Music To Watch Seeds Grow By

About Music To Watch Seeds Grow By

A thoughtfully curated collection of ambient, minimalist, and new-age soundscapes designed to be the perfect soundtrack for moments of sowing seeds. www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Seeds Excursions

Category

leisure · music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

17 Sept 2025

Latest episode

25 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

17 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 Oct 2026

   Propagation 004: Telepathic Fish - Seeds Live @ Field Maneuvers 2026

   In August, Mixmaster Morris and Strictly Kev took that idea into the small hours of the Saturday night, in the ambient tent we tended at Field Maneuvers. When we spoke to them before the festival, Kev told us, “Silence and space in composition requires nerve.” Morris, characteristically quick to hand credit back, agreed: “He’s right though, silence takes nerve.” This is a cutting of that, recorded live on the Ambient Stage. Propagate: live sets taken from ‘out in the field’ and given somewhere new to grow. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   19 Oct 2026

   Propagation 003: Tia Cousins - Seeds Live @ Field Maneuvers 2026

   The other half of Seeds - the one who doesn’t write all of this wordy nonsense. Field Maneuvers (https://www.fieldmaneuvers.com) usually gets her on the rave stages. This year she swapped sides; on Saturday night Seeds took over the ambient tent. By the time she stepped up, she was well into a great Saturday, in full weekend spirit… but she’s a professional and held that tent from the first record of those 3 hours to the last. We kept her company. When a small troupe of interpretive dancers found their way to the front, she had an answer ready: Thomas the Tank Engine. And away we go… Recorded live on Saturday 22nd August 2026 Propagate: live sets taken from ‘out in the field’ and given somewhere new to grow. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Propagation 002: Kayla Painter - Seeds Live @ Field Maneuvers 2026

   Cutting 02 - Field Maneuvers 2026 Propagate: live sets taken from ‘out in the field’ and given somewhere new to grow Back to Saturday night at the amazing Field Maneuvers 2026, where we kept the chill-out space going into the early hours. Next up from the Seeds family is Kayla Painter, who released 012 on the label. Her set came billed as Ambient Owl Core, recorded live in the tent as the night turned over. Check Field Maneuvers Dot Com for 27 details (https://www.fieldmaneuvers.com/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

4. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Propagation 001: Stella Z - Seeds Live @ Field Maneuvers 2026

   Cutting 01 Propagate: live sets taken from ‘out in the field’ and given somewhere new to growLive from Saturday at the amazing Field Maneuvers 2026 (https://www.instagram.com/fieldmaneuvers/?hl=en), where we tended the chill-out space into the early hours. Seeds artists, friends and adjacent - this one’s an extended set from the great Stella Z who released the excellent 005 Seeds album Fig (https://stlaz.bandcamp.com/album/005-stella-z-fig) with us last year. Check Field Maneuvers Dot Com for 27 details (https://www.fieldmaneuvers.com) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

5. 

   17 Sept 2026

   Seeds Mix 013: Ibukun Sunday’s Rooted In Shadow mixtape

   “Rushing it kills both the plant and the music. The beauty is in waiting with it.” Ibukun Sunday makes music to “meet people in their intensity and guide them toward peace.” Lagos-born, now in north London, he’s spent years translating that intensity into ambient work built from West African rhythmic sensibilities, deep drone, and a trained violist’s ear - a sound cultivated across releases for Phantom Limb and its Spirituals imprint, and most recently on this year’s Olúsín [Worshippers], a record about faith, devotion, and the silence between notes. His Seeds Mix, Rooted in Shadow, starts somewhere darker and stays there. Sunday works to four private principles - time in seasons rather than bars, rhythm that stays steady, sound and harmony, structure. Field recordings - leaves, water in a cave, soil being turned - get time-stretched into pads rather than backdrop. It’s also Seeds Mix 13, a number with its own reputation. Sunday’s not fighting the omen. You’ve said rushing kills the plant and the music both, and the beauty’s in the wait. Does this shadow side require a different kind of patience, or is it the same wait either way? That’s where the best music lives, I think. In Seeds Mix 13. The track where you didn’t fill every space, where you let the silence be heavy, where the light only comes through for 4 seconds at the end. You said environmental sounds tell the plants’ growth within the music, not just set the scene. Was shadow itself treated like a collaborator here, similar to water or wind? Yes. 100%. If water is the pulse and wind is the sway, then shadow is the soil. I didn’t just “set the scene” with darkness in Seeds Mix 13. I let shadow do work, the same way I let water and birds do work. Water gives rhythm. Wind gives motion. Shadow gives weight. It’s the low end, the sub, the reverb tail that never fully decays. It’s what makes the light matter when it hits. Without shadow, that burst through the trees in your photo would just be bright. With shadow, it’s revelation. It’s Seeds Mix 13. Thirteen’s got its own shadow reputation - unlucky, left off buildings, uneasy. Do you think this was fate’s intervention or just how the numbers landed? Mix 13 carries a shadow. Skipped floors, crossed fingers, the “bad omen” story we all learned. But look at the image again: trees growing out of stone, light forcing its way through. That’s 13 to me. You’re originally from Lagos - does shadow mean something different there, given the heat and light, than it might somewhere greyer and colder? Yes. It means something completely different. Shadow in Lagos and shadow in North London aren’t the same plant. Lagos shadow is never quiet. It’s danfo horns softened, music leaking from a bar, rain hitting a zinc roof but you’re dry underneath. Shadow holds the noise instead of killing it. So shadow in Lagos feels generous. It’s not “dark.” It’s cool. So what happens when you carry both? You end up with a different kind of patience. Lagos taught you: shadow is a place to rest and still grow. London taught you: shadow is a season to endure and still grow. Your music leans on the silence between notes as its own kind of faith. Does tending a plant call for that same patience, waiting on something you can’t rush or fully see? Silence is faith. When you let a note ring and then don’t play the next one, you’re saying: “I trust that what we’ve planted here is enough for now. I trust time will do the rest.” That’s devotion. That’s Worshippers. Rushing it kills both the plant and the music. The beauty is in waiting with it. Olúsín [Worshippers] (https://ibukunsunday.bandcamp.com/album/ol-s-n-worshippers) is out now. (https://ibukunsunday.bandcamp.com/album/ol-s-n-worshippers) Tracklist: Ryan J Raffa – Sound of the MountainsHenrik Meierkord – SkogsgränsenIbukun Sunday – Last Earth Ibukun Sunday – Distance / No Turning BackIbukun Sunday – Edge This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

6. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Seeds Mix #12: KiF Production’s Dawn to Dusk Mixtape

