Flohio talks about her collaboration with Modeselektor and more

Modeselektor and Flohio first teamed up on the Wealth single back in 2018, and now the guys have tapped the South London rapper again on Social Distancing, a collaboration based around the track Soda from their recent Extended mixtape. With the Social Distancing EP out now, we wanted to find out more about what makes Flohio tick, so we asked her a few questions about her music, her future plans and how she wound up working with Modeselektor in the first place.

How did you first meet Modeselektor?

Flohio: We met through our tour agency. I had a show in Berlin one time and was invited to Monkeytown studios. The rest is history.

Aside from Modeselektor, you’ve also worked with other electronic music producers like L-Vis 1990 and Jets (a.k.a. Machinedrum and Jimmy Edgar). Have those experiences changed your perspective on the genre?

Working with Jets was awesome, Jimmy & Machinedrum are a beautiful duo. I took something away from the experience of course, but my perspective of the genre is always changing. Different sessions bring out different or new sides.

Have any of these artists taken you out raving, or do you stick to the studio?

I rave every time I’m on stage. I will add the sets I’ve done with Modeselektor to the list of the biggest raves I’ve attended, but most of the time I’m in the studio, getting ready for the maddest raves. If you know, you know.

You appear on Social Distancing, a reworked version of a track from Modeselektor’s Extended mixtape. How did that song come together?

Literally the name says it all. During the quarantine and social distancing stage of the pandemic, I spent most of my time in my home studio. Modeselektor, they check in with me from time to time and it’s a thing where we talk about what can we do next, where our head is at, all that stuff. They send me beats and we get going. Social Distancing was one of them and everything just clicked when I heard the instrumental.

You were born in Lagos, and lived in Nigeria until you were eight years old. How does it feel to see Afrobeats and other sounds from Africa blow up in the UK and all around the world?

This is not something new. Afrobeats has always had a foot in when it comes to music as a whole, and it’s something that had already traveled the world before I came along. I’m just part of a new generation enjoying Afrobeats’ evolution.

A couple of years ago, you collaborated with The Streets. What was it like to get that call?

It was just another glorious day at work, and a new opportunity to make good music with The Streets. I had listened to him in my earlier teens so it was a cool 360 for me.

Do you have any dream collaborations that you’d love to do someday?

M.I.A., Travis Scott, Kanye West and REMA.

After spending most of your life in the UK, you rep South London very hard, but as someone who’s also done a fair bit of traveling, are there any other places you’d consider living?

I grew up and was raised in South, so of course I will represent the area I discovered myself and found my foot in, the place where I went to school and made my friends. 😂 So the answer to your question is “no.” Maybe LA, but England will always be it for me.

Aside from music, you also studied graphic design and even worked at Ninja Tune. Do you still do any design work, even for fun?

Yes, I still design. It’s therapeutic.

Who are some of your favourite designers?

I don’t have a favourite designer. My moodboards are a mixture of how I see the world and what my emotions are at the time of creation.

Your debut mixtape No Panic No Pain came out late last year. When will we be hearing more new music from you?

I’m in a battle with myself because I’m super amped to release new music, but at the same time, I’m entering a new phase of myself and my sound. I’m at the curation stage and it’s so precious to me that I’m trusting and letting the process and my intuition lead. But this year, fingers crossed, I won’t be overprotective and might be in a sharing mood.

Pic: Shenell Kennedy