Establishing the mood with a reverberating, rhythmic synth melody and astral bell tones with a rising, immersive bass line, James Myhill opens Strange Flowers with a dimensional nature, bold and almost cosmically dramatic.
The opus expands with a cerebral Irish bagpipe synth and strings accompaniment which adds a cinematic allure to the piece. There are pizzicato moments, raw and unfiltered, fused with the recurring primary melody, which feels grounding at the same time celestial. The composition feels transportive and cerebral, psychedelic yet meditative. There is dynamism to the mix, with the various elements creating a cohesive tapestry of sound, whilst also having their own unique and divine moments of growth.
We lean that Strange Flowers was recorded at James Myhill‘s home studio, and was inspired by “a dream of distant planets with peculiar flowers and a reflection on neurodiversity”. This explains the psychedelic adjacency of the piece, and how trippy the creative ebbs and flows of the experience feel as a whole. It exudes a notion of conscious ancient futurism.
Speaking on the release of Strange Flowers, the visionary composer confesses, “The music really champions how simple harmonic base sounds can be chained into melodies, and nothing dominates too much throughout the piece, but space is left for the ideas to breath, including the strange sounding pipes synth.”
There is no doubt that Strange Flowers is a unique composition, it has a high spiritual quotient – almost like ayahuasca integration music might, but with a grounded edge. There is an obvious meditative nature attached to it – and the visual kaleidoscopic allure of nature unfolding in front of us – like a cosmic flower in bloom – aligned with the vision that James mentioned and the song’s artwork.
We deeply appreciate the intention of the composition, as well as how it makes us feel. We have added Strange Flowers to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of James Myhill, including Memories May Stain, and Lonely City.