Meet UK-native drummer, singer, songwriter Florrie. The ambassador of contempo-bossa-synth-pop dropped her debut “Introduction” EP this week; and well, needless to say, I haven’t heard music this poppin’ fresh from across the pond since I hopped off the Lily pad.
- Florrie: as traditional a musician and performer as can possibly be, but at the same time a completely new type of independent pop artist.
- Florrie’s bold, attention-grabbing pop music is at once robotic and human, chunky and svelte, big on ideas and not shy of explosive choruses.
- Florrie is a 21 year old artist, originally from Bristol in the south-west of the UK.
The four-track EP is a warm welcome from the Bristol native. “Introduction” is an expansive sound board touching on disco, alternative, funk, and ska. Each track clings to a specific sonic aesthetic, and though brief, the debut is a broad-reaching soundscape that blends the best of Florrie’s wide-spread influences and contemporaries.
“Call of the Wild” comes in like the smoky haze of a surfer speakeasy as “want you need you it’s the call of the wild, something animal more than physical; satisfy me ‘cos I’m fallin’ apart, synchronicity in our chemistry” rides over subtle electric wet string reverb. Layered guitar and percussion build beneath breathy vocals as the woman-not-siren calls before a Misirlou-esque riff crashes onto a bossa beach. The track is a clear standout, with strong lyrics and oscillating instrumentation – one minute coasting through a mellow beatbox bridge, only to swell back into a sonic tsunami of bombast.
http://www.youtube.com/v/WGp-XFuKAvc?fs=1&hl=en_US
It’s the sound of the underground gone rogue – not from the girls aloud, but from the lone one that howled wolf; wild called: it said when it pounds like this – you can keep the sound. Here we have something animal, more than physical; where modern pop was vapid, this is something more like visceral. “Introduction” is Florrie’s foray into mainstream pop for music lovers: synth layered with actual percussion, beatboxing/jazz/bossa with urban elements, ephemeral vocals bathed – not drowning – in effortlessly multi-layered instrumentation.
“Give Me Your Love” blends deep indigenous percussion with acoustic piano, resembling the aural offspring of Coldplay and Kenna. The omnipresent, but understated, ambient synth gives the track a larger-than-life atmospheric feel without being overbearing. Florrie’s singer/songwriter tandem is highlighted here as her tone gives a certain human depth to strong, You’re playing with dangerous, No stranger trust – your mind can set you free, but otherwise universally generic lyrics Oh won’t be the one that got away, you know it baby; oh I’ve got you hooked this time and predator catches it prey. “Give Me Your Love” would rest as comfortably alongside an indie romance film’s antagonistic-couple-post-breakup-epiphanic-realization-that-we’re-made-for-each-other-and-thus-are-running-towards-each-other-in-front-of-this-fountain-where-we-first-met crescendo, as it would in a Diplo Blackberry Torch commercial, or nestled on your home stereo.
The sleeper one to watch is “Summer Nights.” It’s a neo-retro spectacle – a pinch of “Summerboy,” a splash of Sandy, a dash of Junior Senior, some La Roux here, some Little Boots there, and thus:
http://www.youtube.com/v/CmSz0w_5fMQ?fs=1&hl=en_US
This is what we in the business call the “Four-on-the-Florrie” time signature – a perpetual electric slide across the dirty disco: terrestrial electronic percussion, tabasco guitar licks, vaporous vocals, and zephyr synth effects ebbing-and-flowing seamlessly beneath hand-clap splashes. This is where disco and Danny Zucco meet again for a Summer nightcap – Glitter and Grease sonic cocktail on tap.
Florrie’s debut is proof that creativity flourishes despite direct commerce; and while they say the music industry is dying, the good news is that music is doing fabulously:
Free, fresh, and Florrie is the new fly, fresh, and flashy; in this economy and industry – chock full of dime-a-dozen assembly line singles – cheap music is worthless, while free music like this is priceless. Freedom and music: yes please.
http://www.youtube.com/v/5z_lxO14xcs?fs=1&hl=en_US
Snap-Synopsis: I’m really excited about this one. She’s got a fresh sound, but it’s familiar in all the right ways – merging elements of different genres, artists, and vibes without directly clinging to one specific sound. It’s Pop that builds an atmosphere with lyrics, tone, timbre, and instrumentation structuring a collective sound – the culture’s metronomic mood. Her structure and production reflect the deft precision of a true percussionist. There’s a signature steady pulse – whether pacemakeing 808 or indigenous tribal heartbeat – that maintains a constant backbeat beneath dynamic guitar, a solid skeleton beneath the flesh tones; with that, she’s tweaked the standard lead/rhythmic guitar band template, and focused on layered percussion with a rhythmic house drummer and her at the lead, to create a brilliant niche sound. The vocals work with the instrumentation – coalescing in tandem through crescendos and chord progressions. There’s a certain balance between the lyrical content and vocal tone – style and substance pendulum in balance, synchronized in the chemistry between rhyme and rhythm. The compositions are complete, but the composer is far from completed – there’s constant evolution within the entirety. It’s a wonderful “good morning to music” moment when an artist like this comes around. #stopsleeping
“Introduction” EP – Tracklist: [Full Album Download – 128 kpbs MP3 Zip with Wallpapers]
01. Call of the Wild [Download – 128 kbps]
02. Give Me Your Love [Download – 128 kbps]
03. Summer Nights [Download – 128 kbps]
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