Palmy, the sidewalk palm tree
A Soundscape Created by The Growth Eternal (TGE)
For An Environmental Music series from Leaving Records and Metro Art 

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"Palmy is a little palm tree. And they're growing up, just like you! This song is about both of you growing up. Palmy wrote it after they saw you walking by them. You were on your way to Union Station. Does Palmy's song sound like a journey to Union Station to you?"

Inspired by the sidewalk landscapes of Los Angeles and the way a child might experience the natural world on a daily walk, "Palmy, the sidewalk palm tree" is a playful original soundscape written from the point-of-view of a sproutling that has rooted itself on a small patch of earth. It watches people of all ages and backgrounds on their way to places the neighborhood tree can only imagine from the sights and sounds that surround it.  

The track was created using field recorded sounds, synthesizer, three plants via PlantWave, and a dog.

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Written, performed and produced by The Growth Eternal 
Mastered by Matthew "Matthewdavid" McQueen

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June-July
Part of An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records

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The Growth Eternal (TGE) was started in 2018 as a project stemming from artist Byron Crenshaw’s direct experience and interest in bringing together disparate parts of the self. Crenshaw is a Tulsa-born, Dallas-taught, Black-living, spiritual being who currently lives in Koreatown. He started playing music professionally at 15 years old when he fell in love with jazz after hearing John Coltrane and Duke Ellington's rendition of "In a Sentimental Mood." After attending the University of North Texas and graduating in 2019 with a Jazz Bass Degree, he decided to move to California to pursue a more honest and creative path for himself in music. Eternally he grows, learning as he goes. 

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About An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records: 

Metro Art teamed up with Leaving Records to ask four LA based musicians who draw inspiration from the landscape to create original music soundscapes evoking experiences of nature and transportation in Los Angeles with historic Union Station at its center.

Palmy, the Sidewalk Palm Tree

Free

Palmy, the sidewalk palm tree A Soundscape by The Growth Eternal  // Metro Art x Leaving Records

Flora Urbana
A Soundscape Created by Green-House
For An Environmental Music series from Leaving Records and Metro Art

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"Flora Urbana" is an exploration of the anthropogenic environments in which we live. With the intention to dissolve the illusory barriers between humans and nature, Green-House utilized field recordings of small pockets of "natural" sounds as they walked through densely populated city parks. The field recordings are blended with software synthesizers, samplers, and virtual instruments to symbolize the potential harmony that can be achieved between us and the rest of the ecosystem.

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Written, performed and produced by Green-House
Mastered by Matthew "Matthewdavid" McQueen

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July-August
Part of An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records

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Green-House is the project of Los Angeles based artist Olive Ardizoni.
Approaching their music with an intentional naivety, they craft songs that find freedom through simplicity. As a non-binary artist, they hope to create a space with fewer barriers as both a performer and a listener. Green-House's latest full-length album "Music For Living Spaces" was released in May of this year. The record is an extension of their desire to encourage people to connect with their existing surroundings.

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About An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records:

Metro Art teamed up with Leaving Records to ask four LA based musicians who draw inspiration from the landscape to create original music soundscapes evoking experiences of nature and transportation in Los Angeles with historic Union Station at its center.

Flora Urbana

Flora Urbana A Soundscape by Green-House  // Metro Art x Leaving Records

To All Trains
A Soundscape Created by Celia Hollander
For Union Station 2021
Part of An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records

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"To All Trains" takes its inspiration from Union Station as the largest railroad terminal hub in the western part of the U.S. with approximately 110,000 people passing through every day.  The piece begins by exploring the perspectives of being an individual navigating a crowd while simultaneously viewing the organized chaos of a swarm from a distance, such as observing a beehive.  As Union Station connects travelers to local and international destinations, the soundscape expands in frequency range and instrumentation to explore the harmonies of being a part of a complex system with many moving parts. 
Resisting the binary of ‘natural’ and ‘artificial,’ Hollander merges digital and acoustic sound sources and processes. "To All Trains" is an expression of striving to fathom the full scope of the interdependent networks that our species inhabits, creates and embodies, as a foundation for sustainability.

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Written, performed and produced by Celia Hollander
Mastered by Matthew "Matthewdavid" McQueen

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August-September
Part of An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records
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About An Environmental Music series from Metro Art and Leaving Records:

Metro Art teamed up with Leaving Records to ask four LA based musicians who draw inspiration from the landscape to create original music soundscapes evoking experiences of nature and transportation in Los Angeles with historic Union Station at its center.

To All Trains

To All Trains A Soundscape by Celia Hollander  // Metro Art x Leaving Records

An interview with artist May Sun touching on her life including her collaboration with Richard Wyatt in Union Station. The interview was conducted by Metro staff member Alan Nakagawa on 7/30/2013.

May Sun on "City of Dreams/River of History" (Union Station)

A recording of an original LARy streetcar bell in the Metro Transportation Library and Archive. Bells were features of all streetcars until the last trolley was retired in 1963. Operators used a cord to ring the bell by hand to announce arrivals and departures, or whenever an alert was needed. 

Photo Credit: LARy rail car on Sunset Blvd. and Spring St., view looking east, photographed c. 1940s. © Metro.

Los Angeles Railway Corporation (LARy) Streetcar Bell

A selection of artist interviews about their experiences creating public artwork for transit stations on C Line(Green) during its construction from 1990-95. These interviews are part of a still-to-be completed series that was conducted and sound edited by Metro Art + Design Staff Member Emeritus and artist Alan Nakagawa between 2013-2016.

John Outterbridge on "Pyramid" (Avalon Station)

Daniel J Martinez on "For Your Intellectual Entertainment" (El Segundo Station)

Charles Dickson on "Divine Order: the Manifestation of the Soaring Spirit" (Mariposa Station)

Carl Cheng on "The Museum of Space Information" (Redondo Beach Station)

Waiting in the Light
A Soundscape Created by Nailah Hunter 
For Union Station 2021

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This original composition by Nailah Hunter is inspired by the morning light in Los Angeles Union Station’s historic Ticketing Hall, the luminous anticipation one feels before embarking on a long journey and what that might sound like. In this sonic landscape, we are transported to a shimmering space for restoration: in ourselves and for each other.

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Written, performed, and produced by Nailah Hunter
Featuring flute performance by Cadmar Fitzhugh
Mastered by Matthew "Matthewdavid" McQueen

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Available for Download 
March 1-April 26

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Presented in collaboration with Leaving Records
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Nailah Hunter is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Los Angeles. She combines harp, synth, found sounds, and voice to create reflective sonic landscapes that promote healing and self-awareness for herself and the listener. Her ambient music conjures unique sonic locations forged by imagination, drawing listeners into a tranquil world of rest, contemplation and color.  Her recent releases include Bassin Bleu (Mexican Summer), Spells (Leaving Records), and Black Valhalla (single available on Bandcamp) which was created to support the Loveland Foundation.

Metro Art Presents Waiting In the Light

Waiting in the Light A Soundscape by Nailah Hunter // Metro Art x Leaving Records

Enriching Los Angeles's diverse and vibrant cultural landscape by bringing visual and performing arts to the Metro system. 
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