An Inside Look on flor's Music and Tour
Oregon-based indie band flor just finished touring the US in support of their recently released album ley lines. GMAT contributor Sofia Felino sat down with the guys to chat about the album, tour, and STUFF.
Photo by Sofia Felino
GMAT: You guys are signed to Fueled by Ramen, which is a really iconic label. Are there any bands on the label that you guys look up to, or maybe some new bands that you’re a fan of?
flor: Yes to both of those questions! We obviously grew up listening to the incredible roster of Fueled by Ramen— mainly Paramore and Fall Out Boy and all that stuff. So when the opportunity came along to be a part of that, we obviously jumped on it because it was iconic for us, it meant so much to us. And it helped that the family, the team behind Fueled by Ramen was incredible. You can kind of see why the bands are as good as they are— because they have an incredible team behind them.
Also on the modern roster, we love Misterwives. It’s cool to be among the likes of Panic! [at the Disco] and Twenty One Pilots. And it doesn’t feel like we get lost in the mix either, which is pretty special.
GMAT: So your new album, ley lines, came out recently. Tell us what “ley lines” are.
flor: So basically, ley lines are these things that connect important places. They’re imaginary, to a certain extent. We took that kind of symbolism and applied it to our lives. I focus in on these anchor points that we have, and the anchor point of the band are music, obviously, and our family and our friends, and our experiences. And those anchor points could be different for anyone, but for us, that’s kind of what keeps us grounded.
GMAT: What made you decide to name the album ley lines? Tell us a little bit about it!
flor: [The album] was a musical exploration, too. It was growing our craft and not straying too far from what we know and what we love. But it definitely was a step forward— we wanted to challenge ourselves too, kind of get outside the box a little bit and make sure that we don’t keep ourselves tied down. I don’t really want people to be able to point to flor and say “this is what they sound like.” I want people to look at us for what flor is and think, “that is flor.”
I think we accomplished that with songs like “white noise” and “moonday”…really all the songs on the album.
GMAT: Tell me about the cover art for ley lines.
flor: I actually went to a tea shop in Portland and I saw this incredible art on the wall. It was a different piece— it was actually the piece [on the album cover for] slow motion that caught my attention first. But as we were trying to figure out ideas for what we wanted…we really enjoyed [the artist’s] work, especially the album cover. We had to do some tweaks to the color and everything to make sure it was in our same vibe of what we like, but it really stood out to us and it was an easy pick….That never happens!
GMAT: You guys are headed out on tour and I’m going to be taking photos at your Chicago show! Where are you most excited to go on your tour?
flor: It might sound…not genuine of me to say Chicago, but I have to say Chicago! Last time we were there, there was just this kind of real energy about it. I’m kind of hoping to catch that same high that I did that night, I guess. From the crowd! Not from drugs. Don’t do drugs!
GMAT: I know what you mean! You’re playing Bottom Lounge, that’s a fun venue. Have you played there before?
flor: We played there once before, it was a pretty long time ago. It’ll be exciting to go there and headline it.
GMAT: If you encountered someone who had never heard your music before and they wanted one song to get a feel for your band, what would you recommend as a starting point?
flor: We always say “warm blood,” just because we feel like it really captures everything there is to know about flor. It’s dreamy, ethereal, it’s kind of magical. But that’s from the last record. From the new record, I feel like “white noise” is probably good too. It’s kind of a gentle awakening to what we’re all about, and I think it’s also just a really good song!
GMAT: What can we expect from flor in the near or far off future? Where do you see the band going?
flor: We’re going to keep touring as much as we can because that’s what we love the most— being able to connect with the fans. So hopefully we’ll be touring more than just America, getting overseas and everything. With this album out, that’s kind of our focus right now, so we’re going to be pushing all the songs— we’re going to be trying to make sure that everybody that has ears can hear them, become a fan of flor and join us on this journey.
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