Your Vinyl is HERe
Hi, We’re Planetudes
Planetudes is part one of a two-part sound adventure, a double concept album in the tradition of the great studio albums of the '60s and '70s, transporting you to vivid imaginative places. We want to take you into the future. A future of greenness, diversity, and imagination.
This is the
Planetudes LP
With the warmth of vintage analog (a rare 1969 R.A. Minimoog, Farfisa organ, and modern variant Sequential Prophet 6), velvety real orchestral strings (never sampled), shimmering, stampeding percussion, and bold, bass and retro guitars, Planetudes weaves a sound spell exploring the telescoping layers of connection between the cosmic, earthly/animal, and human-made worlds, conjuring even physical sensations of flying, running, chasing, riding, resting, gazing, floating in space. Hear it for yourself…
The Spark of Wonder
When moved by wonder, something deeper in us can activate, which leads to positive change— enlivening, and durable. In this spirit Planetudes is dedicated to raising ecological awareness and inspiring engagement with the natural world through music.
We are completely independent. Why? We believe it keeps the quality higher. This level of attention, detail, and craft would be impossible in the big label system of today. Our attention is to the art of music.
In Classic Black
—A limited pressing of 500
—180 gram audiophile quality black vinyl
—Mastered by Bernie Grundman (Prince, Earth Wind and Fire, Janelle Monae, Pink Floyd remasters)
—Engineered by Drew Canulette (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Neil Young, Danny Elfman, Sun Ra)
—Pressed at the legendary Quality Record Pressings* plant in Salina, Kansas
—Traditional hand-tipped Tip-On Jacket® with UV spot gloss detailing by Stoughton Printing*
*featured in the film Vinyl Nation
Poster Included
The art for this album all started with the planet emblem graphic featured on the bold and bright, glossy 12” x 12” poster insert included with every LP. Read extensive liner notes on the other side.
The Deluxe Edition of the LP includes a 3” durable holographic sticker of the Planetudes emblem in all its shining colors. I want it
Made in Portland
Retro-future culture— Portland itself is a haven for retro culture as well as forward thinking about our shared future—a place of innovation in design, food culture, green initiatives, nature, progressive social issues, bikes, public green space, and music.
In the tradition of Northwest musicians we are carving a new niche, Green Wave Music: a musical attitude which reframes the human in art and music to become eco-centric—part of a larger dialogue with the planet.
The Planetudes Sound
The Planetudes sound is crafted from a fusion of analog electronica, experimental rock, and soaring orchestration. An experiential epic featuring a Wrecking Crew-style ensemble of some of Portland's most accomplished instrumentalists, Planetudes also ventures into forests and oceans to include the beautiful and uncanny solos of Weddell seals, thrushes, owls, crickets, wolves, and humpback whales.
The studio itself is another member of the band. We wanted to both return to the stunning studio albums of the late 60s and early 70s, the sense of adventure and creativity, and move forward in our time—something exuberant and abundant.
Mastering, we knew we needed somebody who was in touch with the lost, golden age of analog recording— a veteran mastering engineer who would be able to go into the versatile sound of Planetudes and bring the experience into a satisfying whole. Bernie Grundman is an acknowledged master with an ear capable of understanding many different groups and sound worlds and rendering them to perfection. It’s his ear for diversity and excellence that attracted us.
Planetudes composer Duncan Neilson in the mastering studio with the legendary Bernie Grundman (Prince, Earth Wind and Fire, Janelle Monae, Pink Floyd remasters)
Kathryn Schultz, Cello
Elise Blatchford, flute, and Leander Starr, French horn
Damien Erskine, bass
Leroy Critcher, electric and acoustic guitar
TJ Arko, vibraphone and glockenspiel
Drew Canulette, engineer (Soundgarden, Nirvana, Neil Young, Danny Elfman, Sun Ra)
Israel Annoh, hand percussion
Reinhardt Melz, drums
Bela Balogh, violin
Moog receiving telepathic communications from tree
Joe Janiga, vibraphone and drums
Duncan Neilson, composer, arranger, keyboards
Weddell seal, Antarctica
Peter Frajola, violin
Designed to Flow
When the needle goes down, you are in for a ride. It’s all designed to take you on a journey. Just like an epic story—you start from the beginning and a world full of magic is revealed, with each song exploring a world and then flowing into the next, interconnected, building into a complete experience.
The same can be said for the planet we all share. Our planet is an exhilarating composition, ever playing, in distinct but interconnected sections. Earth orchestrates itself in an astounding, living, ongoing symphony. Viewed from afar, the planet is circular and swirlingly interconnected. Up close there’s ridges, deserts, oceans, mountains in the ocean, mountains on the land, forests, glades, soil, microclimates, caves, waterfalls— but interconnected in ways that we are only now truly beginning to appreciate and understand.
About the Art
Every track on the Planetudes album has its own emblematic artwork, by Portland designer and artist Liz Gill Neilson. With the Deluxe Edition of the LP, you’ll receive one of four signed, glossy archival-quality prints of the track artwork for: Weddells, Dawn of the Fawn, Lunaverse, or Underwater Gardens.
Switched On Planet
Moog pioneers have gone to the Switched-On Baroque (Wendy Carlos) and Cosmic Egypt (Sun Ra) to show us the future. This time retro-future synth-prog pioneers Planetudes have gone into nature itself— to the surreal and ancient songs of seals, whales, owls, and wolves—to take us far into the future.
Every LP Plants a Tree
Vinyl popularity is soaring right now. We did some digging, and discovered that a vinyl LP has a smaller carbon footprint than streamed music after only 12 listens. That said, with every LP purchase, Planetudes will plant a tree through onetreeplanted.org.
Made to Last
This album is built to last a long time. Our goal was to go 110% quality, no compromises, and make something worth listening to 5, 15, and 50 years from now. It’s a tribute to our well-loved, original copies of legendary concept albums from the 60s and 70s which still play beautifully on our stereos.
Dream a Better World
Half a century ago the Apollo XI astronauts left the Sea of Tranquility on a silent, monochrome Moon. They returned home to a lush, ocean planet, vibrant with color, life, air, animals, plants, and music— noting it took a trip to the moon to discover the Earth. May we do right by this planet, creating a more diverse, beautiful world for all people, and our more-than-human neighbors— birds, trees, the multitudes of flora and fauna who make our world so abundant, uncanny, and unique.
Planetudes envisions a hopeful eco-future— each track highlighting an animal or landscape— both beguiling and familiar, but with new sonic insight—revealing a fantastic planet.
In music.
Your planet.
—Planetudes