Over the course of their decade of output, Akron/Family always felt attuned to nature—be it their often-manic take on campfire-sing-along folk or the more psilocybin-leaning sounds much of their discography leaned into. While Dana Janssen’s solo project Dana Buoy (which launched shortly before the final Akron/Family record in 2012) embraces these influences, it’s always incorporated elements of synth music across the structural spectrum of ambient to pop. Yet his third solo LP Experiments in Plant Based Music—out today—revives certain moments of ecstasy from his previous band, in the case of the track “African Violet” incorporating elements of funk while learning further into early-’10s R&B-infused synth-pop.
That upbeat energy tied to the natural world also comes through in the video for that track, which sees Janssen mysteriously waking up in a forest before instinctively (and groovingly) gathering plants to bring to friends in the city. Directed by Sergio Cilli and shot in Portland’s Arium Botanicals, the visual—like the track itself—conveys pure joy at the thought of being immersed in the natural world. “I was inspired by the resilience of our African Violet that’s been living with us for about seven or eight years now,” Janssen explains. “It seems to survive, and even thrive, in all of the conditions we’ve offered so far. Happy companions.”
Check out the video below (that Plantasia shirt couldn’t have been a coincidence) along with a stream of the full LP, out today via Everloving Records.