   Having spent an album taking the passion flower through birth, bloom, and death, KiF Productions turns a plant’s year into a single day. The Seeds Mix is two hours made for doing nothing in particular – garden, common land, park bench, wherever there’s room to potter, stare, and let time pass without checking it. No lifecycle to hang it on this time, just a day. Dawn eases into focus for the first hour, dusk pulls everything inward and quiet for the second. Sound-wise, it’s the same juxtaposition that ran through Passiflora – birdsong, wind, bells and found nature sitting right up against synthetic tone, warmer where it can be. KiF have form for throwing in fake, synthesised birdsong purely to mess with the spotters, so don’t take anything chirping out of the speakers entirely at face value. As the mix moves from day to night, the sound follows: brighter and busier in the early stretch, sliding towards darker, slower and more dreamlike as the light drops, the shift gradual rather than a hard cut. It’s not made in a vacuum either. Simon Armstrong from Errant slipped them a couple of tracks that ended up soundtracking dusk. Rob at Be With handed over a Hatchback cut before it even hit his own label. Gardens In The Sky drifted in via a mix from our very own Tia Cousins for Test Pressing. It is less a finished object, more the latest exchange in an ongoing conversation between friends who keep sending each other music. Our old friend Keith McIvor haunts this one too, gently. His lockdown-era Tranquillity Mixes are where KiF first heard Inoyama Land, who show up in the dawn section, and a Saturday morning set at Watching Trees’ Bush of Ghosts this year fed straight into the whole thing taking shape.Asked what plant they’d be, Will and Tom eventually landed on a coppiced hazel in a holloway – practical, long-lived, on good terms with humans, and sat under centuries of falling leaves (“plenty of samples,” as they point out) – two hours of KiF thinking like that particular tree.Sit down, shut up, watch the light move. Who are you? KiF Productions is the creative partnership of Will Cookson and Tom Haverly. Since being teenagers we’ve enjoyed creating all sorts of stuff together such as cartoons, collages, characters, slang and so on but in 2023 we started making sample-based music and sound collages together. Our first release was Still Out, a homage to the KLF’s Chill Out. We’re both Gloucestershire-based and have an ongoing obsession with creating sounds that explore journeys, nature and memory. Why are you here? The idea of making something that could accompany moments of quiet and observation really appealed to us, especially coming straight off working on Passiflora. So much of what we do is inspired by nature, landscape and the feeling of being present in a particular place at a particular time of the day, that the idea of making something to accompany those moments felt very natural to us. We imagined it as something you might listen to while taking time to ‘be’ in a garden, on common land or in a park — a companion to pottering, sitting, looking and simply being there. We approached the mix as another kind of journey: immersive and slow-moving, giving the music space to breathe, gradually unfolding and building as it goes. Passiflora followed the passionflower through its entire lifecycle, seed to fruit and back again. Did you find yourself thinking in a similar arc for this mix – a beginning, middle and end to the day – or did dawn-to-dusk pull you toward something looser? There was definitely a sense of an arc, but we didn’t want to make it too literal. With Passiflora, the lifecycle gave us a natural structure to work within, whereas with the Seeds Mix we were more interested in the feeling of a day unfolding. The first hour was made very much with dawn in mind — that feeling of the world slowly waking up, the light changing and everything gradually coming into focus. The second hour moves towards dusk, becoming more reflective and inward as the light fades and the day begins to settle. So there is a clear beginning and end, but we wanted the journey between the two to remain loose and organic. More like spending a whole day outside and noticing how the atmosphere, light and energy around you slowly change, rather than following a conventional narrative. The mix is really intended to accompany that process rather than dictate it. Passiflora leaned on collaborators — Piers Partridge, Fidel Cutstro, and others named as inspirations track by track. Is this mix a solo KiF piece, or does it carry any of that same collaborative spirit?Although the Seeds Mix is a KiF mix, it definitely carries that same collaborative spirit. Community and sharing music are a big part of what we’re about, and there’s always a feed of people, mixes and conversations leading into what we’re making. Simon Armstrong from Errant shared some tracks with us, a couple of which ended up in the dusk section of the mix. Rob from Be With Records also shared the Hatchback track, which he’s releasing on his label soon. And we discovered Gardens In The Sky, which ended up on the dawn side, through a mix Tia did for Test Pressing. So although we’re putting the mix together, it’s definitely not created in isolation. It feels more like part of an ongoing exchange of music, ideas and recommendations between friends and people whose work we really like. You’ve spoken about wanting sounds to “evolve like a seed underground, forming in darkness before emerging into light.” Does that same principle guide this mix? Yes, definitely. That idea of slow, almost imperceptible change was very much in our minds when putting the mix together. Plants don’t suddenly transform from one state to another; growth is gradual, and a lot of it happens unseen. We wanted the music to behave in a similar way, with things emerging slowly, overlapping and evolving rather than arriving fully formed. There’s a sense of moving from darkness into light, but also of allowing things to take their time. Small textures and details appear, develop and recede, sometimes almost without you noticing. We’re interested in that kind of subtle movement — music that rewards staying with it rather than constantly demanding your attention. That felt particularly appropriate for the Seeds Mix. It’s designed as something to settle into, where the changes are gradual and the overall shape only really reveals itself as you move through it. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking the growth process in your music? If we’re being honest, we often struggle to incorporate silence. We’re naturally drawn to collage and to filling the space with sounds, textures and little details. But the time of day was very much in our minds when making the mix, and that gave the music a sense of space without us having to deliberately leave big gaps of silence. You can hear that in the way the mix gradually builds. It begins with more sparse, minimal pieces, reflecting that stillness and openness of dawn, before slowly introducing more layers, movement and eventually fuller-blown songs. As it moves towards dusk, things begin to open up again and become more spacious and reflective. So perhaps we found our own way of thinking about silence — not necessarily as the absence of sound, but as the space between things and the amount of room we allow the music to breathe. We know we’re probably getting into cliché territory here, but it really is a journey… man. How do you feel when you see the first sprouts emerge when planting a seed? Does that feeling of “First Movement” and “Seeking Light” translate to how you open a mix? I’m going to defer to Tom on this one, as his fingers are definitely the greenest. He says, “it feels good — like a little success. It’s not always easy to get seeds going from scratch, so there’s a challenge to it, but when that first movement appears, it also feels like the beginning of a responsibility, in a good way”. That feeling translates into opening a mix too: that first movement is the moment you know something’s starting, and then it’s about nurturing it, giving it space to grow and seeking out the light as it builds. Passiflora was dedicated to Keith McIvor, whose Tranquility Mixes were a stated influence. Was he on your mind while putting this one together too? Keith has played a big part in how we came to release music as KiF Productions. He was really encouraging of Still Out, which meant a lot to us as we have huge respect for him and Optimo. His invitation to play at Watching Trees in 2025 also set us on the road to collaborating with Wil & Tia and Music to Watch Seeds Grow By. The Tranquility Mixes are beautiful and were particularly timely for us, as Keith was sharing four hour-long mixes of calming music during lockdown in 2020. There’s also a direct link between those mixes and our Seeds Mix, as Keith’s Tranquility Mixes introduced us to the Japanese environmental ambient music duo Inoyama Land, who feature in the Dawn section. In terms of Passiflora, Sleepwalk: A Selection by Optimo (Espacio) from ’08 was another influence. Keith was definitely on our minds while putting this mix together too. DJing a long Saturday morning into the afternoon at Bush of Ghosts at Watching Trees this year was another Keith-related factor — it was a magical moment in a beautiful setting, with an engaged audience, and it definitely became part of the inspiration for the Seeds Mix. Do you use any specific frequencies or tonalities that resonate with the natural world or plant life? Frequencies and tone played a very important role in Passiflora, and getting some of that feeling into the mix was important to us. Maybe not specific frequencies as such, but warmer tones certainly felt very apt. The mix contains found sounds from nature alongside more synthetic electronic frequencies, which is a juxtaposition we really dig. What instruments or sounds do you use to evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively? Wind instruments, drones, bells, environmental sounds, birdsong and insects always help evoke that feeling for us. We’ve also found ourselves drawn to tracks that have a natural swell or ebb to them, almost like slow breathing — something that gradually expands and contracts. There’s something about that quality that feels very connected to nature and growth. It’s an avenue that we’ll be continuing to explore as our obsession continues… How does your music composition change for day versus night phases in a plant’s life cycle? — This feels directly relevant to a dawn-into-dusk mix — how does the sound itself shift as the light changes? We’re drawn to the way sound changes with the light, so the day-to-night transition feels very natural to us. During the day there’s more movement, brightness and detail — things feel a little more open. As the light fades, we tend to gravitate towards darker, slower and more dreamlike sounds, with more room for things to breathe. There’s a gradual shift rather than a hard change, almost like the music selected is following the natural rhythm of the day. How do environmental sounds like water, wind, or birdsong influence your compositions?It’s often one of the first things we look for when we’re building a track. Environmental sounds in particular can become a foundation for a piece. Birdsong can become a melodic element or even a riff, and we’ll often use birdsong that’s specific to the location we have in mind. On a recent visit to Cornwall, we hooked up with our Verdant / Brewing Folk / Stone Club crew, who took us out to Zennor to see the megalithic stones. That trip informed a remix we’re doing for Matthew Shaw from Stone Club, where we used Choughs and Short-eared Owls, both native to Cornwall. Tom has a good knowledge of birds and we both have long-standing connections with Slimbridge WWT, so birdsong has become a bit of an obsession for us. We also like throwing in fake, synth(etic) bird sounds from time to time, just to keep things interesting and mess with the spotters. Do you consider the emotional connection humans have with nature when creating music? Absolutely. Everything we’ve made so far has been about the idea of ‘creating spaces’ that allow anyone listening to step back from our tech-heavy, information-overloaded, fast-paced world, slow down and be in the moment. That’s something we’re continually trying to respond to through what we create, and it felt particularly relevant to this mix. If the music can provide a little space to breathe, switch off and simply be for a while, then that’s a really important part of what we’re trying to do. If you were a plant what would you be and why?This took a while for us to agree on, but Tom’s initial suggestion of a coppiced hazel tree in a Holloway won out. It symbolises longevity and practicality, and has a good symbiotic relationship with humans. And residing in a Holloway, just think of all those leaves dropping over the centuries — plenty of samples!We’ve got a bit of a thing for ancient woodland, so it felt like a pretty good fit for us. Got any growing tips? — for parks, common land and forests specifically, rather than a garden.Think in three dimensions, and think long term — beyond one or two generations. Planting shouldn’t just be about what looks good now, but about creating a holistic ecosystem with biodiversity at the fore. Different heights, layers and species can create habitats for all sorts of life, and the best planting should be allowed to evolve over time.Will’s Uncle Marko used to plant weed on common land around the outside perimeter of Toronto Airport, which certainly gets you thinking about the possibilities of guerrilla gardening and what we consider to be ‘public’ space! Check out the Seeds release here (https://kifproductions.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-010-kif-productions-passiflora) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/) Tracklist:(Dawn)The Habbiyya – Two ShakuhachisIasos – Undulating Bell HarmonicsHarold Budd – It’s Steeper Near The Roses (For David Sylvian)Raul Lovisoni & Francesco Messina – Prati Bagnati Del Monte AnalogoLaaraji – Essence (Excerpt)Inoyami Land – BananatronSpacetime Continuum – Ping PongMDA Analog – Rainful MemoriesHatchback – And The Walls Became The World Around UsM&M – Garden In The SkyDieter – EcstasyRoedelius – Tempera (Dusk)Bruce Haack – 17 Gifts For Free ChildrenDeux Filles – BirdsOld Jared – IV. Forest PondPriscilla Ermel – Gestos De Equilibrio (Excerpt)Another Fine Day – Life Before LandPaz Sounds – Trees & BirdsHampshire & Foat – LullabyJonny Nash – Smoke RingsGreen-House – Soft CoralThe Black Dog – CheshAshra – Deep DistanceUnderworld – To HealVirginia Astley – Out On The Lawn I Lie In BedOrchestra Of The Swan – An Ending (Ascent)[Arr. For Violin, Harp & Orchestra by David Le Page]Brian Eno – Strange Quiet This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

7. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Seeds Mix #11: Patricia Wolf’s Wander in the Garden

