5 Questions: Flowerboy卓颖贤
Sydney producer, Flower Boy 卓颖贤 shares some thoughts on her first EP, ‘FASCI(N)ATION’.
Listen to FASCI(N)ATION here.
NO. 1 –
You’ve just released your debut EP! Can you tell us about the process behind creating ‘FASCI(N)ATION’?
I guess ‘FASCI(N)ATION’ was less ‘created’ and more ‘curated’ if that makes sense. I had a lot of tracks written that were from a certain period of time in my life and I wanted this EP to reflect that. The only track I wrote specifically for the EP is ‘SKIN.LIPS’. I originally intended for it to be the opening track, but as it developed I realised it was actually a note that I wanted to end on.
The newest part of the process for me was the constant reworking of tracks. My usual process is to write a track, and once I feel like it’s done I just dump it onto soundcloud. But with curating an EP, I really put a lot more thought into not just whether the track sounded okay, but how it sounded in the context of the other tracks.
"If you take the ‘N’ out, it becomes the word ‘fasciation’, which refers to a kind of mutation that can happen to some kinds of plants."
NO. 2 –
Why the title ‘FASCI(N)ATION’?
If you take the ‘N’ out, it becomes the word ‘fasciation’, which refers to a kind of mutation that can happen to some kinds of plants. It’s an interesting thing to look into, because you learn that fasciated plants aren’t always entirely fasciated, only certain parts of them. As well as that, fasciated flowers, for example, can grow back ‘normally’ the next season. It was a concept that resounded with me, and I love that the imagery ties in nicely with ‘flower boy’.
NO. 3 –
What's one of your favourite tracks on the album?
My favourite track is actually ‘SKIN.LIPS’. I think it’s probably the most divisive track on the record because of how it ends, with a sustained note at a frequency that borders on physically painful to listen to... but it really captures an emotion that I still don’t know how to put into words. The EP is a journey through many of my emotions, and this track is the finale. It’s as euphoric as it is painful, and that’s probably what I like most about it.
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"The EP is a journey through many of my emotions...It’s as euphoric as it is painful, and that’s probably what I like most about it."
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NO. 4 –
You’ve written that your music is ‘essentially a very public yet hard-to-understand diary’, which I love.
Basically my whole process is to take experiences and emotions and turn them into tracks. The story behind some are probably more obvious than others in their titles and descriptions on soundcloud. Others are a lot more obscure. My intention was never really to tell the world about my life through my music, it’s more a way for me to record things for myself. I’m not much of a writer, so I find words can be really limiting. I mean, language is limiting. As a listener, I think it’s just as, if not more important to process a song and relate to it in your own way - music translates differently for everyone. It doesn’t matter to me whether or not you’ve understood the story behind the track - if what I’ve made speaks to you, your own interpretation and understanding is just as valid and important.
NO. 5 –
You’re a mentor for All Girl Electronic this term! If you could share one piece of advice about releasing your own EP, what would it be?
Honestly, I’d say just find someone who’s gone through it all and ask them questions. (I am open to being asked questions if someone so wishes!) And don’t be afraid to make mistakes. This is cheesy, but at the end of the day, while success is nice, the process and the friends I made along the way are worth way more than any EP sales/reviews I could ever receive.
Interview by Leah Jing