By Madeline Harris
Botanical Animal’s 2024 album BOTAN is a cinematic, supersonic, exploratory project that demonstrates the vigor of the band. Released in 2024, it blends 2010s indie-rock with 80s synth dance-pop and glistens with charisma. It displays an eclectic range of influences, from the high-energy of WALK THE MOON to the World music of Paul Simon’s Graceland.
The band, made up of Austin Seaman, Avery Davis, Matt Gonzalez and Hunter Flick recently accomplished a months-long mission: to sell 50 vinyls of BOTAN to 50 states in 50 days. Following their Pacific Northwest tour last May, Botanical Animal set out to continue spreading their reach to states outside of Utah.
Frontman and keyboardist Austin Seaman explains the origins of the project. “We were riding a high from the tour,” in which they played in Portland, Eugene and Seattle. “We wanted to keep getting to people outside of Utah and maybe set the stage for another tour.”
“We were stoked on our first pressing of the vinyl,” Seaman explains. “But we had 250 records and needed to get rid of them.” As a result, the idea for the 50/50/50 campaign was born, and the group got to work on July 1. They posted every day on Instagram to advertise the album and keep track of their progress on reaching all fifty states. “We just started making videos to see where it took us. It was kinda surprising at first, because it actually started working. That lit a fire under us and basically pushed us to keep going with it,” Seaman says. “People wanted to be on the list.”
The vinyl itself is colorful and vibrant, and would make for an eye-catching addition to any record collection. “We put lots of effort into making it a colorful and cool looking vinyl, hoping that some people would buy it because of that.” It is an enthusiastic and cohesive album that feels a bit like taking a spaceship through the technicolor universe of human experience.
For all of July and well into August, their success was consistent and prospects were looking promising. They note that the consistency on social media resulted in heightened publicity in the algorithm, boosted streams on Spotify, and even pushed them into some Discover Weekly playlists. “We spiked a little bit on Spotify and made some fans because of how much we were posting.” When the end of their 50/50/50 goal was in sight, there were still some hard-to-reach states that showed no sign of buying the vinyl. Up until the very end of the 50 days, within the final two hours, in fact, they were still looking to sway the people of Maine. “No amounts of posting or tagging or shoutouts were working. There were two hours left when we had the idea to try Reddit.” The band voyaged to the Maine subreddit to communicate the situation and find a lucky Mainer to sell the record to. In the eleventh hour, they found a patron and successfully completed their goal.
“Our main takeaway, I guess, was that sometimes you just gotta ask. The internet is a cool place,” Seaman says. Botanical Animal was able to expand their network and connect with new fans via their consistency and willingness to reach out.
The band is planning to begin recording singles in the near future, with the goal (and we know how good they are at meeting goals!) of releasing three or four by next summer. They frequently play at local venues, so be sure to attend a show for an energetic, animated and highly danceable set. Follow them on Instagram to stay tuned for upcoming shows, and check out “Love en Route,” my favorite on the album, below!