Flora and the bedroom pop complexities of "HEY" (Official Video)

 

"hey, what’s up / cool not much / wanna hang out / before I go?"

Listen to the bedroom pop-esque "Hey" by Kansas high school freshman, artist, singer-songwriter, musician Flora and you might first be taken aback by how easily you are drawn in. Clearly, the pristine pop sound just is easy to like but listen a few times and you feel a complex blend of pop styles, from 8 bit, to synth chamber pop, to twee, to indie pop / rock. Not only that, what first feels all in the box (all synthetic) you sense the organic tensions of electric bass and electric guitars. They both push the song forward in lovely ways. The mellotron-esque synths feel nostalgic, specifically Brit pop-ish. The drums are likely programmed but they sound interesting just the same.  

I am not sure if Flora produced but if she did, she has an impressive touch. There are attributions to Dave Gnojek on horns and Isaac Russell, mixing and mastering.  

"HEY" is the fourth and final single before Flora's first full length Emerald City comes out on June 3.

-Robb Donker Curtius

FLORA · Hey

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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://www.facebook.com/florafromkansas

https://www.instagram.com/florafromkansas/

https://www.florafromkansas.com/

https://soundcloud.com/florafromkansas

Flora was born in 2007 into a family of artists and musicians. She was homeschooled in Topeka, Kansas with her two siblings until they moved to nearby Lawrence and started attending a small private school. When the pandemic hit during Flora’s 7th grade year she took advantage of the newfound time at home by creating music with her father. They worked together to create her first EP, Keep Calling which was released on Flora’s 13th birthday. ‘Keep Calling’ was recorded entirely at home with Flora’s father and was mixed and mastered by her brother.

After Keep Calling was released, Flora immediately began work on her first full-length album, Emerald City, employing the same family team from Keep Calling, but this time bringing in a horn player, string player, session drummer and a guest vocalist – delivering truly magical results. Finally, Flora’s vocals were all recorded at her uncle’s recording studio, located on a horse farm in the beautiful Kansas countryside just west of Lawrence – and Emerald City was complete.

Flora has done voiceover work for Vans, Dairy Farmers of America and ADFEST. Flora enjoys creating visual art and one day hopes to become a professional illustrator.

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Flora, Indie Pop, Dream Pop, twee, bedroom pop, Kansas, high school freshman, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, diy producer, "Hey",