Catching a Vibe with Rising Artist Flourish

After releasing tracks including “Like That” and “Assumptions,” Flourish swung by to give us the details on his production process and more.

Self-producing, multi-instrumentalist Flourish might be one of the freshest faces to arrive on the scene in the UK but he’s one that dance music lovers should be paying close attention to. Since first emerging on the scene he’s already begun to flex his abilities as a producer by taking his classical training and marrying it with impressive electronic elements to create some fantastic tunes like “Time Stops” and the Gerbera EP.

While much of the early part of this year has been quiet for Flourish, he emerged along with the onset of spring to gift the world with Like That / Assumptions. The first of the two, “Like That,” saw the UK-based artist teamed up with COMANAVAGO to offer up a sultry house jam that is brimming with elements from R&B and pop to create a dancefloor smasher. Then, “Assumptions” swirls through speakers with its own infectious beat and vocals that will pang deep in the soul of listeners.

Flourish swung by to chat after the release of Like That / Assumptions to give us a look into the depths of his creative mind. He dives into everything from his earliest influences and biggest struggles as a rising artist to collaborating with others and what’s to come in the future. Read on for the full conversation and stay tuned for more from Flourish by following him on social media.

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 321 || Flourish on SoundCloud:

Hi Flourish, thanks so much for chatting with us today. Let’s kick this one off by digging into your roots a bit. We know you started your journey with saxophone and piano, so what sparked that journey and led to your passion for electronic music?

Hi Grant! Thanks for having me. I started to be interested in electronic music at a time when it was a really prominent sound in pop music. This was around 2009 when EDM DJs like David Guetta and Swedish House Mafia were all over the charts and everyone wanted to sound like that. My first real moment of falling in love with it as a genre though was when I first heard “Strobe” by deadmau5.

I quickly became really obsessed with that type of dance music that could be full of emotion whilst still functioning as a dance track. I quickly started to make my own tracks in a similar style using a really obscure iPod Touch app called “iSequence” which I’m pretty sure doesn’t even exist anymore.

Who were some of the first artists you were drawn to in the dance music space that influenced you to pursue a career in this scene?

Like I mentioned before, deadmau5 was definitely the initial inspiration for me and continued to be for quite a few years. A little later, it was artists like Porter Robinson and Madeon who really influenced my taste in music and sensibilities as a musician. Porter’s Worlds album was especially influential for me when learning to produce and write music. It was really an example of an album made by someone who came from a dance music background that was really pushing the boundaries of that genre. Often it would outright reject the conventions of dance music and not be limited by that at all. I think that aspect is something I’ve always wanted to explore in my own music.

Do you feel your classical training has helped open your mind in a creative sense? Do you think other electronic-focused artists should pick up learning instruments if they haven’t already?

I think it definitely gave me a head start when it came to learning to write and produce music. I’ve always felt most at home in front of a keyboard and I can feel a bit lost if I have to write without one. That’s just the easiest way for me to explore melodies and chords. As for music theory though, I think great music can come from anywhere and that type of theory knowledge isn’t always essential. I’m more of a ‘play by ear’ type of musician and I don’t tend to consciously use music theory much when I’m writing.

Many of my favourite artists didn’t grow up with any music education and just have an instinct for it. It’s never too late to pick up an instrument though! I think bringing a more human and imperfect side to electronic music can be really special and sometimes you need a live performance on an instrument to bring that out.

Let’s chat about your two new tunes, “Like That” and “Assumptions.” How did these two tracks come to life? Were they both created in a similar timeframe or were they made in entirely separate sessions?

“Like That” came from one of a few different sessions I had with COMANAVAGO. At this point, I had already written and produced “Assumptions” separately at home when I was really into that UK garage sound. COMANAVAGO are no strangers to making really sick garage music, some of my favourites being “Playboy” with Ketty Perry and their remix of “Sad Music” by Jessica Winters. It was natural that we’d get in the studio and immediately start jamming on some garagey style beats and “Like That” came together pretty quickly from that.

“Assumptions,” on the other hand, had gone through many different versions before arriving at the one that I ended up releasing. Originally it was a funky synth-pop tune that I was playing with around 2019 but I never got around to finishing it. I always liked the hook and the lyrical theme but wasn’t so sure about the sound of it. Fast forward to 2021 and I’m writing that skippy garage beat and that lead synth melody and I need a vocal to sit on top of it.

I just ended up skimming through my notes on my phone for inspiration and the lyrics to “Assumptions” were sitting there so I ended up adapting that to fit the vibe of the new instrumental. When both these tracks were finished it just made sense to release them together, they kinda felt like sister tracks.

On “Like That” you teamed up with Comanavago. What’s the story behind how that relationship came to be? Do you approach collaborations like this differently compared to solo work?

We were put together in a session by our management and publishing teams and we just immediately hit it off. I remember coming out of that first studio session thinking it was the most fun I had ever had in the studio. They’re just really exciting to work with because of how free-flowing and fast-paced their creative process is and how they’re just so unapologetically themselves that you feel comfortable being yourself too. I think these sorts of collaborations are very different from the solo stuff I do at home.

When it’s just me, I have a tendency to overthink and spend way too much time on the finer details and eventually lose sight of the bigger picture. Sometimes something special can come out of that kind of painstaking trial and error workflow but it can be just as helpful to throw out those inhibitions and just go wherever that spark of inspiration takes you.

With “Like That” it was definitely more of the latter; it came together super quickly and easily. The rough demo version that came out of a relatively short studio session sounds pretty close to the final version. In fact the vocal on the final version was supposed to be a sketch demo vocal but it just worked so we kept it. The rest was just polishing the production and adding little details to tie it together.

You’re still in the early stages of your career, so what have been some of the biggest hurdles you’ve faced as an emerging artist in the scene? Have you been able to overcome them?

I think the biggest hurdle so far has been finding what my sound is as an artist, which is something that’s still evolving and growing at the moment. My taste in music changes really rapidly and randomly so it sometimes feels like I’m trying to catch up with that and get a firm grasp on what I think is cool and interesting musically.

Lately, I’ve realized that there actually is a consistent pattern to what music I enjoy though. It seems like all of my favourite music is either really funky, really pretty, or a mixture of the two. I’ve noticed that most of the music I’ve released up until this point only really covers the funky side of what I like. I’ve been trying to explore some more beautiful and emotional sounds recently, so hopefully, you can hear the results of that at some point in the near future.

Are there any specific goals you hope to achieve in the near future? What about in a few years?

In the near future, I hope to be playing some live shows! I’m almost done putting together a live set that includes piano, sax, and live vocals. It’s been a really exciting process to figure out how that works and I’m hoping to finally perform it in some small-scale support gigs by the end of this year. I had a little taste of the live experience when I played a few songs as a guest in COMANAVAGO’s recent Peckham Audio show and it was really exhilarating so I’m itching to get back on stage.

In a few years, I’d love to have really made a name for myself in some way. The average milestones of course: build a fanbase, maybe get signed by a label, get playlisted, etc. But most importantly I just want to release more music that I’m really proud of and continue doing what I love doing.

Finally, since the summer season is almost upon us and the spring vibes are in full force, what are some of your favourite ways to kick back and relax when you’re not producing?

Lately, I’ve been enjoying very competitive games of table tennis in my back garden. Not necessarily relaxing but definitely takes my mind off of music and producing! Other than that you’ll usually find me playing video games, going to see some live music, or having long, nerdy conversations about the new Batman movie.