Music to grow plants. The bizarre story of Mort Garson’s hippie horticulture masterpiece Plantasia.

Who is Mort Garson? Little is said about him today, but he was one of the most important pioneers of early electronic music. He was responsible for the first album recorded with a Moog synthesizer. Mort Garson is the man behind strange and dark albums with names like Black Mass Lucifer and Plantasia.

Last Fm full albums: https://www.last.fm/music/Mort+Garson

Garson gained notoriety for his concept albums, which explored unusual and experimental themes. One of his most famous works is "Plantasia" (1976), an album subtitled "warm music for plants and the people who love them." The album is composed of soft and ethereal pieces, created specifically to accompany the growth of plants, using the sound of the Moog synthesizer to generate a relaxing and almost cosmic atmosphere.

The concept of "music for plants" is part of a growing fascination in the 1970s with the connections between nature, music and spirituality. During those years, pseudoscientific theories emerged claiming that plants responded positively to music. Although these theories had no solid scientific basis, they inspired Garson to musically explore the idea of ​​composing sounds that could accompany plant life. Her album "Mother Earth's Plantasia" was originally distributed with plant purchases at a garden store in Los Angeles, underscoring her playful and experimental spirit.

Hearing Plantasia in the 21st century, it seems less an ode to our photosynthesizing friends by Garson and more an homage to his wife, the one with the green thumb that made everything flower around him. 'My dad would be totally pleased to know that people are interested in this music that had no popularity at the time,' Darmet says of Plantasia's new renaissance. 'He would be fascinated by the fact that people are finally understanding and appreciating this part of his musical career that he got no admiration for back then.' Garson seems to be everywhere again, even if he’s not really noticed, just like a houseplant.