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BOTANY is the catch-all title for the musical quests of Spencer Stephenson, a young Texas musician who calls “somewhere between Denton and Austin” his home. Hearing echoes from both coasts, all times, and everywhere in between, Spencer draws upon many a genre but settles in none. BOTANY in its present form could be described as a kind of Naturalist’s gospel in the form of beat-music— rhythmic hymns that pulse and drone in praise of leaf veins and jellyfish ‘branes, and in celebration of existing involuntarily amongst the colorful mess. Stephenson’s stoner-collages sound equally good in a spaceship or deep-sea submersible, or in your parents’ basement.
After meeting the band members by chance in early 2009, a year-long stint as the drummer of experimental Texas act Sleep Whale led Stephenson to the doorsteps of Western Vinyl with whom he signed in the summer of 2010. Spencer soon made his introduction with the Feeling Today EP, a humble collection of tracks dedicated to his recently deceased mother, pieced together in the house where she raised him |
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| EVENTS |
| Mar 19 Austin, TX • SXSX at Lamberts w/ Secret Cities, Callers, Balmorhea, Gary Wilson |
| Sep 17 Austin, TX • Ditch the Fest Fest at Cheer Up Charlie's |
| Sep 27 Dallas, TX • The Granada w/ Panda Bear |
| Oct 1 Troy, NY • Ground Zero w/ Power Animal |
| Oct 3 Burlington, VT • Decato w/ Hello Shark, Power Animal |
| Oct 6 Philadelphia, PA • The Rotunda w/ Work Drugs, Power Animal |
| Oct 8 Doylestown, PA • Siren Records w/ Grimace Federation, Power Animal |
| Oct 8 Doylestown, PA • Maxwell's (DJ Set) |
| Oct 20 Denton, TX • Rubber Gloves w/ Peopleodian |
| Oct 22 Denton, TX • JJ's w/ Uboat |
| Nov 3 Dallas, TX • LaGrange w/ New Fumes |
| Nov 5 Denton, TX • Hailey's w/ Here We Go Magic |
| Nov 18 Dallas, TX • The Granada Theater w/ This Will Destroy You |
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| SELECTED PRESS |
"I love the way the elements here (music box tinkles, ghostly samples, rhythmic detritus) combine into something hypnotic and balmy. All the pieces cling to each other blissfully.."
– Stereogum [ read more here] |
"Botany has a love for rhythms that'll send you running through a grassy field...uplifting melodies and twinkling sounds..."
– XLR8R [ read more here] |
"...bounces with playful drumming and handclaps, accompanied by bubbly guitars and otherworldly oohs."
– Pitchfork [ read more here] |
"...a blossoming soundscape made special by the decisive lack of formal structure."
– Drowned in Sound [ read more here] |
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"...deliciously hypnotic and refreshingly modern."
– CMJ [ read more here] |
"If there's a musical equivalent to euphoria, to stomach-fizzing sense of well-being that you might feel, once in a while, on a sunny Saturday, it's Feeling Today."
– Blurt [ read more here] |
"Headphone-friendly rumblings dart to and fro via school of fish-like acrobatics..."
– Pop Matters [ read more here] |
"Spencer Stephensen's Botany project is an informed stab at electronic music, combining samples with dexterous sound manipulation. The result evokes everything from the soundtrack of a bonsai store to a massive rippling Ibiza crowd. Though the same building blocks recur throughout, "Waterparker" it is never linear-- nor does it rest on a single beat to keep moving."
– Weekly Tape Deck / Altered Zones [ read more here] |
"...incredible songs with found and recycled sounds. The music he creates is dreamy and glitchy, inspired a lot by bands like Caribou and Four Tet...the result is absolutely gorgeous."
– Austinist [ read more here] |
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