In the tradition of Mort Garson’s ‘Mother Earth’s Plantasia’ from 1976 and with not entirely dissimilar artwork, ‘Yarrow’ is the new work by Portland-based ambient artist Patricia Wolf.

The ninth edition of the Music To Watch Seeds Grow By cassette series, the label is “Dedicated to intertwining the serene beauty of music with the nurturing process of planting seeds when the first new signs of life emerge in the growing season.”

‘Yarrow’ is an aural bouquet inspired by the flowering plant which flourishes in North America and Eurasia. With guidance from a number of scientific academics, Patricia Wolf musically reflects on the life cycle of plants and their dynamic ecological relationships.

Created in response to her artist residency at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado as part of the Art-Science Exchange Project in summer 2024, each track looks at a different part of a plant’s life, touching on the conditions that plants need to grow, the quiet life of roots, how flowers attract pollinators and the strength of seeds.

‘Abiotic Factors’ opens with its expansive soundscape sweeping into oblivion and enabling life in all forms to be able to persevere unhindered. ‘Sessile Existence’ provides gentle pulses that soothe but ‘Inflorescence’ is more ominous by scale rather than threat. The scientific name for the floral display, the music slowly builds layers as subtle shifted vocal-derived textures provide the focus amongst the deeper range of cascading chimes.

The mindful floating moods of ‘Genus Bombus’ provide respite before ‘Seed Dispersal’ punctuates the mood, bringing in a drum machine and keyed melodics that makes the overall effect almost like a conventional synthpop instrumental. As the title suggests, ‘Adapted for Extreme Conditions’ is more chilling as whispers glitch into the more eerie atmospherics. But to close, the BOARDS OF CANADA influenced ‘Ecosystem Meditation’ drips in fresh rainfall with a whispered spoken word accompaniment by Dr Paul CaraDonna that invites listeners to tune into the sounds and activities of the ecosystem.

This is yet another fabulous nature-inspired work by Patricia Wolf who says of ‘Yarrow’: “With this music, I hope to inspire others to slow down, appreciate plants and admire their remarkable fortitude and resilience. With such appreciation, I hope this further inspires us to protect and conserve these photosynthesizing wonders and their ecosystems for as long as the earth will hold them.”

This combination of synthesizers with field recordings manages to highlight the importance of conservation in its airy qualities and continues the tradition of her previous albums ‘Hrafnamynd’, ‘The Secret Lives of Birds’ and ‘See-Through’.

‘Yarrow’ is released as a cassette with a packet of Yarrow seeds and digitally by Music To Watch Seeds Grow By’, available from https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-009-patricia-wolf-yarrow

Patricia Wolf 2026 live dates include:

London Stoke Newington Old Church (6th June), Amsterdam Amstelkerk (11th June) Barcelona Casa Montjuïc (12 June), Hamburg Einraum (13th June) – tickets available via https://linktr.ee/patriciawolfmusic

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Text by Chi Ming Lai
4th June 2025