   Patricia Wolf’s recent release on Music To Watch Seeds Grow By, Yarrow (the 9th edition in the series), emerged from weeks spent at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, working alongside ecologists studying plants, pollinators, and the slow pressures of a changing climate. The album maps a Yarrow’s life from root to seed: the conditions needed to grow, the quiet underground, the moment a flower opens to something that might carry it further. Field recordings from those Colorado summers are woven through the compositions, leaving room, as Wolf puts it, for the natural sounds to come through – her way of sharing an emotional inner life when thinking about these environments. For this mix, Wolf turned her attention to morning. Imagining this year’s Watching Trees festival crowd coming down from a long night of dancing – we talked her through in the afterglow of this year’s edition. Wolf built A Wander in the Garden for that specific threshold hour – somewhere between nine and ten, when birdsong starts to reassert itself and the body wants something slow, expansive, and unhurried. The anchor track arrived first: the Cosmic Tones Research Trio’s Photosynthesis, from which everything else grew. What follows is a walk through an imaginary garden with several climates – shade beneath a linden tree, open meadow thick with yarrow and field poppy, a pine grove smelling of warm sap, an orchard of cherries and mulberries just beginning to ripen. If she had to name the plant that holds this hour best, Wolf chooses lavender: something with a direct line to the nervous system, a quiet insistence on calm. A Wander in the Garden feels like it was made for a specific time of day – that early morning threshold before the world fully wakes. What does that hour feel like to you, and what does the garden sound like then?When I made this mix I was thinking about your Watching Trees festival and while I was unable to be there, I had fun with this mix pretending that I was in charge of the music in the morning when people would be waking up after a long night of dancing. With that in mind, the time might be somewhere between 9 and 10am, many hours after sunrise, but still early enough to feel like morning. The garden wouldn’t be silent then, but natural sounds would be more prominent. People in the garden would notice birdsong, the sound of the wind in the trees, the sound of animal footsteps and calls. You imagined an audience just coming down from a night of dancing. How does that change what you reach for musically? Is there a particular plant or part of the garden that holds that same quality of gentle landing?After a night of physical exertion and heavy mental stimulation it is nice to listen to something more calm, slow, and expansive. If I had to choose a plant in my imaginary garden to pair with this relaxing experience, I’d choose lavender. It has a powerful calming effect on the nervous system. Was there a specific moment on the walk – a particular turning, or a sound — that the mix grew out of?I was listening to the Cosmic Tones Research Trio’s new album and when I heard their track “Photosynthesis” I knew that I had to use that one for this mix. From that track the mix grew and grew. If the garden at that hour had a temperature, a colour, a smell – what would they be?This garden would be quite large and would have a few different microclimates to allow for many species of plants to grow. Since this is a wander through the garden, I imagined the garden to be a dynamic one .The area beneath the old linden tree would be fragrant with its blossoms. It would also be cool and dark in the shade. Then, in an open meadow, there would be a large variety of native wildflowers with bumblebees, butterflies, and honey bees flying from flower to flower. That area would be a bit warmer since it’s exposed to the direct sun. It would be a multicoloured space with Yarrow, Everlasting-Pea, Wild Chamomile, Cleavers, Columbine, Creeping Thistle, Field Poppy, and many other flowering plants. When the wander takes you to the pine grove, the warm smell of sap can be detected. A bit further on is an orchard with cherries, apricots, apples, plums, figs, mulberries, and pears. The mulberries and cherries are fragrant and ripening. You can smell their fruit and take some to eat. Birds and plants share the same early morning – birdsong is often the first sign that something is growing, moving, returning. How do you hear birds in relation to the garden? Do they feel like part of it, or visitors to it?I have a strong belief that all life on this planet is interdependent and entwined. Birds rely on plants in many ways; sometimes for food, sometimes for nesting, sometimes as a place to hide. In turn, many plants rely on birds for seed dispersal. Did you know that a seed that has passed through the digestive system of a bird or animal has a significantly higher chance of germinating? Resident bird species will likely use the garden year-round, but migratory birds will only use the garden as a temporary stop as they travel to their intended destination. What’s the first plant you notice when you step outside in the morning, and does it ever find its way into what you make?Imagine that I am at this festival, and the first plants that I notice are the old, strong oaks. I like to think of the entire ecosystems when working on music inspired by nature. In that way, oaks have found their way into my work. Seeds need darkness before they need light. Do you think music made for early morning carries something of that same in-between quality – not quite night, not yet day?I think that music and art made on the cusp of something should carry a bit of all that it encompasses. The transition from night to day is a mutable time and should transform gradually. How do environmental sounds – birdsong, wind through leaves, the first insects – find their way into what you make?I do field recording and am very attracted to listening to the natural world. I like to release the field recordings without music, but sometimes I get a strong feeling when I am on a particular excursion or while listening back to the recordings and feel inspired to compose music to it. I like to play with the bits of empty space in the recording and leave room for the natural sounds to come through. It’s my way of sharing my thoughts and emotional inner life when I am thinking about these environments. Check out her Seeds release here (https://patriciawolf.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-009-patricia-wolf-yarrow) Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/patriciawolf_music) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/patriciawolf_music/) Tracklist: The Cosmic Tones Research Trio – Photosynthesis}Andrew Pekler – Waterway RhythmAndy Aquarius – Under Der LindenSlowfoam – Divine Morpho, Shimmering (feat. RAN PARK)Luke Wyland – PollinatorsBonnie Prince Billy – Willow, Pine and OakSaloli – ButterflyJohn Carroll Kirby – Messages in WaterMaxime Denuc – PapillonsGraintable – Rain in the TreesPhil Geraldi – Chorus in GreenGreen-House – Under the OakYu Su – Ripe FruitsOlof Dreijer – Fern Valley This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

8. 

   4 May 2026

   Seeds Mix #10: Salamanda’s A Cradle for Basil

   Seeds Mix #10: Salamanda's A Cradle for Basil“Everyone needs a moment of silence every once in a while,” Basil seems to know this, too. Salamanda create a bed for Basil’s germination. Watching something small grow in your kitchen makes you pay close attention. The Seoul-based duo Salamanda and the next artist stepping up for Seeds understand this. Uman (Sala) and Yejin (Manda) spent a day watching a single basil plant on a windowsill, noticing how the light shifted across its leaves, water gathered at its roots, and time slipped by. What started as a simple observation turned into a meditation on the inner life of a plant and what it means to really listen to something living. Basil droops in the cold, grows too fast in the heat, and can wilt from too much attention; it needs a moment, too. Salamanda noticed that this silence is a pause for space, where the real growth happens. For them, music fills that space… Manda talks about understanding her own feelings by looking at her plants. When she feels down, the plants seem to react. They reflect something back: being present, paying attention, and giving and receiving care. This mix comes from that kind of language, asking you to keep coming back to care for the same small plant. If basil could think, what would it think of you? Get your headphones on. Listen to the way a plant listens to light…Tracklist:C.Debussy – Piano Trio In G Minor, L 3 – 2. ScherzoOval – Cross SellingSalamanda – introduce my atom which is my favorite oneBadlands – My Time Will Come AgainBon Iver – 29 #Strafford APTSMaxine Funke – Lucky PennyOra Clementi – Paradigm and PlacesSalamanda – KaliVoyage Futur – blending inTulips – RubinSalamanda – hungry snailSalamanda – the blue wineLia Kohl – Car Horns (feat. Patrick Shiroishi)Salamanda – Melting HazardCarl Stone & Asuna – A Salsa NocturneJason Kolàr – 〒154-0011Componium Ensemble – Automata (for celesta, glockenspiel and spring-tank guitar)Salamanda – Full of MushroomsSalamanda – La Fille Aux Yeuh De LinBen Lumsdaine – RenormalizerNueen – Structure of DesirePinkcourtesyphone – to be expected This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

9. 

   10 Mar 2026

   Seeds Mix #9: Hamie Jouse’s mixtape for benevolent collusion Kodama

   Deep in the Yorkshire woods, multi-disciplinary artist and producer Jamie House – aka Hamie Jouse – has been quietly splitting light into a thousand tiny rainbows. Best known for his hypnotic visual installations and art direction across DIY music spaces from Old Red Bus Station to Resonance, House found himself at last year’s Watching Trees festival (https://www.instagram.com/watchingtreesfestival/?hl=en) doing something beautifully meta: filming daytime trees to project back onto their evening counterparts through a cascade of prisms. The “arty b******t” behind it, as he puts it, was about bridging gaps of time and space and memory – creating past tense ghosts of daylight. But really, “it just looked pretty, and the trees and sun had it all covered.” Whilst setting up his spectral light show on the Bush of Ghosts stage, Tia and Wil (that’s us) caught wind of the music he was playing. What unfolded in those early morning hours was something special – patient, ambient-soundscapes with a deep understanding of the fractal nature of the forest, where every process is made up of countless sub-processes doing their best impression of one solid bit. This mix captures that philosophy; energised yet gently held, pulsing yet ambient. Mirroring both the slow, steady rhythm of plant growth and the constant, quick reactions within the cells. There are rarely right angles in the forest, just lots of individual leaves doing their thing- a benevolent collusion with the kodama, those forest sprites that House channelled through his psychogeographic, hauntological light work. From the Rhubarb Triangle of West Yorkshire, where he dabbles in ambient matters with his long time friend Aaron during hazy Sunday afternoon straggler zones, overlooking different vistas, House has created something that feels like plugging into the mainframe with beings deep in the woods, under a very full moon. Always bring a memory stick, indeed. Who are you? You, probably ∞♡… Musically though I’m just a product of a load of great communities, bands, parties and people I’ve been with, in and around. In no particular order… Duke, Comfort Peter, Fever, Endless City, Old Red, Resonance, NARR, HCE, Wizold Sage, Dima Rabik, Amateur Hour, Workshop, Map, Slop, LTJ, Phaedra, a Village Mind, Giggle + a few more that never got round to the naming process. Also any I’ve forgotten because it was too much fun. Long live DIY music in all forms, nooks and crannies. Why are you here? I was doing some special lighting for the Bush of Ghosts at Watching Trees which involved filming the daytime trees each day then projecting them back onto their evening counterparts through a load of prisms. The arty b******t behind it is that it was trying to bridge the gaps of time and space and memory, creating past tense ghosts of the daylight. Using the projector as the one light source, the prisms split the beam into thousands of tiny rainbows all containing it’s own unique hue and personality alongside the essence of the original whole. It was inspired by the whole psychogeographic cut up tape drift animism forest sprite faerie kodama hauntological kinda thing but it also just looks pretty and I didn’t realy have to do much cus the trees and the sun have it all covered. As I spent so much time messing with the projectors on the stage I was playing some music during setup and Tia and Wil enjoyed it, so here I am 🙂 I have dabbled in ambient matters with my mate Aaron (A far better gardener and DJ than me) for a looooooong time now, so it has been real nice to share this with a wider audience outside the usual sunday afternoon hazy straggler zones overooking different vistas of west yorkshire. Always bring a memory stick! When are you happiest? I’m trying to be happiest right now but yesterday I found that quite hard and who knows about tomorrow. I do really love plugging into the mainframe and being with beings deep in the woods under a full moon though. Maybe even with some tunes on. Are there specific genres or styles of music that you feel naturally complement the act of planting seeds? Planting seeds is great but it takes a certain amount of energy and foresight to plant seeds right now that you might never even see fully grown in your lifetime. I like to feel energised and gently held by benevolent tunes with a pulse and not too many sudden movements. I feel like planting seeds is one of the biggest movements you can do to reclaim your physical, mental and emotional space from the machine, so lyrics and samples that encourage thought about this process always compliment it nicely. How important is minimalism in music designed for slow, organic processes like plant growth? I feel like minimalism has its place but the natural world can actually be pretty maximal most of the time. It’s just our new world has so much noise we now see that natural chaos as calming. Every process is made up of countless sub-processes, self replicating patterns and individual parts doing an impression of one solid bit. The fractal nature of this is something I like to play with and bring out in music – what is fast and what is slow? What is ambient? It’s totally subjective but I love music which somehow manages to pack itself with energy but still remain relaxed and ambient – that’s very seedish. There’s rarely a right angle in the forest, but you’ll find a hell of a lot of them in the topiary and landscaping of royal gardens. That’s a nice tree, but it would be a lot nicer if it was a cube. Once you zoom in there’s no right angles though, just a load of individual leaves doing their thing doing their best impression of one. How do you approach creating music that mirrors the slow, steady rhythm of plant growth? I love music that manages to mirror this on all levels, some elements showing the slow steady rhythm and some parts mirroring the constant quick reactions and interactions within the cells of the plant. I think we project speed onto the plant from our own perspective when comparing it to the speed at which our lives unfold, but I love to think about how time perception can vary from species to species. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking the growth process in your music? I love to walk as many places as I can and whenever I walk I enforce a strict no-music rule, apart from in emergencies of course. This silence brings an opportunity to do some deeper listening to things like the wind in the trees and the birds doing their thing and the dual carriageway in the distance. These are all very helpful things and can be fed back into the cycle of creation nicely. What instruments or sounds to you evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively? Acoustic instruments which require a human to function feel the most natural and fitting for the garden to me. It’s great what we’ve done with synths and electronics in the last 70 years or so, but that’s so new compared to the entire history of nature and humans. I reckon some of the older plants might be a bit confused about kick drums and what they are doing on the turf. We’re all going to have to find a symbiotic relationship though – everybody loves a kick drum sometimes. I like to imagine how many of them I’ve heard in my life and how different it all is now to when you heard the first one. What did you grow in your garden this year? I’m from the Rhubarb Triangle which is almost as exciting as the Bermuda or Wold Newton Triangle. Wakefield is the rhubarb capital of the world, so it would be rude not to grow a bit even if it’s just for bragging rights and crumbles. The trick to good rhubarb is forcing it to grow earlier than it would naturally, keeping it in total darkness, making it constantly reach for a light it is unlikely to find. It’s not too kind to the rhubarb but that’s the truth, it’s not nice but it makes the taste way better for us bigger and more advanced beings doing the harvesting. What do you find most challenging about caring for new plants? I’m actually naturally terrible at caring for plants. I’m trying my best and I really love them but I really do struggle with almost every aspect of it. Plants are the chaos which requires the order of the seasons and surrounding environment to flourish. My current life contains a chaos to order ratio that can be no good for the plants if I’m honest. Maybe when life changes I can be trusted to look after some in my own space. For now I visit them at their own homes and it works well for both of us, I think or hope there’s mutual respect. A cornus is not just for christmas. Have you ever used music or other sensory experiences while tending to your plants?A few of us are working at the moment to create a sensory garden, arranged in separate areas for feel, smell, taste, sight and sound and with the grey areas between the categories seeping into each other’s spaces. There were a lot of different plants, lights and sounds of all descriptions – not one of them will have the power to overwhelm the senses or create a negative experience for any of the other plants or for the people loitering in the flowerbeds. All of them will be a treat for at least one of the senses. Nature is such a holistically sensory experience, I love the idea that gardens are kind of like playlists of curated moments. Check out Jamie’s portfolio: https://www.hamiejouse.co.uk/art (https://www.hamiejouse.co.uk/art) Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/hamie_23 (https://soundcloud.com/hamie_23) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamie_jouse (https://www.instagram.com/hamie_jouse) Ironic Hill – Chorus Kuzich – Morning SunJohn Haycock ft Rob Dunford – Dapple ShadePalta – Tabt optagelsessssoftpatch – Bowling for LoopsAgron – Should I feel bad for doing ThisWizold Sage – Comfort Heater Christian Kleine – Beyond Repair (Version)Golden Bug & In Fields – BlindEx-Terrestrial – Everybody DreamsTakao – Bird EnsembleDavid Versace – Heart to HeartBarker – Fluid MechanicsShhhhh – Pond Natter420 aka Galcher Lustwerk – Untitled 6Motoko & Myers – PloverZammuto – It Can Feel So Good This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

