Following the contemplative explorations of previous works in the series and hot on the heels of the beautiful Cosmos from E Ruscha, Stella Z's "Figs" emerges as a delicate meditation on growth, patience, and the hidden life of fruit.

Recorded in London yet deeply inspired by distant memories from China, the album is a musical documentary that explores the fig—a plant with a profound personal significance to Stella. "The fig tree was the big, generous presence in our old home, feeding my family and neighbours every summer," Stella shares. "When we moved to an apartment, we thought we had lost the fig tree. But my mum took a cutting and planted it at our new place. To our surprise, a small fig tree started growing again, as if it had never left."

The composition captures an intricate ecosystem, unfolding like the layers of a fig: first, the whisper-thin membrane, then the soft interior revealing a world of tiny seeds. Synthesizers pulse with the rhythm of sap rising through branches, while field recordings capture the microscopic sounds of fruit developing.

Notably, Stella explores the fig's fascinating botanical peculiarity—in Chinese, it's called 无花果(No Flower Fruit), “ But the truth is the complete opposite! It doesn’t have a traditional flower or fruit at all. It blooms inwardly, understated and unseen.” But figs aren’t just about the plant. Their story is incomplete without the fig wasp—a bond built on both life and decay. The album also pays homage to the remarkable symbiotic relationship between fig trees and fig wasps, a connection of life, death, and transformation. “Ever since I read Ben Craig’s Love the Fig in The New Yorker I’ve been fascinated by this ancient relationship, where wasps live, die, and decompose within the fig’s embrace. A bit sad, but also kind of beautiful. So let’s salute these great, wonderful insects.”