If you like plants, then oh man do I have an album for you….. and them?

Plantasia

is a wonderfully weird album made just for plants. Released in 1976,

Plantasia

was composed by Morton “Mort” Garson, a Canadian born composer, songwriter, and a pioneer of Moog synthesizers. Garson met Robert Moog in the late 60s and proceeded to feature Moog sounds on his third album

Electronic Hair Pieces

as well as other albums in throughout his musical career. While Garson’s early music is normally described as dark and mysterious, this album features quirky bright tones, playful melodies, and the perfect music for plants.

The album begins with “Plantasia” a bubbly and dreamy track that does a great job of setting the tone for the album. The rest follows a trend of plant-themed titles such as “You Don’t Have To Walk A Begonia”, ”Concerto For Phildendron & Pothos” and my personal favorite: “Ode To An African Violet”. The album doesn’t feature drums on many tracks, but they fit in perfectly with the silky synth lines on “Ode To An African Violet”. The album ends with “Music To Soothe The Savage Snake Plant” one of the more mysterious tracks on the album that sounds like it could be the ending to an old video game.

In fact,

Plantasia

is often talked about as a large influence on video game music. The game most often mentioned is

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

which is set to receive a re-release on the Nintendo Switch soon

.

One song in particular, “Zelda’s Lullaby” pays homage to, some say copies, Mort Garson’s song ”Concerto For Phildendron & Pothos”. Garson’s influence in electronic music is evident in not only video game music, but also in everyday music. Garson helped to solidify the use of Moogs as a common synth. Although synths were hard to come by at the time, Garson created some of the earliest electronic music that influenced many more artists.