10. 

    3 Feb 2026

    Seeds Mix #8: Brian d’Souza- Live @ Bush of Ghosts

    Deep in the woods at our very own Bush of Ghosts stage at Watching Trees 25, Scottish producer Brian d’Souza, aka Auntie Flo, brought his ‘Plants Can Dance’ project to life in a five-hour ambient set beneath a canopy of trees. Drawing from the playlists he’s been curating for Imperial College’s psychedelic therapy trials, d’Souza transformed the clearing into what he describes as “a sanctuary away from the main stage,” where human – and non-human – audiences alike could experience music designed to mirror the quiet intelligence of the natural world. This 90 min excerpt captures the heart of that nocturnal performance, guiding listeners through the Ascent, Peak, and Descent phases – a journey filtered from the vast database of ambient music d’Souza has amassed over five years of running Ambient Flo radio. The setting itself became integral to the experience: darkness creating a natural sensory deprivation that, as d’Souza notes, allows listeners to become “more absorbed in their other senses, including the sounds they hear.” At the core of d’Souza’s ‘Sunflowers’ next instalment for our Music To Watch Seeds series lies a profound botanical truth: sunflowers practice cooperation over competition. Recent research reveals that when these plants encounter nutrient-rich soil between neighbours, they deliberately root elsewhere to avoid conflict – a form of underground etiquette that challenges our traditional understanding of survival of the fittest. D’Souza’s album captures this behaviour sonically, using biodata from his son’s sunflower in their London garden, converted into sound through his modular synthesiser via Instruo’s Scion module. This live performance extends that concept into the forest, where ambient music fulfils its original definition – having enough space to mix with environmental sounds, creating a novel soundscape at all times. As d’Souza reflects on Peter Wohlleben’s ‘Hidden Life Of Trees’ and its description of forests as interconnected social networks, the Bush of Ghosts set becomes a meditation on what he calls “the More Than Human world” – a space where silence represents the fragility of life, and where trees, unlike festival-goers, “aren’t going to leave the dancefloor if they don’t like a track.” The result is an invitation to forge a deeper connection with the natural world, to witness how plants can indeed dance. Who are you, why were you at Bush of Ghosts and what does this twig-constructed stage deep in the woods mean to you at Watching Trees? I’m Brian d’Souza, last year i did a five hour ambient set at Bush Of Ghosts, playing music from the playlists I’ve been curating for some of Imperial Colleges psychedelic therapy trials. The stage was a nice addition to the festival, a sanctuary away from the main stage. Tell us about this mix and how it was constructed? I took a long time filtering through the music I’d pooled together for the psychedelic therapy trials. Most of this was from the huge database of ambient music I’d amassed through the five years of running Ambient Flo radio. The performance was split into six phases, which peaked somewhere in the middle. This two-hour section takes us from the Ascent phase, through Peak and down into the Descent. How does performing ambient music in a forest differ from a traditional venue, and does the living environment around you become part of the composition itself? Its always nice to perform outside and in nature, however, it was night so was very dark so maybe the impact was lessened. Nice to have a natural toilet within the vicinity though! How does the physical setting where ambient music is experienced change its meaning or emotional impact? I think that goes for any music, it’s as much about hearing the space, the soundsystem, the artistry as the song. Ambient Music is inherently environmental music – it’s original defintion relates to it’s ability to have enough space to that it mixes with environmental sounds, creating a novel soundscape at all times. Surrounded by trees at night, How does playing for both human and non-human audiences shift your awareness? It would be interesting if we could ask the trees. I’ve been reading Peter Wohlleben’s ‘Hidden Life Of Trees’ where he describes the interconnected nature of a forest and a tree’s ability to pick up and communicate signals, kinda like a social network. So it’s fun to think of the More Than Human world in situations like this, and with trees, at least they aren’t going to leave the dancefloor if they don’t like a track. Brian Eno defined ambient music as something that can be “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored.” In a forest setting like Bush of Ghosts, can it ever truly be ignored when nature itself is so present? I guess it depends on the time of day – nature is much more vocal in the morning, especially with the Dawn Chorus. So perhaps at that time, nature would mask the music, but at other times the music would be more present? Whether you listen or ignore it is up to you, though, and everyone will have different abilities in that sense. How does your music composition change for day versus night phases in a plant’s life cycle? Playing at night under the trees, did that nocturnal setting shift how you approached the performance? It’s nice to play at night, as you experience a natural sensory deprivation of sight in the darkness. This hopefully means one is more absorbed in their other senses, including the sounds they hear. The differences,for performance, are probably more subtle. Your album for Music To Watch Seeds Grow By captures biodata from your son’s sunflower in your London garden. Can you walk us through the technical process of converting that living data into sound through the modular synth? It’s simple really: there are a bunch of devices out there that work like a galvanometer – picking up water and other electrical signals within living things and turning that biodata into sound. For the Sunflowers album, I used Instruo’s Scion module to do this, connecting the clips to a living sunflower and then composing the tracks using the sunflower's data. My intention was to attempt to track a sunflower’s life cycle and embody that in sound. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking this process? Absolutely, in this case, silence represents the fragility of life and is especially evident in the opening few songs, which are intended to embody the earlier stages of the sunflower's life cycle. What does ambient mean to you? Brian Eno, Deep Listening, Ambient Flo The research for your Seeds project shows sunflowers deliberately avoid competing underground, choosing cooperation instead. Did working with this data change how you think about collaboration or your own creative process? Not really but help re-enforce my view that collaboration is the key to musical utopia. Do you use specific frequencies or tonalities that resonate with the natural world? If so which instruments or sounds evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively for you? I’ve experimented with different tunings that are supposedly more in sync with the frequencies found in nature. I think the jury is still out on these, mainly because there are too many variables in terms of how subjective this all is to be able to make universal statements. What did you grow in your garden this year, and what’s your favorite part of the planting process? We have two veg patches in our garden, which i made use of for the first time. As well as sunflowers, we grew tomatoes, potatoes and a range of herbs – sage, cress, thyme, rosemary. We were less successful with carrots, lettuce and spinach. What should listeners take away from experiencing Plants Can Dance beyond just the music itself? A deeper connection with the natural world. When are you happiest? In the studio creating new ideas When’s the last time you bought a plant or seeds, and what was it? See above! If you were a plant, what would you be and why? An old oak tree: wise, stoic, solid, respected and a supporter of life under my canopy! Who are you, why were you at Bush of Ghosts and what does this twig-constructed stage deep in the woods mean to you at Watching Trees? I’m Brian d’Souza, last year i did a five hour ambient set at Bush Of Ghosts, playing music from the playlists I’ve been curating for some of Imperial Colleges psychedelic therapy trials. The stage was a nice addition to the festival, a sanctuary away from the main stage. Tell us about this recording and how it was constructed? If you mean the mix, I took a long time filtering through the music i’d pooled together for the psychedelic therapy trials. Most of this was from the huge database of ambient music I’d amassed through the five years of running Ambient Flo radio. The performance was split into six phases, which peaked somewhere in the middle. This two hour section takes us from the Ascent phase, through Peak and down into the Descent. How does performing ambient music in a forest differ from a traditional venue, and does the living environment around you become part of the composition itself? Its always nice to perform outside and in nature, however, it was a night so was very dark so maybe the impact was lessened. Nice to have a natural toilet within the vicinity though! How does the physical setting where ambient music is experienced change its meaning or emotional impact? I think that goes for any music, it’s as much about hearing the space, the soundsystem, the artistry as the song. Ambient Music is inherently environmental music – it’s original defintion relates to it’s ability to have enough space to that it mixes with environmental sounds, creating a novel soundscape at all times. Surrounded by trees at night, How does playing for both human and non-human audiences shift your awareness? It would be interesting if we could ask the trees. I’ve been reading Peter Wohlleben’s ‘Hidden Life Of Trees’ where he describes the interconnected nature of a forest and a trees ability to pick up and communicate signals, kinda like a social network. So it’s fun to think of the More Than Human world in situations like this, and with trees, at least they aren’t going to leave the dancefloor if they don’t like a track. Brian Eno defined ambient music as something that can be “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored.” In a forest setting like Bush of Ghosts, can it ever truly be ignored when nature itself is so present? I guess it depends on the time of day – nature is much more vocal in the morning, especially with the Dawn Chorus. So perhaps at that time, nature would mask the music but in other times the music would be more present? Whether you listen or ignore it is up to you though, and everyone will have different abilities in that sense. How does your music composition change for day versus night phases in a plant’s life cycle? Playing at night under the trees, did that nocturnal setting shift how you approached the performance? It’s nice to play at night as you have a natural sensory deprivation of sight due to the darkness. This hopefully means one is more absorbed in their other senses, including the sounds they hear. The differences for performance are probably more subtle. Your album for Music To Watch Seeds Grow By captures biodata from your son’s sunflower in your London garden. Can you walk us through the technical process of converting that living data into sound through the modular synth? It’s simple really: there are a bunch of devices out there that work like a galvanometer – pickling up of water and other electrical signals within living things and turning that biodata into sound. For the Sunflowers album I used Instruo’s Scion module to do this, connecting the clips to a living sunflower and then composing the tracks using the sunflowers data. My intention was to attempt to track a sunflowers life cycle and embody that in sound. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking this process? Absolutely, in this case silence represents the fragility of life and is especially evident in the opening few songs, which are intended to embody the earlier stages of the sunflowers life cycle. What does ambient mean to you? Brian Eno, Deep Listening, Ambient Flo The research for your Seeds project shows sunflowers deliberately avoid competing underground, choosing cooperation instead. Did working with this data change how you think about collaboration or your own creative process? Not really but help re-enforce my view that collaboration is the key to musical utopia. Do you use specific frequencies or tonalities that resonate with the natural world? If so which instruments or sounds evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively for you? I’ve experimented with different tunings that are supposedly more in sync with the frequencies found in nature. I think the jury is still out on these, mainly because there are too many variables in terms of how subjective this all is to be able to make universal statements. What did you grow in your garden this year, and what’s your favorite part of the planting process? We have two veg patches in our garden, which i made use of for the first time. As well as sunflowers, we grew tomatoes, potatoes and a range of herbs – sage, cress, thyme, rosemary. We were less successful with carrots, lettuce and spinach. What should listeners take away from experiencing Plants Can Dance beyond just the music itself? A deeper connection with the natural world. When are you happiest? In the studio creating new ideas When’s the last time you bought a plant or seeds, and what was it? See above! If you were a plant, what would you be and why? An old oak tree: wise, stoic, solid, respected and a supporter of life under my canopy! Brian d’Souza’s ode to Sunflowers is out now on Music To Watch Seeds Grow By (https://auntieflo.bandcamp.com/album/music-to-watch-seeds-grow-by-007-brian-d-souza-sunflowers?label=1634068447&tab=music)on a recycled cassette and comes with a packet of Sunflower seeds to sow whilst you play the music to watch your seed grow by. Tracklisting Hybrid Palms – Ocean PlazaCool Maritime – AmphibiaRichard Norris – FireThe NRG – LA InhabitantsGreen-House – Perennial BloomImaginary Softwoods – Mr. Big VolumeLemna – Lapis LazuliWallace – By The LakeGrand River – PetrichorBing & Ruth – The Pressure of this WaterElori Saxl – BlueTakashi Kokubo, Andrea Esperti – Lights Of Alpha CentauriTim Hecker – Violet Monumental ITim Hecker – Violet Monumental IIButch & Vogt – Bliss (Reprise)Caterina Barbieri – Fantas for Electric GuitarHolden & Zimpel – Incredible BlissJo Johnson – The Wave Ahead of the Wave AheadGrand River – HumanHeinali – Vita Nova+C43Loscil & Lawrence English – CyanAlessandro Cortini – La sveglia (drum version)GAS – Der Lange Marsch 2Tim Hecker – The Piano DropBrian d’Souza – The BeachImaginary Softwoods – Diagram Of The Universe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

