Even though it’s fall, The Flavr Blue can still make it feel like summer. The trio is made up of vocalist Hollis, producer/vocalist Parker Joe, and producer/vocalist Lace Cadence. October 27th marks the release of their sophomore album Blue Dream.
The Flavr Blue doesn’t really put a label on what genre they are. This new album is all over a spectrum of electronic, RnB, soul and hip-hop, with a hint of latin flair every so often. I have a feeling that the Spanish culture prevalent in southern California had quite the influence on this project.
Prior to the release, we got to check out a few singles off of the album. ‘Top Down’ was the flirty party song that they released earlier this year to build the anticipation. The video for ‘Fetti & Spaghetti’ made a political statement using a hip-hop platform. Then to follow those up they premiered ‘Picture Perfect’, an electronic-pop aching love song.
The Flavr Blue – Blue Dream
Available now on Amazon, and iTunes.
I haven’t been able to stop listening to this album. There is something so carefree about it. “I say what I wanna’, do what I wanna’ wanna’, win cause I want it, that’s why I’m stuntin’ stuntin’…” The essence of summer just oozes out through these sun soaked beats. Each song has it’s own unique Flavr to it that are all easily distinguished from each other.
It’s not often that every single voice on an album is easy on the ears. Even the featured artists can sing a beautiful melody. Since their last release was a couple years ago, I wanted to dig deeper into their psyche. I had the opportunity to ask Lace some questions regarding the new album.
RMR Interview with Lace Cadence
Ice Breakers
Q: The Flavr Blue is exactly how I describe my favorite Gatorade. If you were to relate to a blue flavor would it be Cool Blue or Glacier Freeze?
A: Cool Blue for sure.
Q: You guys have previously said that Scandinavian pop and electronic music are big influences for you. If you could live in one of the Scandinavian countries, which one would you choose?
A: Sweden hands down. I grew up visiting Sweden and have family out there; Stockholm is one of my very favorite places on Earth.
Q: Blue Dream is an iconic strain of cannabis. What is your favorite strain?
A: It’s called the Flavr Blue, currently in research and development 🙂
Nitty Gritty
Q: A majority of the album was recorded in southern California. How did that influence your sound throughout the project?
A: Recording full albums in the city you grow up in (especially if you still live there) can become difficult. At least for us, we have noticed where you are when you create can really affect the outcome. Going back and forth from LA to Seattle during the creation process just helped us keep the energy fresh and stay focused throughout.
Q: In Complex, Hollis is quoted as saying she wrote the vocals for Fetti & Spaghetti in a half hour and cut the track with just the reference vocals. Do all the songs come that organically, or do you ever struggle to finish a song?
A: Some songs take longer than others… there’s really no one way or set amount of time for making a song. We think it’s more based on the feeling you get when you know something is complete. For “Fetti,” it’s simplicity really stood out, and we wanted to make sure not to take ourselves too seriously cause that can make the art suffer. It’s different amounts of tailoring for each song but none of them are ever a struggle. If it’s a struggle, we usually move on until we feel excited to return to the song again.
Q: How long did the album take to finish?
A: A little over a year!
Q: Was it bursts of creativity, or a continuously steady process?
A: It was intentional and continuously steady – we blocked out whole days and sometimes weeks to focus and work on the music. With our travel schedules we had to take advantage of the time we were able to be all together.
Q: I can hear the progression from your first release Pisces to Blue Dream. Do you feel like you are more confident in who you are as a group? Or even just individually more confident in each of your own artistic abilities?
A: Dope question, and thanks! Lol. It’s been exactly that for us progression! We have never put ourselves in one box, which has allowed us to really be free creatively which I think a lot of artists don’t get the chance or have the liberty to do. Our body of work is all over the place but it’s always focused and genuinely what we are feeling creatively at the time. This album I think our own personalities shine through more than in the past, which is funny… we really pushed Hollis to take the lead and boss up, but all of our spirits are very present in these tracks.
Q: The workload sounds very evenly distributed throughout the entire project. Do you guys ever butt heads over getting work done, or are you really the easy going group that is reflected in your music?
A: Haha yes! That is something we acknowledge a lot, the fact that we never fight. That shit is important. It’s just a blessing and completely random that the three of us combined equals a very functioning mix of people. We can butt heads creatively sometimes but even that is a crucial element. In stepping outside your comfort zone: getting pushed by someone you respect artistically.
Q: A bevy of west coast artists are featured on this project. How did those connections come about?
A: Every collaboration stems from some sort of personal connection with one of us that formulates into working with the group. We haven’t had many features on our past projects and wanted to involve people we appreciate and already fuck with.
Lace Cadence’s Favorite Tracks
– Simple Love ft. VanJess
– Faded
– Cause I Wanna
RMR’s Favorite Tracks
– 105 Ride ft. SweaterBeats
– Faded
– My Vice ft. YMTK
– Top Down ft. The Last Artful, Dodgr
Stay tuned for their next venue show, for now join them on October 27th for the release of their album Blue Dream. The Flavr Blue will be chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool at Easy Street Records in west Seattle around 7pm. It’s all ages so anybody can pick up a physical copy and catch a live performance!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BahR1pJBPL3/?taken-by=theflavrblue
