MCS Exclusive: Hanging out with FLØRE

Fresh off the release of her last single ‘Bad Medicine’, ‘Cigarette’ is FLØRE’s poignant follow up to ‘Bad Medicine’—an electro-pop bop with enormous potential for massive appeal. Layered with FLØRE’s signature haunting falsettos and an addictive chorus that is bound to loop in your head or get you humming, ‘Cigarette’ is the next chapter from FLØRE’s sophomore EP ‘Romaniac’.

A soft contemporary ballad brimming with soothing keys and ethereal harmonies, ‘Cigarette’ promises to transport listeners to another world and hits the nail recounting feelings of toxic love and the lasting side effects of its hold on its victims. ‘Cigarette’ is a leap towards showcasing FLØRE’s pop sensibilities that places the German singer-songwriter in the wagon towards becoming a bonafide superstar with the capability to package vulnerability and pain in a palatable, memorable tune.

To date, FLØRE has accumulated over 5.7 million streams on Spotify alone and is working towards releasing her sophomore EP titled ‘ROMANIAC’ in fall 2021. She is currently featured on Spotify’s curated RADAR GSA playlist highlighting rising music artists from Germany, Switzerland and Austria and has been featured in popular playlists from over 20 countries including New Music Friday US, Southeast Asia and Korea. She performed her first global live stream show on Amazon Music in early May. FLØRE is scheduled to perform her debut show at Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg) in late September. She is currently nominated for the 2021 PopNRW Prize.

Manila Concert Scene had a chance to talk with FLØRE via Zoom few days ago and FLØRE talks about her fondness with Taylor Swift, the story behind her new single “Cigarette”, and much more.

MCS: What inspired you to start playing and making music?

FLØRE: I got into music when I was around thirteen I guess, and I started playing guitar because of Taylor Swift. I was a very Taylor Swift fan and I thought when I start playing guitar and sing, I thought the kids in school would think I’m cooler because I was not cool hahaha, I’m still not cool hahaha but yeah, U was kinda outsider in school so I always found when I would be just tiny bit more like Taylor Swift so kids would like me, so this is how I got into like start writing and playing guitar and singing to it.

MCS: Since you’ve mentioned Taylor Swift, what qualities do you admire about her?

FLØRE: She’s a genius writer, I think she’s super cute, tough and extremely talented. So, I was super fascinated to her like in her first album, I was just obsessed. Well, I’m still now but it was kinda different when that you’re younger and influences you that much. So, yeah, there something very important for me and something that was just like my safe space.

MCS: Describe your creative process when you write new music.

FLØRE: I well, mostly write it at night, crying on my piano hahaha, and I said that before, I don’t write to have something. I write when like there’s nothing left, like when I don’t know how to cope with any feelings or with this certain situation then I write something I cannot really feel. When I’m just like normal or like happy or like you know, everything’s going great. It’s just difficult to me to write.

MCS: What’s the story behind your latest single, Cigarette?

FLØRE: Cigarette focuses around self-destructive kind of love and that always coming back to this pattern of staying in toxic relationship, it was kind of addiction. It’s not good for you and you wanna leave but you can’t leave because you’re like addicted to it. Your feeling like you’re not feeling good and it’s not good for you in a long term but you still keep-on going so I thought like it’s romanticize self-destruction and I think that smoking is very similar to that because smoking is just like stinks and it’s not good but it’s always like a movies or a picture that still kinda cool and seems like kinda sexy to smoke. Yeah, I thought like it’s great a metaphor for this addictive relationship, but you can’t get out it, but it’s just sucks.

MCS: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?

I love to take long walks. We have a lot of forest here. I love being in the nature and yeah, just writing in general, not like songs, just like more in my thoughts like down or like in diary. Just writing in general and I like to dance. I dance for like for eleven years. It was kinda called a music video dancing so and It was a like mix of hip-hop and modern dance. I don’t know, I still like dancing. I feel like awkward for dance, but I like it.

MCS: What are your musical plans for the next coming months or so?

FLØRE: We’re working on the final mixes and master versions but and one song is not finish yet and one song still even fully written. So, I have to write songs still for the EP hahaha. It will be like super, like on the last delivery day I guess, I would just send them one song hahaha and put it on there. So, this record is more like kinda spontaneous and this song. I think, which will be come out after the cigarette, I’ve written a month ago so it’s like super fresh. Yeah, I like it. I like that like being spontaneous and being in the mood and releasing it. Yes, I’m now already working after the EP.

MCS: What is one message that you would like to give for your fans?

FLØRE: It’s ok to be different and it’s something good if you’re different. I always felt my life like I was not fitting in anywhere and I don’t have a lot of friends and I always felt like so misunderstood like even from my close friends and my family. It was like this feeling of no one understands me but now, I’m releasing my music now and having the people all over the world like texting me and sharing my things and writing me how they connect with it and how it helps them. Makes me really feel like I’ve never been like alone or like an outsider. If you like feel like that and no one understands you, there’s someone who does and even though you don’t feel like it. Yeah. It’s ok to be emotional and sensitive.

MCS: Good luck on your upcoming projects and we hope to see you here in the Philippines someday.