11. 

    23 Jan 2026

    Seeds Mix #7 - Susannah Stark’s mixtape for walking to Carbeth from Glasgow

    For Glasgow-based artist Susannah Stark, the walk from the city to Carbeth becomes a meditation on paying attention, on taking your time with things, on letting roots guide the way.In Stark’s work, sensitivity isn’t fragility; it’s a form of attentiveness, a willingness to be present with the human voice, with the spaces between sounds, with what emerges when you slow down enough to notice. Her approach to creating music mirrors the patient rhythm of plant growth – something we like around these parts – not forced or rushed, but allowed to unfold at its own pace. “Pay attention to the roots!” Stark says. It’s a gardener’s wisdom that applies equally to music-making. Sometimes the most beautiful things emerge when we’re open to what’s already there, quietly waiting beneath the surface. For this mix, Stark draws on her love of vocal harmony and polyphony, choral music and modular synthesis – the human voice and electronic landscapes working together like walking and listening, movement and stillness, roots and growth. Her “Minor Gestures” album on Nightschool Records explores these same territories: softness, rhythm, encounters between beings, and the different dimensions of speech and sound. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

12. 

    16 Dec 2025

    Seeds Mix #6: Angie QQ – A Meditation Through Taroko (Taiwan)

    Seeds Mix #6: Angie QQ – A Meditation Through Taroko (Taiwan) Angela Lin, aka Angie QQ, producer and A&R behind the Sounds of Taiwan compilation, returned to Taiwan in May 2019 seeking refuge after the loss of her mother. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

13. 

    23 Nov 2025

    Seeds Mix #5: Openmind’s “Leave your phone at home & discover paradise after a forage in the forest”

    Strictly Kev likes the company of plants when he’s working on music… so that’s handy for us, isn’t it?! We’re assuming he’s talking about a beautiful Calathea sitting in the corner for inspiration, tho his dream plant setup – a conservatory packed with Romanesco broccoli, trippy Caladiums, and Persian Shields – is something we’d be well on board with too. Enough of the plant talk for a second and back to the music, ambient music to be clear. For those that weren’t squatting in South London back in the early 90s, Openmind were the four-piece behind the mighty Telepathic Fish – the legendary ambient afterparty that transformed chill-out rooms from dub-playing afterthoughts into proper destinations. Kev, along with Chantal Passamonte (Mira Calix, RIP), David Vallade, and Mario Aguera, started in a shared house above a shop with no neighbours to complain/bash the door down. What began as art school parties quickly grew into Sunday afternoon sessions in squatted venues – a former dole office in Brixton and even the derelict Roundhouse on New Year’s Day. They hosted everyone from Aphex Twin to Mixmaster Morris among wall-to-wall mattresses, UV installations, and Coldcut’s Matt Black with his boundary-pushing video projections. The idea was simple: recreate that post-clubbing comedown vibe but on a massive scale, as an “aural and visual blanket” for club-rattled minds. They even published a fanzine called Mindfood and worked at the scene’s hub, Ambient Soho record shop, helping shape what Simon Reynolds called a “wombeldelic sound-and-light bath” in contrast to the current trend of hardcore and it’s relentless assault. Thirty years on, that spirit's having a comeback. Events like London's A Loose Ting are bringing back the bedding and the hushed reverence, while Berlin's Overflow is going full sensory overload with vibrating mattresses, fountains, and harpists. New York's Planetarium gatherings have people mostly horizontal, inspired by psychedelic therapy sessions. Our very own Watching Trees dabbled in said chill-out space last year which turned into an actual third stage this year and became an immersive womb-like space; Bush of Ghosts, pairing the abstract and the ambient with projected dappled sunlight visuals from the mighty Jamie House. There's even an ambient sauna in South London you might have come across via our own Seeds takeovers, and next month you'll find us doing the same at Field Maneuvers (https://www.instagram.com/fieldmaneuvers/?hl=en), with Telepathic Fish themselves on the bill alongside Stella Z, upcoming Seeds artist Kayla Painter and Tia Cousins. Turns out people still need those little havens away from the madness, especially in this day and age! 30 years on, the Openmind crew have just compiled the first-ever Telepathic Fish retrospective for Fundamental Frequencies – a double vinyl love letter to those hazy early-90s mornings when the music finally slowed down. For this Seeds Mix, Kev has leaned into his love of minimalism and systems music – repetition built from layers of loops, offset against one another to form subtle polyrhythms. There’s a deliberate avoidance of drum machines here in favour of organic percussion, and around the eight-minute mark, a section from Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia that captures the feeling of being deep in the forest, phone abandoned, discovering that paradise was just a forage away. Living on the third floor without a garden might limit his horticultural ambitions for now, but there are plans afoot for a dedicated psychedelic garden somewhere down the line. Until then, there’s this mix – 90 minutes of patient, slowly unfolding ambient music that asks very little of you except that you sit still long enough to let something grow. The Telepathic Fish compilation is out now Fundamental Frequencies. (https://fundamentalfrequencies.co.uk/various-artists-telepathic-fish-trawling-the-early-90s-ambient-underground/) Telepathic Fish play Music To Watch Seeds Grow By’s chill out tent at this year’s Field Maneuvers (https://www.fieldmaneuvers.com) Listen and read the interview below: Who are you? I’m Strictly Kev aka DJ Food aka Openmind. I’ve DJ’d for four decades now, been a part of the Ninja Tune label for over three as an artist / designer and I write stuff occasionally too. The latter pseudonym used to be my DJ name pre-Ninja and I’ve also used it for my design work for the past 30 years. Why are you here? When a man and a woman love each other very much… Seriously, it’s a long series of hard work and fortuitous meetings that’s brought me to be writing these words at this very moment. The specific reason for this mix and questionnaire is the Telepathic Fish compilation I co-compiled with my fellow Openmind compadres, Mario Aguera and David Vallade. A selection of ambient tracks we used to play at the chill out parties we hosted under this name alongside fellow flatmate Chantal Passamonte (RIP) back in the early 90s when we all shared a house together. Do you consider the emotional connection humans have with nature when creating music? Honestly, no. I’m usually too busy wrestling with whatever technology I’m trying to create music with. Nature can come into the picture later when the music is being ‘consumed’. When are you happiest? When I’m creating something or experiencing the creativity of others. Also laughing at absurd comedy or combing carboot sales or collections of ephemera. How do you approach creating music that mirrors the slow, steady rhythm of plant growth? I’m a lover of minimalism and what some call ‘systems music’, slowly evolving repetition that builds over sustained periods by small shifts or rearrangements in timing. My favourite means of creating this is by building layers of loops then offsetting them against each other so that they form subtle polyrhythms. What did you grow in your garden this year? Sadly I don’t have a garden, I live on the third floor and any window boxes I’ve attempted over the years are sorely lacking. I have a couple of cacti and that’s about it but I have plans to move to somewhere with a dedicated space to curate a psychedelic garden. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking the growth process in your music? Silence and space in composition requires nerve and I have a tendency to overload things and fill in space. I’ve recognised this and now try to take things away or slow the pace rather than add more. I recently left about five seconds of black screen in the middle of a video mix, it was intentional and it works in context but the normal reaction to something like that would be that it was a mistake. Have you ever used music or other sensory experiences while tending to your plants? No, but I’ve used plants while tending to my music. Congrats, you’ve won the plant lottery! You can choose anything you want, what is it? A conservatory full of Caladiums, Canna, Persian Shields, Rex Begonia, Amaranthus Tricolor, Purple Oxalis, Begonia Maculata, Fittonia, Calathea, Romanesco broccoli and a mix of Dahlias. What instruments or sounds do you evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively? Percussion, the sound of wood on a natural surface, organic rather than synthetic, definitely no drum machines. There is a section in the mix that perfectly evokes nature to me with this method on a track by the Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia, it starts around the eight minute mark. If you were a plant what would you be and why? Maybe a Liberty Cap that could be found, consumed and create a memorable experience in the mind, a bit like a mixtape. Tracklist: Sylvian & Czukay – Plight (The Spiralling of Winter Ghosts) excerpt 1Marshall McLuhan – What’s That Buzz?Exquisite Corpse – OneVernon Elliot – The Clangers Intro & DialogueSteve Halpern – Cosmological EyeThe Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows (acappella)Ecstasy Orchestra – ParadiseOngaku – Mihon #2 (intro)Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia – Obsidian (Deconstructure intro sounds)Louise Huebner – Seduction Through Witchcraft (excerpt 1)Paul Horn – Shah JahanMLO – Wimborne (Original Mix)Louise Huebner – Seduction Through Witchcraft (excerpt 2)The Orb – Star 6 & 789 (intro)Group Modular – Lonely PylonHypnotone – God C.P.U. (acappella)Mergener / Weisser – SunbeamGlobal Communication – Ob-Selon Mi-Nos / 14:31Todd Rundgren – Born To SynthesiseJamie Lidell – Multiply The VoicesVangelis – Blade Runner BluesKen Nordine – What Time Is It?Scritti Politti – Absolute (acappella)Slowly – On The Loose (Autechre Remix)Sandoz – White DarknessTangerine Dream – PhaedraThe 7th Plain – BoundariesThe Shamen – Re:Evolution (a cappella)Vapourspace – Gravitational Arch of 10 (intro/outro)Paul Horn – Prologue/InsideSylvian & Czukay – Plight (The Spiralling of Winter Ghosts) excerpt 2Yoshinori Sunahara – Journey To The Stars (excerpt)David Sylvian – Answered PrayersGrace Jones – The Crossing (ooh the action)This Mortal Coil – Ive & NeetBill Nelson – Calling Heaven, Calling Heaven, Over (acappella)The KLF – Waiting (excerpt)Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Warriors (Return intro)This Mortal Coil – Heart of GlassBill Nelson – GnosisMeat Beat Manifesto – Pot Sounds (intro)The Future – Last Man On EarthMeat Beat Manifesto – The Sphere Telepathic Fish on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/telepathic_fish/) Strictly Kev on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/strictlykev/?hl=en) Buy Telepathic Fish comp here (https://fundamentalfrequencies.co.uk/various-artists-telepathic-fish-trawling-the-early-90s-ambient-underground/) Field Maneuvers insta here (https://www.instagram.com/fieldmaneuvers/?hl=en) Music To Watch Seeds Grow By on Bandcamp (https://musictowatchseedsgrowby.bandcamp.com/) | Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/musictowatchseedsgrowby/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

