Q&A: Liana Flores Releases Debut Album ‘Flower of the soul’
TRANSCRIBING NATURE’S EMOTION INTO MUSIC — Bossa pop singer Liana Flores is saying “Hello Again” to fans with her debut album, Flower of the soul, out now via Verve. After gaining popularity on TikTok with “rises the moon” from her 2019 self-produced EP, recently, the British Brazilian singer is back five years later with 11 new songs.
Flower of the soul features peaceful melodies and beautiful imagery woven together like vines. Whether it be a beach at dusk with “Crystalline” or a forest in fall with “Orange-coloured day,” each song transports the listener into nature. While the lyrics paint beautiful landscapes, a closer look reveals Flores’ reminder to listeners that nothing lasts forever.
“Like you’re watching a sunset and you’re hit suddenly with this painful awareness that it’s not to last, almost like it’s too beautiful,” Flores explains.
Flores sat down with Luna to discuss the creation of her debut album, what got her into music, and her connection to nature. Read below to learn more about Liana Flores and Flower of the soul.
LUNA: What are your pronouns, zodiac sign, and favorite TV show?
FLORES: She/her, Gemini, Peep Show.
LUNA: Where did you get your start with music? When did you know you wanted to pursue it as your career?
FLORES: I first started with music in the school choir, but the real revelatory moment was seeing the Gorillaz “Clint Eastwood” music video at a bowling alley. I also enjoyed playing my electric keyboard by ear, to the point where I could never quite get the hang of sight reading.
Music as a career never felt like a realistic prospect for me growing up, but I decided to pursue it after graduating university, after some opportunities came along and I realized my heart wouldn’t really be happy anywhere else.
LUNA: This is your first full-length album. How did preparations for this release differ from your two eps?
FLORES: Some of the songs on Flower of the Soul had been written for about three years before we got to recording it — it definitely took longer. Before this album, I’d recorded everything myself in my room, so collaboration and finding the right producer and musicians and everything naturally adds time. I like to think it was very worth it.
LUNA: What is the meaning of your new album’s title, Flower of the Soul?
FLORES: It came partially from the Romantic poetry I was reading — a lot of that talks about the soul as this life-giving center of each human being. Also, in “Moving” by Kate Bush, where she sings, “You crush the lily in my souuuuuul,” I think I was picturing something pure growing from the heart and reaching outward. A flower is an impermanent thing too, and transience was a big theme when writing the album. But honestly, it means whatever you want it to.
LUNA: One of my favorite lyrics from this album is “happiness comes only when your back is turned” from “Now and Then.” What inspired this lyric? Where do you find happiness in daily life?
FLORES: I’m not sure if anything directly inspired it; most of the time my lyrics just sort of appear. That line makes me think about moments when something beautiful happens. Like you’re watching a sunset and you’re hit suddenly with this painful awareness that it’s not to last, almost like it’s too beautiful.
In day-to-day life I find happiness in seeing my friends and my boyfriend, a nice cup of coffee, and my room.
LUNA: What mood did you aim to create for fans listening to this album? Do you imagine them in a certain place or feeling a certain emotion?
FLORES: I think of it as quite a peaceful album musically but hope that it can be a compliment to whatever mood, or place, they’re in at the time.
LUNA: Many of your songs include nature imagery. Where did your connection with nature stem from?
FLORES: I grew up in a small town and my fondest childhood memories involve blackberry picking and streams and things. I’ve always been interested in and calmed by animals and don’t see myself as separate [from] them.
LUNA: What music artists are you most inspired by? Can their influence be seen in this album?
FLORES: My biggest inspirations musically, to name a few, are Vashti Bunyan, Astrud Gilberto, Blossom Dearie, Linda Perhacs, Joan Baez, Gal Costa, Nick Drake, and Joyce Moreno.
I’m also inspired more indirectly by anyone who is curious and fluid with genre. I love Janelle Monáe for that at the moment, even though our stuff doesn’t sound at all alike. The album is quite [varied] with genre, so each song bears the influence of a slightly different sound or artist.
LUNA: What’s one thing you would like to say to your fans?
FLORES: Thank you for listening!
LUNA: Your song “Butterflies” on your new album features Portuguese lyrics. What led to the decision to include Portuguese in this song? What do these lyrics mean to you? How has your Brazilian heritage influenced your music?
FLORES: Yes! It just felt natural to sing in Portuguese at that moment in the song. The song follows a metamorphosis, and I liked that the language switch could reflect that. The lyrics translate to “I’m not sure anymore where I’m going, but the flower in my soul and the future are unfolding”; to me it means having courage and trust in yourself during times of uncertainty.
Brazilian music is such a big influence on my music. I learned to play guitar by transcribing Joao Gilberto voicings, and there are bossa nova, and on the album, even some samba, influences throughout my writing.
