Talking Tracks: Moonflower by Larsen Gardens

The LP is 10 tracks about intimacy, learning to be with yourself, and the beauty of opening up.

Talking Tracks: Moonflower by Larsen Gardens June 16, 2021

Dan Ray

Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017. After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive. In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).

Photo by Danny Ngan

Twice a month on Talking Tracks, we interview local artists about their latest drops — song by song. It’s a little bit like a curated Spotify playlist, except way more in depth, and it’s all the people who live right in our city. In each episode, you’ll get to listen to the full album or EP right alongside the artist’s inspiration behind the tracks. Now, we’re teamed up with LiveMo to bring you special, live set editions of the podcast.

Seattle indie-folk band Larsen Gardens released their sophomore LP, Moonflower, on April 9, 2021. In this special, live audience episode of Talking Tracks, Dan and frontwoman Sarah Edmonds break down the meaning behind and the making of each song on the project — 10 tracks about intimacy, learning to be with yourself, and the beauty of opening up.

This episode was recorded at the Fremont Abbey with sound by Sean Aragon.

Listen and subscribe to the full interview below, and then click through our photo story for all the best moments. Download the LiveMo app on Apple and Android to stay updated on future live episodes.

Track listing:
1. Unspoken – 14:50.
2. Move Me – 26:15.
3. Peach – 35:25.
4. Clouds – 48:10.
5. Feel Good – 59:20.
6. Mother – 1:13:45.
7. Moonflower – 1:22:10.
8. Roses — 1:32:55
9. Wait Forever — 1:42:00
10. Halfway There — 1:50:15

On this episode of Talking Tracks, Sarah Edmonds of Larsen Gardens plays through her sophomore LP, Moonflower. The album has indie-folk, singer-songwriter tendencies with a large Björk influence.

This episode is recorded at the Fremont Abbey in front of a live audience, the first time recording took place in front of a crowd.

Dan's Tunes Founder and CEO Dan Ray introduces Larsen Gardens and this podcast's game. Ray says the album feels nostalgic for her, so after each song she asks Edmonds to say what the songs smell like. Because smells go directly the the limbic system, they can be large indicators of memories.

Abbey Arts, which managed the Fremont Abbey, is a nonprofit arts organization focused on providing accessible arts events to all.

Edmonds gets about a verse and a half into first track "Unspoken," messes up, and restarts the track a la Adele at the 2017 Grammy Awards.

Riley Skinner joins Edmonds on backup vocals. Recording one day, Edmonds made whipped cream for Skinner and her other backup vocalists and let them dig in while they wrote vocals.

Third track "Peach" stems from when Edmonds bought the juiciest peach she'd ever had at a farm stand and ate it on the side of the road. She said the experience taught her how to truly live in the moment.

Edmonds says fourth track "Clouds" smells like rain evaporating off of the sidewalk.

An audience member says that rain smell is called "petrichor:" "a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather."

Ray welcomes the audience to intermission with her boob mug — a mug she purchased on her way out of town at the Seattle airport and had them hold until she returned to town.

After intermission, Edmonds and Ray discuss how everybody poops and how Edmonds has a friend who purchased the book of the same title for an ex.

Edmonds says seventh and title track "Moonflower" is about an actual moonflower she had in her apartment that she had never seen bloom before.

Moonflowers are a type of morning glory — an all-encompassing name for over 1,000 species of flowers including sweet potatoes.

Skinner also performs around town with her duo Heddwen, as well as working with visual artists on installation soundscapes.

In ninth track "Wait Forever," Edmonds refers to "God herself." Raised religious, Edmonds says that lyric is another way for her to claim her femininity (and religion) for herself.

Fremont Abbey is planning to reopen for public events in July, as per Washington State guidelines. The state plans to reopen fully June 30.

Final track "Halfway There" is about Edmonds's time living in the country in a dilapidated farm house and facing her fears of living alone. The song also references her sexual assault and gaining perspective on life and pain.