Among the many talents that are paving a new way in the pop-rock realm, there is Florence Besch. Her music sways between a hazy kind of indie pop, and punchy, positive rock music with a soft touch ; Florence Besch’s art tells with an ethereal voice her own personal take on life. With such intricate melodies and themes both universal and intimate, we were immediately hooked. And, when we had a talk at the Crossroads Festival last November in Roubaix right after her show, we knew we had to write about her music somehow! She’s agreed to premiere with us the fourth and final single she’ll be releasing ahead of her album release on March 3rd – listen below to “Feeling Sick” before its official release tomorrow.
Starting off on powerful bass notes, “Feeling Sick” lets Florence Besch’s voice take space between guitar chords : a carefully crafted indie pop rock recipe that fills us with a gentle surge of positivity. This blissful feeling is nonetheless quickly nuanced by the lyrics, which are quite intimate, and which tell of the dark thoughts that take place in the back of our minds when clouds seem to fill up our personal space. This message is wonderfully translated in the music video : the dark thoughts, personified by faceless hands and silhouettes moving around Florence Besch, preventing her from getting up, falling asleep… all in all interfering with her daily life.
In order to find out more about the writing of this very symbolic single to be released tomorrow, as well as to get to know the person who composed it, we’ve asked her a few questions!
1. Hello Florence, and thank you for allowing us to premiere your next single with us! Before digging into it, can you introduce yourself in a few words for those who don’t know you yet?
Hello, my name is Florence Besch and I’m an indie pop musician from Luxembourg, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. I started writing my first songs after I discovered Alice Phoebe Lou playing in the streets of Berlin. She inspired me a lot because back then I didn’t know many women in music and therefore never pictured the possibility to be one myself and write my own songs. Then I started playing on the streets as well, then in small cafés until I got to play on bigger stages.
2. This single, as well as your three previous singles named “Microman”, “Fusilli” and “The Screaming Lady”, are part of an upcoming album, “Hi Now Hello”, which will be released on March 3rd. What does “Feeling Sick” mean, with regards to the rest of the album’s tracklist ?
“Feeling Sick” is one of my favourite songs of the album. There are some reasons. The first reason is that it is one of the last songs we recorded, everyone loved the song and it was a very emotional production. A Second reason is that it is quite an important song as it often isn’t a choice to enter the universe of hurtful thoughts. It is urgent to know that the most important thing is to be able to be yourself, to be accepted. It is essential to listen carefully and honestly. Last reason is the music video and the shooting of it which made everything even more special.
3. “Feeling Sick” tells of the stories, the dark thoughts that play in the back of our minds and leave us with brain fog when negative emotions are getting hard to fight. However, you talk about these feelings on such a joyful, playful melody! What inspired the making of this song?
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4. And generally speaking, what pushes you to write songs ? What do you consider to be the most inspiring thing ? Because your music really moves between very soft songs (like “Fusilli”) and punchier ones (like “Microman”)!
5. And, as I’ve mentioned it before, your album “Hi Now Hello” will be released on March 3rd : what should we expect in terms of atmosphere and topics?
6. Can we say that the very ethereal pop era – which we got to hear in previous releases like “Pink” or “Weak” – is evolving towards something more on the rock side of things?
7. And there is a question I like to ask at the end of all of the interviews I make for hauméa : is there an artist that you’re keeping an eye on at the moment and why ?
Florence Besch is to be found on all streaming platforms. You can also follow her on Instagram !