14. 

    9 Nov 2025

    Seeds Mix #4: Joe Muggs’ Music to Smell the Jasmine whilst watching for Bats in the Twilight

    Joe Muggs has lived and breathed ‘electronic music culture’ for many, many years… like a lot of us probably for more than he’d care to imagine. From journalist and observer to active participant and curator, beyond his celebrated writing career spanning publications like The Wire, FACT, The Guardian, and his co-authorship of Bass, Mids, Tops: An Oral History of Soundsystem Culture (https://gloucesterroadbooks.com/product/bass-mids-tops/). Muggs has built many bridges across the worlds of the electronic and handily, for us, ambient. Muggs’s involvement with ambient music includes occasional work with Global Commmunication’s Tom Middleton, perhaps most notably on the 1000 capacity Sound of the Cosmos tent at the 2011 Big Chill, but also on collabs like an epic joint set at Spiritland in 2018 – check this for a flavour (https://www.mixcloud.com/Spiritland/tom-middleton-and-joe-muggs-at-spiritland-28th-january-2018/). Muggs has championed ambient music in all its many forms over the years, check his 2014 ambient roundup for FACT magazine (https://www.factmag.com/2014/10/09/ambient-2014-round-up-joe-muggs/), his Solid Steel mix from 2015, (https://soundcloud.com/ninja-tune/solid-steel-radio-show-1552015-hour-2-joe-muggs) and his Worldwide FM show (https://worldwidefm.net/collection/joe-muggs) which ran through the ‘Covid years’ and featured guest slots from e.g. JD Twitch, Grandmixxer, Meemo Comma and Surgeon We recently crossed paths with Joe during a conversation for an upcoming Guardian article he’s tending to on the evolution of chillout, in celebration of the Telepathic Fish compilation (https://fundamentalfrequencies.bandcamp.com/album/telepathic-fish-trawling-the-early-90s-ambient-underground) set to sprout on September 5th. What makes Muggs’ current trajectory particularly intriguing is his return to DJing ambient music at festivals like Houghton, We Out Here and the like. Ambient music is making a bit of a comeback, you might have noticed. As the music on the main stages seemingly gets faster, it feels natural that there’s a need to slow down somewhere, anywhere. Experimental, ambient, and leftfield sounds to the fore, get horizontal. Something’s feeling quite full circle here. So it is with some excitement that Joe agreed to don his ambient trousers again and step up for part 4 of the Seeds mix. “Music to Smell the Jasmine Whilst Watching for Bats in the Twilight” encapsulates what is often a poetic approach to ambient curation – clearly less about the dancefloor and more about creating an experience that enhances the environment around you. Beyond the fabled chill-out room and into the field we go… Listen and read the interview below: Who are you? I’m Joe Muggs, I’m best known for writing about music, but I spend increasingly more time either making and playing it, or branching out into researching social, subcultural, neurological etc aspects of creativity more broadly. Why are you here? An infinite cascade of rolls of the quantum dice over billions of years resulted in… well, hello. When are you happiest? Really the absolute basics: laughing with my wife and/or kids, long conversations in the pub, finding unexpectedly great music at a festival, DJing to appreciative people, seeing a weasel, all that. What does the natural world mean to you? It’s a weird relationship, I grew up in the countryside so took it for granted a bit, I was hugely privileged to run free in fields etc but also associated it with drizzly walks, falling in mud, nettle stings etc as much as anything else… Much later on a walking holiday in the Howgill Fells in horizontal rain in October I started to discover that discomfort is being alive, and now I chide my inner child off for complaining about brambles. I live rurally again now, but do still also live in my head a lot, and I can forget to look up or leave my shed very often… but that means when I do go out I can be surprised and bowled over by what’s all around me. The other day I saw a weasel hop across the road, I’d been feeling like s**t but it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. We consider it necessary to play music to our plants to help them be the best they can. Your mix is based on ‘Music to Smell the Jasmine Whilst Watching for Bats in the Twilight’… Tell us about the selection and how you feel this helps Jasmine and how the bats feel about it. It’s just the kind of music I play in the evening, either alone or when DJing – in fact quite a few of these tracks got an airing in the We Out Here ambient tent last weekend, and I recorded it in the afterglow from that amazing session. A lot of is quite sad or menacing because soft music is at its best when it’s emotionally full-spectrum, and it really suits the vibe of sitting out in the evening drenched in the jasmine scent, enjoying the fact that England is now A Hot Country, while also terrified about that fact. It’s got lots of ups and downs, and a bit of a sense of the promise of mischief at the end with the epic double dose of Superpitcher, and I like to think bats can dance to it all. They look like they’re dancing when you get more than one doing loop-de-loops round the garden. What role does ambient or abstract music play in your life, and why do you think it’s something we all keep returning to it along our journey? I spent a lot of time with headphones on as a weird child, and I loved the transportive power of radio plays, especially sci-fi, and doubly especially Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which is profoundly ambient. The first album I bought, aged 11, was Radiophonic Workshop Sci-Fi Sound Effects, which has a sound called “A Huge Ever-growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From the Centre of the Ultraworld”.As I first got into pop I was fascinated by stuff like Tango in the Night, Graceland, Dire Straits etc which were very expensive exercises in worldbuilding. Even as a teen metaller, I developed a habit of listening to the Friday Rock Show incredibly quietly as I went to sleep, and especially found stuff like Slayer became incredible as textural music. When rave culture came around, at first it was a lot more about sitting around on the Downs or in friends bedrooms listening to tapes – which naturally included a lot of Orb, KLF, etc (in fact I discovered that the tape I’d made with Chill Out on one side and the first Orb Peel Session plus a bunch of other ambient curios on the other had been duplicated to third or fourth generation copies around our town) – than dancing. So the chillout room, when I found them, was like a vision of heaven. I could list thousands of other contexts that took its place over the years, from Alva Noto soundtracked art installations at Sónar, folktronica by a campfire at Baskerville Hall, getting a sense of perfect stillness inside a giant bass tone at DMZ even as the dancefloor around me was going nuts, and on… I’ve just always sought out that cocoon or balloon of sound that takes you into a different world or transforms the space you’re in into something new and numinous. You programmed the Big Chill ambient tent with Tom Middleton many moons ago. How did your love affair with ambient come to fruition? Just the one year – 2011, the final Big Chill, and otherwise a slightly sad festival as it was all a bit corporate and unattended, but we somehow got a budget and amazing soundsystem for a whole weekend (all very late in the day, so Tom called up me and our mutual friend Richie to see if we could help). It was ravey during the day – a s**t hot lineup actually, though I say so myself – I got Zed Bias, Cooly G, Ben UFO, Pangea, Swindle, Geiom… Dammit why don’t people give me budgets more often? Then after midnight curfew we lowered the volume and lights, pulled these giant sort of cushion-podiums, like giant pouffes, into the middle of the dancefloor, and played super chill until 4am. Proper classic chillout room, people having deep chats, couples smooching, but still some dancing (or swaying) going on too. Bliss. It was the all time harshing-of-my-mellow to drive out of that back to London to find that the “bit of bother in Tottenham” we’d heard occasional mutteirngs about at the festival had spread into something a lot bigger. Define ambient and what it means to you? As above, it’s about world building. Environmental music as the Japanese pioneers put it. Anything can be ambient. There’s lots of SONG-songs in this mix – but you can listen to the words or just let them wash over you, Ambient is as ambient does, I guess? On the same note, what does silence teach you that sound cannot? You really need to catch me in a chillout room at 4am to get the full spiel on this one. As well as growing up weird and quite isolated in the countryside, I was raised Quaker, and they do silent worship – essentially like a group meditation. One of the most profound artistic experiences of my life was seeing John Hurt do Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, and a particular well timed use of the word “silence” at a couple of points in that. I’m not sure there’s any musical moment so powerful as a classic 94-95 jungle tune that has the tiniest moment of silence after the intro breaks, then there’s a siren, a dog barking, someone yelling and all hell breaks loose. Being diagnosed with ADHD at 50 I finally grasp why I crave true silence so much… sometimes. But there’s so many sorts of silence… If you were a plant, what would you be and why? Hmm, a massive gnarly old rosemary bush. Strong, dark, bitter, enduring, a bit tasty 🙂 What did you grow in your garden this year? How is the fig tree getting on? I don’t know what most of the things in the garden are. The old couple who lived here before us, seven years ago, planted so well and durably, I just have to trim and prune, the one big and endless job is keeping brambles at bay. Fortunately I always love overgrown and tangled things, and there’s some great sprawling lavender bushes, wild strawberries growing like weeds everywhere, and climbing roses, grapevines, honeysuckle and passion flower that have got completely matted together across the pergola over a pebbly bit out the back where I’ve got a swinging basket egg chair from Aldi that I like to work in sometimes. I stick things into the muddle from time to time, like the fig tree which was a present and some mad giant alliums which my wife hates. The lawn, if you can call it that, is mostly clover and moss, but that’s fine as we have pet rabbits who are out in a run