PREMIERE | Past Palms, 'Ambient Music for Watering Plants'
Curating a sanctuary of green wonder, Sam Friedman presents the latest installment from the Past Palms trajectory; photographed by Nuria Rius.
Music for meditation reconnects us to the universe, the realms of the unknown, our communities, others and ourselves. It provides visions in ways that words and visuals unto themselves cannot always convey. It opens up a portal in that liminal space between the heavens and the bountiful soils of earth and offers up new illuminations and portends to an ever elusive enlightenment akin to what scholars document as the onset of an ecstatic religious experience. The emanating light of sound breaks the staid atmosphere and offers something that the sum of semantics, lexicons and the compendium of learned book knowledge and antiquated and esoteric academia only begin to allude to in earnest. This is the new consciousness dawning of Past Palms' exciting new transformative cycle, Ambient Music for Watering Plants.
The prodigy artist’s latest work shines in a damn perfect union of ambient ASMR stems and opulent, electronic orchestration. NYC by way of Richmond, VA pop polymath Sam Friedman has found a way to somehow encapsulate the sensory field sound sample in the raw, articulating it's attributes into the consciousness opening rhythm cycle and spin of expertly applied electro touches. The opening movement of Ambient Music is the breathtaking "Meditation I: Palm" that is the fulfillment of the promise that all the witch house sales people never fully delivered. Think about the trill wave makers of hip hop and buzz band production fodder from back in the 2010s, envisioning another green world where Past Palms presents a new legacy in the electro-ambient canon. Sam demonstrates a methodical approach to atmosphere expanding mixing and sequencing that has long been in the works. Following intuitively along the path from the self-titled, Vernal, When the Sun Reaches Its Highest Point in the Sky, Senescence and Empyrean — we arrive at the lush landscapes of the beauty beholding majesty of Ambient Music for Watering Plants. Friedman invites the listening audience to venture deeper into the greenhouse of growing wonders.
"Meditation II. Monstera", an ode to the Monstera adansonii and it's Swiss cheese leaves imagines the Araceae species growing in elapsed time, greeting the rays (both solar and artificial) of the day with a relaxed and spirit calming resonance. Past Palms creates indoor audio arboretums that resound like sacred cathedrals for communing with nature, arranging exotic organic elements like privy potted botanical garden pop that offers opportunities for a greater degree of healing for all living organisms. "Meditation III: Philodendron" furthers the anxiety quelling waves of calm, promoting a greater physical and mental state of health, purifying the atmosphere of air that allows you to breathe easier as the soul and mind become mesmerized in understated rhythms and subtle cinematic synth undercurrents.
Between the light and shadows of photosynthesis with Past Palms; photographed by Nuria Rius.
Music for Watering Plants presents a wealth of emotional and ecstatic inspiring aural touches that reach some of the most sublime places from within. "Meditation IV: Sansevieria", an ode to the Dracaena species traverses solemn terrain that gently rides the elongated leaves down to the soil in pursuit of a restful solitude that is deep and pensive in thought and sentiment. Friedman concludes the EP with "Meditation V: Orchid", budding with sparse chords and vague recitations reminiscent of far east ceremonial rituals, bringing the cycle to a full bloom where revelations become enlightened in the spirit of the listener like a host of epiphanies illuminated by sessions of fervent prayers during a high holy holiday. Past Palms preaches the natural religious order of celebrating the instinctive threads that bind humanity to the sprouting life forms that are witnessed all around us. From the wild reeds that spring outward from between the concrete cracks in the pavement, the forests and valleys that surround our bustling metropolitan environments to the private gardens we nurture within our own homes; the message is that we are all caretakers of the planet we inhabit in our life that is all too fleeting, delicate and precious.
Past Palms’ Sam Friedman — icon; photographed by Nuria Rius.
Sam Friedman provided the following thoughtful insights on their latest collection of music for all living matter:
In many ways, starting Past Palms was my own form of therapy. In 2019, I was completely disillusioned with my prior artist project, which had strong pop leanings, as the thought of putting out that music gave me more anxiety than satisfaction. By creating music in a more experimental and ambient realm as Past Palms, I felt a sense of relief knowing that the music had less of a mold to fit. I started making music to water your plants to in an attempt to personify my obsession with nature through music. But in the beginning, I was still committed to making something structured with catchy drums and at least glimmers of pop appeal.
Of light and leaves — Past Palms; photographed by Nuria Rius.
Now, with Ambient Music for Watering Plants, I have fully let go of any expectations from the would-be listener. Leaning into purely ambient music, for me, is going deeper into that place of therapy and giving myself permission to create music for myself, not for a hypothetical audience. Of course I want others to enjoy the music as I enjoyed creating it, but there’s this feeling that the more experimental I allow my music to be, the less I allow myself to worry how it will be perceived. The freedom that comes with that decision has been genuinely inspiring.
My relationship with ambient music has always been about trust. When I put on an ambient record I love, I surrender myself to its spell. I don’t skip through tracks or pay attention to song cues. It washes over me like a warm wave on a summer morning on an empty shore, where you’re alone with the sounds of the ocean and nothing more. I first had this experience listening to the Jonsi & Alex album Riceboy Sleeps. Each song is filled with layers of found sounds and gorgeous colors that fully envelope you. Even after thousands of listens, I never know if I’m at the beginning of a song or near the end; if the album is almost over or if I have five more songs to go. Ambient music does not ask you for your attention, rather, it takes your subconscious on a meditative journey, almost like a waking dream.
Through the leaf streaked mirror glass with Past Palms; photographed by Nuria Rius.
On Ambient Music for Watering Plants, I tried to utilize many of my favorite musical elements from Riceboy Sleeps: nature recordings, glistening strings, reverb-blurred vocals, ethereal pads, and an array of textural and percussive tones. All of these sounds blend together to make a bed of noise with the intent of personifying a variety of common houseplants. Similar to Brian Eno’s Ambient 1: Music for Airports, I loved the idea of giving the listeners a setting for the record. Of course, you can listen to this EP anywhere at any time, but because plants and nature are so interwoven in my music, I love the idea that this is a soundtrack specifically for the time you spend with nature.
Past Palms’ Ambient Music for Watering Plants arrives on Earth Day, April 22.