Patricia Wolf meditates on yarrow’s ecological relationships for Music To Watch Seeds Grow By 9th edition

5 Minute Read

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Patricia Wolf meditates on yarrow’s ecological relationships for ‘Seeds 9th edition

5 Minute Read

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Art & Culture

Portland-based field recordist and composer Patricia Wolf steps up for the ninth instalment of Music To Watch Seeds Grow By with Yarrow, a deep study of Achillea millefolium and its position within broader ecosystems.

The album emerges from Wolf’s artist residency at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, where she spent weeks embedded with field ecologists studying long-term plant research and pollinator dynamics as climate shifts.

The seven-track record maps yarrow’s life in granular detail: abiotic factors necessary for germination, the hidden labour of roots, how its intricate flower clusters attract specific pollinators such as bumblebees, mechanisms of seed dispersal, and the plant’s remarkable tolerance of extreme conditions. Wolf’s own field recordings from the laboratory layer beneath compositional textures and synth work, grounding the music in actual botanical space rather than abstraction.

A guest vocal meditation by Dr Paul CaraDonna, one of the ecologists Wolf collaborated with, appears on the spoken-word piece ‘Ecosystem Meditation’, anchoring the scientific enquiry in lived research and genuine wonder. The specificity is deliberate. As Wolf herself reflects:

“With this music, I hope to inspire others to slow down, appreciate plants and admire their remarkable fortitude and resilience. With such appreciation, I hope this further inspires us to protect and conserve these photosynthesizing wonders and their ecosystems for as long as the earth will hold them.”

“One thing I’ve learned in the woods is that there is no such thing as random. Everything is steeped in meaning, colored by relationships, one thing with another.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer

Yarrow is out June 4th on cassette (with seed packet insert) and digital with artwork by Daniel Hermann.

Pre-order here.

“Dedicated to intertwining the serene beauty of music with the nurturing process of planting seeds when the first new signs of life emerge in the growing season. A carefully crafted collection of ambient & minimalist soundscapes, occasionally branching into new-age. A soundtrack for quiet moments of sowing, nurturing, & witnessing the slow, rewarding process of growth. “

Tia & Wil 🌱