during the day and they love it and keep it trimmed. I did put in railway sleeper raised beds on the lawn (lockdown project of course!), one’s got some really thriving rasberries in, the other has a threadbare thyme bush and daughter and I have managed to coax some splindly but sweet carrots out of it this year too. Got any growing tips? Move into someone’s house who is amazing at selecting hardy perennials. When’s the last time you brought a plant/seeds, and what was it? I think it was probably the carrot seeds actually. My wife has been on a houseplant bender lately, and they’re looking good. You’ve won the plant lottery! You can choose anything you want. What is it, regardless of climate or growing zone? I really really love pines and firs, my first thought was the mad idea that I’d actually like a Giant Redwood but that would be my entire garden just for the trunk – slightly more realistic would be a big wide, weathered, mature Lebanon Cedar. What types of plants do you enjoy growing the most, and why? As before it’s that tangle of vines – the jasmine, honeysuckle, roses and passiflora all getting in amongst it and overwhelming whatever trellises or roofs they’re put near. What do you find most challenging about caring for new plants? Remembering to do it at all. ADHD, see? I definitely do need “fire and forget” type things if they’re to have a hope of survival. What sounds from your childhood still bring you peace, and how do you weave them into your daily rhythm? Wood pigeons. Takes me back to my grandparents’ garden in particular. Don’t really need to incorporate it as they’re around and cooing more oftent than not round here, it’s just a matter, like so much else of getting out of my own thoughts and paying attention. What is your favourite season, and how does that influence the way you listen? Even split summer and winter. Having speakers out on the lawn or somewhere public is such a privilege and pleasure, and especially since I bought The Midlife Crisis Soundsystem (a lovely RCF Evox 12 PA rig) I don’t take that for granted – getting to play records at our local brewery in a farmyard, or a tapas bar in the evening is just vibes upon vibes and a great social connector. But I also massively love the wrapped-up, safe feeling of winter listening, especially around Christmas, alone or with friends/family, but also when I used to have a SE London pub residency, the early part of the evening when the weather was cold and/or bad was a special joy, the feeling that when someone came in and got out of their wet coat or stamped snow off their boots, a record I was contributing to their sense of stepping into a little haven was always wonderful. What does it mean to you to create space for stillness in a world that rarely stops moving? It’s everything. I just wrote at length about this for the We Out Here in-festival magazine under the banner of my “soft music for hard times” idea. I got so many great quotes on the topic from musicians / DJs playing at WOH, but in particular this stood out from Abigail Ward, who as Ghost Assembly makes some of the greatest dancefloor music around currently: “As a neurodivergent person, I often crave solitude and emotional connection at the same time. Music holds both. It’s a mid-place. To withdraw into quiet music is not escape – It’s refusal. In the stillness it gives, I find rest, thought, and the kind of companionship that asks nothing of me. In today’s society I consider this an act of rebellion.” And also, from the experimental MC Lex Amor: “The sweet and tender doesn’t scream or dominate our screens or feeds… we all need a balm – another route. Retaining tenderness in these times is choosing to exist above chaos – I think there’s revolution in that.” For me all of this also relates to our definitions of what “grassroots” are and how and why we should protect them, all of which brings in food and drink intergenerational relationships, spaces that provide genuine welcome instead of trying to squeeze money out of you… I constantly think about Paul Gilroy’s conception of “conviviality”, the way society does or doesn’t actively create meeting places for cultures, classes, age groups etc. If you check out my clip of We Out Here on my Instagram, I think you’ll probably agree even from just a few seconds, that the vibe was quite convivial. Anything else we need to discuss? I’ve actually got a bunch of articles coming up about ambience and related stuff, so keep an eye out, and do please support bassmidstopsandtherest.substack.com (http://bassmidstopsandtherest.substack.com/) and theartsdesk.com (http://theartsdesk.com/) where there’s always a ton of good stuff happening. Supporting independent culture journalism is as important as any other part of the infrastructure. There’s a big archive of my ambient shows of very different sorts on ROVR, Worldwide FM (with some mindblowing guest mixes), NTS (the “Love Drain” series of shows) and Solid Steel (still don’t know how I pulled that one off – someone told them made them feel closer to a dying friend because it helped them understand what it must be like to be in a coma… and meant that as a compliment). And I’ll be going double ambient at Hidden Notes festival next month, as part of KiF’s “Still Out Room”. Tracklist – Dr Rod Octopus vs Kirsty Hawkshaw – Ghost TownCoby Sey – Eve (Anwummer)Om Unit – Springdub MeditationWombo – SpyhoppingAda – 25 or 6 to 4Omara Portuondo – TabuAswad – Ethiopian RhapsodyNwando Ebizie – Shadowland (In the Dreams of Others)Muito Kaballa – Like a RiverSam Gendel & Sam Wilkes – Theem PrototypeEgo Ella May – The Morning Side of LoveMinnie Riperton – Minnie’s LamentJulee Cruise – She Would Die for LoveEnnio Morricone – Messico E IrlandaAlice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas, Misha Mullov-Abbado – Tonada De Luna LlenaResavoir – SunsetDurutti Column – GraceScrimshire, Stac – Pep TalksBrandee Younger – Dust (feat. Meshell Ndegeocello)D’Angelo – UnshakenSabrina Bellaouel – ClémenceBill Frisell – Sing Together Like a FamilyBobbie Gentry – Something in the Way He MovesFrederic Galliano – Niamien Kinkeling (feat. Cissé Diamba Kanouté, Koko Ouadjah)Underworld – DuneRufus Wainwright – Tiergarten (SuperMayer Lost in the Tiergarten Mix)Talaboman – Dins el Lit (Superpitcher Remix) Follow Joe Muggs on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/joemuggs) Music To Watch Seeds Grow By on Bandcamp (https://musictowatchseedsgrowby.bandcamp.com/) | Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/musictowatchseedsgrowby/)| Substack (https://substack.com/@musictowatchseedsgrowby) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

15. 

    1 Nov 2025

    Seeds Mix #3: The First Signs of Spring with Graintable

    His recent release on Music To Watch Seeds Grow By is an ode to the Blue Flax. ‘Blue Flax ’ is the resilient flowering plant celebrated for its delicate blue blooms and medicinal applications; it is native to the Pacific Northwest – the region Cooke calls home. This plant has long grown on the ancestral lands of the Wasco, Klickitat, Warm Springs, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. Recorded during the transitional hours of dawn and dusk in his Portland studio, Cooke’s soundscapes capture both the meditative aspects of watching plants grow and the gradual transformation of organic matter into usable forms. The centrepiece of the album, Cerulean Fields, reminds me of the early morning light, those inspiring hours before the rest of the world wakes and the first shoots break through the soil into the new dawn. It’s a beautiful crystallisation of what is Cooke’s most comprehensive collection of meditative compositions to date. He’s created a stunning mixtape to soundtrack the first signs of spring, fitting for this time of year… Listen and read the interview below: Ransom Note (https://soundcloud.com/the-ransom-note) · Seeds Mix #3: The First Signs of Spring with Graintable (https://soundcloud.com/the-ransom-note/seeds-mix-3-the-first-signs-of-spring-with-graintable/s-IWIkrXPWLKq) Who are you? Graintable Why are you here? I make Music to Watch Seeds Grow By. When are you happiest? Right now. Do you consider the emotional connection humans have with nature when creating music or mixtapes? Definitely! When I make music I’m trying to create something that captures the feeling or memory of that connection. The Pacific Northwest is home to some really moody landscapes and that plays a huge part in my music. How do you approach creating music that mirrors the slow, steady rhythm of plant growth? Look for the patterns. What role does silence or pauses play in evoking the growth process in your music? Miles said it’s all about the notes you don’t play. I think it reminds us to slow down and breathe. What instruments or sounds to you evoke the feeling of nature and growth most effectively? Tape delay is like a repeating pattern in nature. Each repetition is slightly different and changes over time like the rings of a tree or ripples in the water when you throw a stone into a pond. How does tempo influence the mood when composing for such a gradual process as growing plants? It’s all relative to perspective. The tempo varies depending on what you’re focusing on. If you zoom in microscopically on plant growth I bet it looks like some 32nd note arpeggios going on in there. Or like how a seemingly peaceful meadow is also full of really busy pollinators working intensely. How does your music composition change for day versus night phases in a plant’s life cycle? I think it’s easier in the morning and there’s coffee. The path is clearer. How do environmental sounds like water, wind, or birdsong influence your compositions for plants? Sometimes I’ll put a field recording on just to catch a vibe and start a track out. If you loop a section it gives you something to build on so you’re not just starting from scratch. They don’t always make it to the final composition but they provide a great jumping off point for something new. What did you grow in your garden this year? Tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers. Got any growing tips? Don’t over water (but don’t underwater either). When’s the last time you brought a plant/seeds & what was it? Sunflower seeds at the market last week! Follow Graintable on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/graintable/) Music To Watch Seeds Grow By Bandcamp (https://musictowatchseedsgrowby.bandcamp.com/) Follow Music To Watch Seeds Grow By on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/musictowatchseedsgrowby/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

16. 

