B1. Rhapsody In Green
B2. Swingin' Spathiphyllums
B3. You Don't Have To Walk A Begonia
B4. A Mellow Mood For Maidenhair
B5. Music To Soothe The Savage Snake Plant