Recreational Noise and I are very proud to present our collaborative album “Flora”. From post rock, dreamy vibes of shoegaze to midwest emo, with influences such as Moving Mountains, Spangle Call Lilli Line, Gestalt Girl, Foxing and Caspian. As you explore this album, we hope you find a connection to the personal stories we are sharing.
“When I first started writing music, I was strictly writing post-rock centric tracks on an old 8-track recorder. Trying to capture the nostalgia and emotion the genre evokes was how I began songwriting.
A chance meeting led me further into more styles with Arbor Atlantic, but as the years went on, I thought it was time to venture back to those days of emotive nostalgia in another project that didn’t fit that one.
Realizing there was room for some of the compositions to really evolve through vocals and another’s interpretation of the sound and melody, I reached out to Flora with an idea in mind - hoping she would be willing to lend her incredible vocals to some of these songs.
We discussed using flowers as inspiration for the lyrics and feel of the songs, and soon enough after a quick 24-hour turnaround, the track Sunflower was born (albeit not to its fully polished level of this release).
From that moment forward, the songs flowed effortlessly, and this collaboration grew into one I couldn’t be more proud of. Thanks to Flora for her input, effort, and openness in making these songs and album bloom from small buds, to beautiful flowers.”
The more time passes, the more we realize how ephemeral things are. We can use this realization as strength, fulfilling our urge to live life to the fullest without regrets, with the fire within us blooming like a sunflower. True to this sense of urgency, Sunflower was essentially written in 24 hours.
Sometimes there’s the need to be fully present, to observe simple beauty. Gardenia was the first song we wrote, and we wanted it to feel like contemplating a wave, a soft white petal, slowly and steadily moving. Poppy is a continuation of this, like a soft breeze to be felt intensely.
In a night in April, as the light disappeared, memories surfaced from the lingering perfume of lilac in the room. Nothing to see; silence reigns, only a scent taking back to a ghost of the past who does not wish to be forgotten. Sometimes, a smell will be the strongest way to transport you somewhere, as Proust described so vividly.
Obsession is a theme I am obsessed about, and I wanted to write about it. It can be destructive, yet sometimes it’s the only way to get answers. Is it worth taking to risk to fall into madness?
Scared, but ready to start anew, leaving the darkness behind, prepared to grow and achieve any dream. When I first heard the guitar introduction, I thought it was so reinvigorating, like being back from a retreat, pressing reset to think about new ideas.
This song was the easiest to write. It’s the song I dedicate to my loved ones.
What kind of mother will I be? It’s something I ask myself every day.
I really wanted to say: thank you for giving me so much strength.
As my child becomes wiser, as I become older, in good times, in difficult times, will our bond remain strong?