    13 Oct 2025

    Seeds Mix #2: A Mixtape to Gather Seed Pods with Sally Rodgers

    Teesside-based DJ, producer, vocalist, nature enthusiast and all-round legend Sally Rodgers, blesses us with the latest Seeds Mix. As one half of the iconic duo A Man Called Adam, Sally has long cultivated a unique space in the world of the electronic – keep your ears peeled for their forthcoming EP release this spring – but it’s her passion for the natural world that brings us this specially curated Seeds Mix. Known for planting deep roots (see what we’re doing here), in both the Acid Jazz and Balearic scenes alongside her musical companion Steve Jones, Sally’s sound has always had an organic quality – growing and evolving like the very specimens she studies. While their forthcoming EP promises to bloom this spring (yup that’s another great play on words there), Sally finds herself increasingly drawn to the quiet moments, where she can be found sketching the intricate patterns of seed pods gathered from her wanderings. In her spare time, she likes to gather seed pods to draw and she’s created a mixtape to soundtrack just that… It serves as a sonic herbarium, carefully pressed and preserved for your listening pleasure (we are on fire!). Listen and read the interview below: Ransom Note (https://soundcloud.com/the-ransom-note) · Seeds Mix #2: A Mixtape to Gather Seed Pods w/ Sally Rogers (https://soundcloud.com/the-ransom-note/seeds-mix-2-a-mixtape-to-gather-seed-pods-w-sally-rogers/s-5xpHs12EEnw) Who are you? I’m Sally Rodgers, I’m one half of electronic music producers A Man Called Adam, a DJ and sound artist. Why are you here? I’m here because my friend Tia asked me if I’d do an ambient mix and because I love plants, wildlife, gardening and nature. Do you consider the emotional connection humans have with nature when creating music or mixtapes? Because I work in sound, I’m always recording and listening very closely to environmental sound, and that often finds its way into my mixes, whatever music we’re making or sound art project we’re working on. So, the sounds of nature are very much part of my practice, which of course is an expression of my emotional life. How does your music composition change for day versus night phases in a plant’s life cycle? Hmm. We’ve been deep in the ambient zone on our new recordings recently and that means connecting with nature in meaningful way. I can hear the sea from my house and especially at night. How do you approach creating music that mirrors the slow, steady rhythm of plant growth? Like I said, it’s a masterful art and you have to strive for it… 10,000 hours and all that. It’s a discipline that takes a lifetime to master. When are you happiest? I’m happiest out with friends or alone, walking my dog in nature, a windswept beach, a quiet woodland, the countryside (I love the N Yorkshire moors, the Dales and the Lake District). Sally walking Stanley & Monty How long ago did you start taking drawing classes & what’s been your favourite medium so far? I started drawing classes in earnest around September time. I’d like to expand my sound practice to include visual and sculptural elements so I thought I should really learn how to draw. Could taking drawing classes improve a bird watcher’s ability to document and record field observations more accurately? Naw. I see birders up here all the time. They have some really fancy kit. Its techy not organic like drawing and painting. You mentioned you’ve got a wildlife garden! What did you grow this year & what kind of animals did you see in it? Well, I have to say I’m not an expert gardener but I have a small garden about 10 meters by 12 meters and I really try to grow things to attract wildlife. My little house is on a 1930s estate of semi’s close to the sea so it’s birdlife mostly. I’ve had hedgehogs but not every year. I have a tiny pond and get Mayflies but no frogs yet. I do try to make it somewhere that insects can find places to nest and feed. What are your favourite plant species for creating a diverse habitat that attracts multiple types of pollinators and wildlife? I read somewhere that the best thing to do in your garden to attract wildlife is ‘not much’ but I try to plant things they will like, like lavender and clover. I don’t mow all the lawn and leave big patches of dandelions, wild grasses and flowering rosemary. Another thing I read is to treat a lawn like you would a rug. Just patches for you and patches given over to wildlife. I’ve a big clematis that flowers and flowering ivy. The birds like the raggedy blackcurrant bushes. I’ve tried planting wildflowers but it’s a coastal climate and clay soil here so nothing really delicate ever survives. The plant the pollinators adore most in my garden are these giant leggy scabia plants. They’re really hardy and flower for months. You can see dozens of bee species and butterflies on them. They must be yummy! In winter I don’t cut them back completely because, apparently, ladybirds and other insects like to shelter through winter in their hollow stems. Can a wildlife garden be so effective that locals start filing noise complaints about overcrowding? I’m officially the crazy wildlife lady in my street. Because it’s a coastal town I attract corvids – crows and jackdaws and starlings that are a pretty noisy lot. Is there a mathematical formula for calculating the exact point where a well-intentioned wildlife garden transforms into a controlled chaotic ecosystem? It has to be a bit chaotic and you have to put any tidy OCD to one side (which is tough). But I get excited by the insects, butterflies and moths, or the birds that visit my garden. It’s very rewarding. What’s the most unconventional way to attract birds to your garden and have you got any tips on how to attract more wildlife to your garden? If you want birds, a birdbath was a game changer for me. I bought an 80 litre waterbutt and I put clean, rain water out for the birds every day. They use it to drink, wash, soften the seed and food I put out. Its a big dish on the ground and they like the mud around it – its like a birdy lido. I also put fruit out for them – my local greengrocer sells bags of ‘bird apples’ for a £1. I also feel if the insects come the birds will too so I do things like slit overripe bananas and leave them to rot (apparently insects like to lay their larvae there. I let things overgrow and leave the stems dead foliage for spiders and put upturned egg boxes out for moths and butterflies. When was the last time you brought a plant/seeds & what was it? I bought a couple of succulents for the house a few weeks ago, and for my drawing class. I’ve been trying to grow some things from seed and a couple of red chillies I planted have turned into gorgeous houseplants, I’m amazed! What types of plants do you enjoy growing the most, and why? Indoors I have succulents mostly. It all started with a huge aloe vera plant I’ve had for 20 years or more. It makes babies and I give them to people as gifts. We’ve been through a lot together. It’s the lowest maintenance plant ever. I’m not good with the names of them but I love to see them glossy and thriving (which is not always the case). The garden is tougher but I love my bay tree, mad scabia, rosemary and lavender. I planted a new tree this year. A Hawthorn. My friend Neil, an arborist, picked it for me and I rang him recently to say it wasn’t growing much – he said for the first few years all the action will be going on under the soil while it settles in. I love that idea, and like learning new things about plants. What do you find most challenging about caring for new plants? Like everyone I have my successes and failures. One day everything is thriving and the next day some nice plant has pegged out. I had a beautiful big red cyclops plant that was thriving but it hated the central heating so I left it outside longer than I should. A b*****d frost got it, I tried to rescue it but watching it die was hard – haha. Do you have any plants that hold special meaning or remind you of a certain time or place? The aloe is very special. It was found in a gutter a long time ago by someone I loved who’s no longer here. In a weird way they live on in that plant. Have you ever used music or other sensory experiences while tending to your plants? In the summer I like to open the studio door and listen to ambient music, a bit of contemporary classical when I’m out there. Are there specific genres or styles of music that naturally complement the act of planting seeds? Well I like to listen to peaceful, zen-like music and quite serious serialist and minimal music like the works included in my mix. Or esoteric jazz and soundscapes. Minimalism is much harder to achieve in music than you’d think. You have to be a master and I like to experience those artist’s mastery when I’m planting seeds or tending my plants. What’s the maximum number of bee hotels you can install before your garden officially becomes an insect luxury resort and at what point does attracting pollinators become less about ecological support and more about hosting the neighborhood’s most exclusive winged networking event? Ha! I’m definitely a ‘superhost’ on air bee n bee (sorry!) Have you noticed any particular methods or tricks that help your seeds grow better? Nope. It still all completely hit and miss. If a bird watcher accidentally sketches a warbler mid-flight during a drawing class, does that count as ornithological field research or artistic improvisation? I expect a birder would be very bird-centric so that’s a fairly likely scenario. Do you have any mirrors in your garden? I just put one in because someone said that once they put the mirror in their garden the crows started leaving them gifts. Life goals! How many obscure bird calls can you name? I know a few. I went to fly hawks this summer. I can recognise a Goshawk call. Follow Sally on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sallycalledadam/?hl=en) Music To Watch Seeds Grow By Bandcamp (https://musictowatchseedsgrowby.bandcamp.com/) Follow Music To Watch Seeds Grow By on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/musictowatchseedsgrowby/) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

17. 

    17 Sept 2025

    Seeds Mix #1: A Walk In The Woods With Woo

    Organic exploration with our first Music To Watch Seeds Grow By signings… Some musical journeys begin with a whisper, a gentle rustling of leaves, and a breath of sound. For brothers Clive and Mark, aka the legendary Woo, this journey has been unfolding since the 1970s through a four-decad long sonic odyssey of discovery… Their latest output on our very own Music To Watch Seeds Grow By imprint is an ode to Sweet Peas. One of a series of five unreleased albums from their archives, it’s a thoughtfully curated collection of ambient, minimalist, and new-age soundscapes designed to be the perfect soundtrack for moments of sowing these seeds, which accompany every release in quiet reflection. “To our surprise and delight, Sweet Peas can be planted in the autumn and they’ll blossom in the coming spring” notes Clive. To accompany this creation, they’ve created “A Walk in the Woods with Woo” mixtape, where Stevie Wonder’s forest-infused melodies dance with Marlene Dietrich’s vocals and Schubert’s transcendent strings paint aural woodland landscapes. Each track is a seed, carefully planted, slowly unfurling its own unique narrative. It’s a meditation on growth, on patience, on the delicate art of nurturing something beautiful from the smallest of beginnings. FULL INTERVIEW WITH WOO HERE:www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/se…oods-with-woo/ (https://gate.sc/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theransomnote.com%2Fmusic%2Fmixes%2Fseeds-mix-1-a-walk-in-the-woods-with-woo%2F&token=a49bc6-1-1758143583963) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com (https://www.musictowatchseedsgrowby.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Contact Music To Watch Seeds Grow By

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.