Joanna British-Brazilian avant-folk prodigy Liana Flores shares “Orange-coloured day,” a sunny and upbeat highlight from her debut album Flower of the soul, out June 28th via Verve Records. With “Orange-coloured day,” Flores and her band craft a delicate and precise gem of ’60s jazz-indebted folk pop, with Flores’ gentle and acrobatic vocals taking flight as she marvels at the beauty of the natural world around her.
A reverence for the natural world is found at the core of much of Liana Flores’ work, and her sense of wonder is palpable as she describes hearing “the new blue bird whistle out her first song from the tree that’ll be here long after we’re gone,” guiding the listener through the mysteries of nature and imparting a bewildered optimism that lingers long after the song’s close.
“‘Orange-coloured day’ came from time spent in nature while living in the city, thinking of the depth & beauty of humankind’s connection with the natural world, and how the wisdom and ancient-ness of a forest can sort of dissolve your human worries into it,” Flores says of the song. It follows her inaugural Verve single “I wish for the rain”, released in April, and the wistful, dreamlike single “Nightvisions.”
Liana sold out her first-ever North American headline tour dates immediately, even before the announcement of her debut album. This month, she will perform in NYC, LA and Chicago as well as the UK this summer. Today, she announces extensive additional tour dates throughout North America and in the UK and EU this fall, as well as an intimate acoustic performance + signing in NYC at Rough Trade on June 28.
Flower of the soul is a truly transportive debut, an album that is a clear statement of artistic intent. Across its runtime, Flores paints vivid pictures of nature, fantasy, love and loss with her crystalline vocals always ensuring that the listener is placed directly into her world.
The sound was brought to life by Liana and a group of collaborators including co-producer/mixer Noah Georgeson (Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart, Natalia Lafourcade) alongside instrumental collaborators including Chris Bear (Grizzly Bear) on percussion, Brazilian music virtuoso Jaques Morelenbaum (Caetano Veloso, Ryuichi Sakamato), and acclaimed Brazilian musician Tim Bernardes. The album was written and recorded after Flores completed her studies in Zoology at the University of St Andrews.
Flores says, “Flower of the soul wanders through many stylistic influences, from sunshine pop, to bossa nova, to 60s psych folk, evoking the changing seasons of life and nature, and the core emotions that persist throughout.”
Growing up in small-town South Norfolk Liana found a love for making music by picking out familiar melodies on an electric keyboard, discovering a knack for playing by ear. Her obsession with bossa nova in her late teens led to her picking up the guitar. She began to combine her widespread musical influences with imaginative lyricism, drawing from nature, fantasy and personal tales. The result led to her song “rises the moon” which reached a huge audience online and led to her signing to Verve & partnering with Fiction. Flower of the soul follows Flores’ previous EP’s The Water’s Fine! and recently.
Tracklist
- Hello again
- Orange-coloured day
- Nightvisions
- Crystalline
- Now and then
- Halfway heart
- “When the sun…”
- I wish for the rain
- Cuckoo
- Butterflies (ft. Tim Bernardes)
- Slowly
Liana Flores US & UK tour
June 18 – Los Angeles – Barnsdall Gallery Theater SOLD OUT
June 19 – Los Angeles – Scribble SOLD OUT
June 22 – Chicago – Szold Hall (matinee) SOLD OUT
June 22 – Chicago – Szold Hall SOLD OUT
June 27 – New York – Public Records SOLD OUT
June 28 – New York – Rough Trade NYC
July 02 – London – Rough Trade East
July 09 – Bristol – Rough Trade
10 July – Nottingham – Rough Trade
July 16 – Manchester – The Lodge @ Deaf Institute SOLD OUT
July 17 – London – Hoxton Hall SOLD OUT
Sep 06 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
Sep 07 – La Jolla, CA – The Loft at UCSD
Sep 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
Sep 10 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
Sep 12 – Portland, OR – The Old Church
Sep 13 – Vancouver, BC – St James Hall
Sep 14 – Seattle, WA – Ballard Homestead
Sep 17 – St. Paul, MN – Amsterdam
Sep 18 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Sep 20 – Toronto, ON – Monarch
Sep 21 – Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount
Sep 23 – Boston, MA – Cafe 939
Sep 24 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sep 26 – Washington, DC – The Atlantis
Sep 27 – Philadelphia, PA – PhilaMOCA
Oct 22 – Manchester, England – The Deaf Institute
Oct 24 – Leeds, England – Brudenell Social Club
Oct 25 – Glasgow, Scotland – King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
Oct 26 – Birmingham, England – O2 Institute 3
Oct 28 – Bristol, England – The Louisiana
Oct 29 – Brighton, England – Komedia
Oct 30 – London, England – Lafayette
Nov 07 – Cologne, Germany – Yard Club
Nov 08 – Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
Nov 10 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Rotown
Nov 11 – Hamburg, Germany – Nochtwache
Nov 12 – Berlin, Germany – Privatclub
