Critical Reception

Self Rising Flower: A 6 Part Epic

Review by James Griffin | Discover Pods | August 21, 2024

A Little Background

When Corey Burkes, the creator of Self Rising Flower, reached out, it was from an email with desktopepics as the domain. I read that as Desktop EPics — as in pictures. Pictures of flowers. The plants. It's a clever turn of phrase that sailed right past me. That should have been a good sign to pay attention.

I was thoroughly confused. I had made a few leaps and assumptions that set me off on the wrong foot. I checked out the website — ah ha! It was a baking podcast. The show's sponsors feature heavily on the website and it wasn't easy to tell what was the podcast, who owned the baking trucks, and just what was going on.

I downloaded the first three episodes for my commute without looking closely at the show notes. Mistake number two. I needed to start paying attention. I was clearly off balance — and now I was in traffic.

Format and Story Overview

Alright, let me break down this podcast properly, because I didn't approach it right the first time. I was stuck in my bubble of nonfiction informational podcasting.

This is a treat. (Pun absolutely intended.)

Self-Rising Flower is an immersive audio drama miniseries — 6 parts, compact but rich. The podcast follows Erika and her 12-year-old daughter as they build a dessert empire. It's set in the world of entrepreneurship and family dynamics. Erika feels stuck in life; her brilliant daughter recognizes her mom's baking talents and pushes boundaries. This is a serialized story that spans over ten years of their lives.

You'll experience entrepreneurial struggles, family tensions, and a fight to succeed against the odds. Friends help, but the industry dismisses the business as not enough. It runs the full emotional gamut. It's not just about baking — it's about resilience, taking risks, and the complexities of family relationships. It's like listening to a movie, but it's all in your ears. Super immersive.

What I Liked

I liked a lot about this show. It's easy to like.

What jumps out immediately is the story itself, which is the entire point of an audio drama. If the story doesn't hit, there won't be much to hang around for. Upon reflection, I like that it follows these characters' journey for so long. Entrepreneurship, like life, isn't always a straight upward trajectory. There are little wins and significant losses — but as long as one foot finds itself in front of the other, it's moving in the right direction.

The acting is superb, especially for actors who had little voice acting experience before joining this project. When I spoke with Damian about the show, he said he'd never done anything like it — and that's impressive, as he plays every adult male role in the production.

The rest of the ensemble is a delight, but someone to watch out for is the young Izzy Miller, who plays Erika's daughter, Aniyah. This girl is a powerhouse and glues the story together at several critical points. She's often the strongest and most dynamic voice in the listener's headphones. As well-written as the character is, the performance is even stronger. And that's saying something.

Circling back to the story — the American South, and more specifically Atlanta, serves as almost another character. As a listener, I got the feeling that Erika might not have been able to start her dream anywhere else. Maybe that's the point of community. The juxtaposition of Atlanta and the other settings of the series is played to great effect.

What Could Have Been Better

I only have a couple of nitpicky things, which don't detract from the enjoyment of the podcast.

The Marketing. I read the promotional website before listening. It's a six-part miniseries, but the site references it as six, eight, or ten episodes in various places. After speaking with Damian, Self Rising Flower was always meant to be a ten-part series, but money being what it is, some creative changes had to be made. As a listener, you won't notice the narrative surgery that had to be done — but it left me confused, looking for episodes that weren't there.

The Early Pacing. The show starts off fairly slow. It made me pay more attention to the early episodes than I had planned. That said, by Episode 3, this play is really cooking with gas. By that point, I hadn't planned on listening to the entire miniseries — but I just let it play through. I was in. I was hooked. I couldn't just let it be. By Episode 3, I had the hang of where everyone was in the story, and the relationship between Erika and her daughter had me completely. They're titans.

Those are the only two complaints. Both are minor.

Conclusion

This show came across our radar the same way other entries in the Podcast Spotlight series do, and I approached it the same way. That was my mistake. It's a different beast. The series stands as a series. It's fictional, but so interwoven with the show's sponsor's world that it can be hard to tell — it has a meta quality in that sense, which means you must work a bit harder, or know what you're getting into.

Sit down and listen to Self Rising Flower. Give it the attention it deserves. Then give them some money.

Writing

The writing was great. I really enjoyed the storyline and the usage of flashbacks to help tell a more well-rounded story. Very well executed.

Voice Over

The voice actors were also pretty good. There were a few that sounded as if they could've been reading instead of truly embracing the character, but for the most part the cast did a great job of bringing this story alive.

Sound Design

The sound design was good. However, some of the sound effects were a bit distracting to the story. A few of them should have been adjusted and turned down — sometimes a more subtle sound effect can be more effective. A few cut off abruptly and needed a smoother fade out. Transitions between scenes could've been better; a nice music fade out is always helpful.

The far-away/at-a-distance effect on the vocals had a little too much reverb, which gave the adverse effect in some parts. Lowering the vocals overall will help give that sound you were seeking.

I enjoyed the subtlety of the music — it really helped set the overall tone. There were certain moments that were missing it and would've been elevated by adding music. For example, when Erica reveals that she was robbed and Aniyah gets frustrated and knocks stuff over, there was a loud boom but nothing to heighten the moment, put us in her pain, and prepare us for the cliffhanger at the end of the episode.

Mixing

The mixing was decent but could have been a lot better. Some of the vocals had a loud white noise behind them — you could tell some of it may have been recorded in separate places, which was a little distracting. This is something the average listener may not care about, but having a professional-sounding mix is so important — a lesson I've had to learn myself.

I could also tell where certain pickups took place — a few double words, honest mistakes — that just needed a smoother transition and a new set of ears to catch those little things.

Creativity

This story was very unique, especially in the world of audio drama. I really appreciated that you stepped outside the box to create such a great story. I could literally see it playing out in my mind like a movie. So well done.

Final Remarks

The writing was really impressive. Solid storyline, and I loved the added element of the interview taking us through time — Erica's life experiences.

I enjoyed Erica's reflective moments, always taking responsibility for her actions. This was super relatable. The relatability and the characters made it easy to become invested in this story, and I'm absolutely invested.

The actors did a wonderful job of bringing the story alive. Aniyah (Izzy Miller) was easily the breakout star of this series. So professional. I would love to see this as a film. I really hope there will be a Season 2.

Well done.