The moment I heard ‘I’m Just Being Honest’ I was hooked. The simplicity and honesty in the song took me by surprise. There is something so magical about Fleurr’s voice as it is embracing the vulnerability and the outcome is captivating.
I am so thrilled that Fleurr agreed to share more about her journey, the creative process and some of the challenges she was facing. We are thrilled to introduce you to Fleurr…
Congratulations on your latest release ‘I’m Just Being Honest’. Tell us about the journey you had until up until the release!
Thank you, that’s a really complicated question for me because I’ve been on quite a journey. I’ve always loved music and as a teenager, I took a keen interest in listening to music and writing my own stuff. In all honesty, I kind of stumbled into all this and it wasn’t until 2018 that I started to publicly share my poetry on social media. People seemed to like it and someone on Twitter suggested that I write songs. They thought I’d be good at it. So from there, it all started. At that point, I didn’t think, that I would be capable of singing my own songs or even creating them but I had found a huge passion. So I collaborated with a company called Demo My Song and they helped me bring them to life. In 2019 I took some singing lessons and realised things didn’t need to be perfect to make music. I didn’t need to be perfect. Since then I’ve been experimenting with different sounds and writing and finding my voice. In all this, the confidence has just been growing and I’m really enjoying it. It’s created that space for me and with my new single, “I’m just being honest” to just be honest.
What does the song mean to you? Do you remember the moment the idea came to you?
Yes, I remember the moment I had the idea of the song. I’m actually quite an honest person and I was feeling vulnerable and finding it difficult, to be honest about how I felt. I wrote the song from the line and the title of my song “I’m just being honest” I thought if I find this difficult then so will other people. It’s a song you can listen to and enjoy but also an opportunity for others to be vulnerable and play to someone about how they are feeling too. To be honest.
Your motto ‘Be real because the world needs more of that’ is brilliant. Is it hard to be truly honest in a society where we’re not encouraged to show how we really feel?
I think for anyone it is hard to be truly honest. I feel like as a society we all find it difficult, to be honest with the fear of potentially being rejected or upsetting someone. I think for me personally I’ve focused on how I should feel or how I may be perceived and that’s what’s been hard. Speaking about feelings and being vulnerable is really scary for anyone. It’s been liberating for me to be honest and real with others but also with myself too. I feel like it has changed my life and being honest changes others too.
Speaking about feelings and being vulnerable is really scary for anyone.
FLEURR
How did you manage to fight the fear of showing who you really are?
The word that comes to mind to me is acceptance. I have accepted who I am and I have made changes in the areas I wanted to. Not one person is perfect and I think that’s something I have had to realise. I used to hold it all inside and funny enough I wrote another one of my songs with that title. It’s called holds it all inside.
Music has given me an opportunity to explore who I am and express that.
FLEURR
It’s helped me to connect to other people who have felt the same as me too. It just feels so liberating to be yourself. Someone once told me if you have thought of it someone else most likely has too. And it’s always stuck with me. It helped me show who I really am because maybe I’m not so alone after all and neither are they.
Do you remember a moment when you regretted being honest?
Yes I have had moments I’ve been a little too honest and hurt someone. That is the last thing I would intend to do. I guess sometimes some things don’t need to be said and other times they do.
Where do ideas for songs come from? Tell us more about your creative process.
I love this question! I usually get an idea drone a moment or a feeling and from that, I will use a word or a sentence and this song the idea was “I’m just being honest” I write the lyrics from that. With this song, I found a producer called Jason Aro from KloudNineMusic who had made an amazing melody that I thought worked really well with my lyrics. I then sing the lyrics and arrange it to the melody and practice it just on my phone. I recorded the vocals from my home with a recording set up of my own. I then sent the work over to a mixing engineer called Giancarlo Roberti for this song. He brought the song to life with his mixing skills and sent me the files back. It’s a really fun process and I love each moment.
Do you experience any challenges as an independent musician?
I think the main thing that has held me back is myself this started out as a hobby and now I am putting myself out there more and more and I think I’ve felt the marketing side of things quite difficult. There is so much to learn and do and I am still continually learning.
How do you define success in the music business?
I think success can be many things. The main thing for me is connection. If I can create a connection with just one person then that is being successful to me. Music is all about connection.
Music to me is everything. It is an opportunity to listen and create something that can make moments that are unforgettable to connect to another soul.
How would you summarize 2020?
2020 has been life changing for myself and so many people.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
Yes, it doesn’t matter where you have come from or how impossible things seem. Take that first step and always keep trying. Be honest with yourself about what you want from life. That is what has kept me going anyway.
Make sure to connect with Fleurr
Have a listen to all the artists we have interviewed to date in one Spotify playlist Introducing
