Independent Artist Of The Week: Flower Boy 卓颖贤

June 4th 2018

Photo by Yin Yue Chan

Sydney producer Flower Boy 卓颖贤 is breaking the mold, combining electronic production skills with a classically trained music background.

For Non Chalant, AKA Flower Boy 卓颖贤, experimenting with music was a process of overcoming expectations around culture, family and gender. Born to Chinese and Lebanese parents, Chalant says she grew up feeling like her only avenues were to become a classic pianist or composer. “I grew up in a bubble where I couldn’t see anybody around me making music.”

Flash forward to mid 2015 and a few hours after downloading an Ableton trial, Flower Boy 卓颖贤 uploaded her first demo to SoundCloud. In the three years since, the electronic musician has been doing the rounds of the Sydney DJ scene, starting SWYTCH club night and opening shows for local favourites Marcus Whale and HTMLflowers.

The project is one of self-expression, one dubbed by the now producer as a “sloppy emotional translator” for her feelings. The artist refuses to tie herself down to one genre when producing or DJing, with a Flower Boy 卓颖贤 production mixing the likes of Chopin and Lana Del Rey with ambient electro and nightcore.

We got a taste of these influences and her emotive Ableton prowess last year with the release of ‘the eight days of flower boy 卓颖贤’ EP. But Flower Boy 卓颖贤 truly peaks on her debut single ‘I just want 2 adore u’. Speaking of the dark love song, Chalant admits she finds it hard to talk about her emotions, but has found a way to translate them through song. Think darker, glitchy compositions of Ghostings ‘Reimagining Miyazaki’ mixtape.

Feel the feels with Flower Boy 卓颖贤 below.

 

Tune into Up For It every Monday morning to meet your new independent artist of the week!

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