Natura Vitae, an artist collective, are holistic and multidimensional cultivators. Originally founded by Jennifer Legnini, whose background spans art, music, anthropology, design, and agriculture, she embodies what it means to live and create seasonally, with an emphasis on harmony and interconnectedness.
A farmer and artisan, Jennifer also founded Birds’rest Studio alongside Natura Vitae, creating space and inspiration for like-minded producers, writers, artists, and musicians to share, inspire, and tell stories through their art.
Natura Vitae, which translates to “the nature of life,” has since grown and released four volumes each titled Navigating by Nature and defined by their volume number and evolving content. Throughout each album are layered stories about what it means to create and live holistically with the world around us.
Jennifer elaborates, “the art we create is for each other and for the place where we work and live. It comes from a place of respecting ourselves, honoring our responsibilities, and recognizing how they overlap with others, and how that resonates out into the world.”
As an interconnected planet, we are responsible for being healthy, loving stewards of our environment and of one another. The music explores the many ways that’s possible, where we may fall short, how we can still do better, and how to live with gratitude.
And just as diverse and comprehensive as our ecosystems are the genres you’ll find in these albums, ranging from Latin pop, afrobeats, and reggae to upcoming sounds in americana, pop-country, and folky blues.
The first track of Volume 2: Navigating by Nature, “Sweetest Song,” sets the thematic stage for the album, celebrating the beauty of the natural world and reminding us of our role in preserving its magic. In the lyrics:
Singing us the sweetest song, the spirit of it all moves on
The sun keeps on shining, there’s no undermining
Share love as we go, another great day on Planet Earth
Our planet gives so much to us and the millions of species that inhabit it. Part of giving back is not only appreciating what we have, but maintaining a healthy equilibrium and staying conscious of relational well-being, by not “undermining,” the life cycles or nourishment it provides us.
When we actually connect with the environment around us, we build the capacity to share and reinforce habits that support harmonious living. Creating seasonally reflects this rhythm, (literally and figuratively) and, as Jennifer shares, the creative process itself mirrors the cultivation process they follow as farmers.
For example, Jennifer explains that when working with primary producer and collaborator Luis Canción, who’s sewn throughout the album, she often comes in with an initial idea, story, lyrical content, or overall vision. Then she’ll leave the words with Luis, like planting a seed. Her favorite part, she says, is watching it grow, and how he takes it into his studio and blesses it with his creativity.
She delights in hearing what Luis nurtures in his space. He’ll root into the words and then build from his own feeling, letting the music blossom organically around the meanings. From there, it becomes a bit of a back-and-forth, a fine-tuning and bringing the vision into full bloom.
The collaborative spirit carries throughout Volume 2 of Navigating by Nature, with integral contributions from seven or more creatives, including key contributors Tiffany Reese, Media Manager and Content Creator, and AudioClave Beats. Everyone brings their own artistry and perspectives, enriching the album with diversity and wonder.
Parallel to their world of farming and their relationship with the environment, art-making follows a similar rhythm: creating, caretaking, harvesting, and cycling back through again.
While the winters in Maine are long, Jennifer sees them as a time for stillness, introspection, and being indoors, which bodes well for deep diving into creative spaces. She shares that “Sweetest Song,” a track with afrobeats, latin pop and reggae elements, carries a warm and comforting energy that inspires movement in the midst of a cold, dormant winter.
Its sister song “Mas Dulce Cancion,” featured at the end of the album is the spanish translation for “Sweetest Song.” The track is paired nicely with vibrant, beachy visuals and stewards taking care of the shorelines.
Piggybacking on the visuals, you’ll find each song with its own unique imagery on Navigating by Nature on their youtube channel. With the integration of art form and natural beauty, Jennifer shares her excitement about developing the live experience for the Volumes, where audiences can be immersed in a blend of these visuals and sound, creating the perfect channel for holistic connection.
To enjoy your own journey of nature, art form, sound and seasonality, take a listen to “Sweetest Song” and “Mas Dulce Cancion” on the Navigating by Nature Volume 2.
Jennifer leaves us with a few words she and her community live by, “You can live like a farmer and work like an artist, but to keep working hard you have to put in the time and care, and everything will come full circle.”
Natura Vitae - YouTube
Sweetest Song – Spotify
Más Dulce Canción– Spotify
Natura Vitae – Instagram
