Western Sydney's flowerkid isn't the typical artist that's been emerging from the area recently, but that's alright by him. His music is a vehicle for him to understand the world, and along the way, we're learning a lot about ourselves.
He's just released his latest single, miss andry, and it's as confronting as it is beautiful. flowerkid says, "This song roots from hatred and distrust for men that developed from such a young age. "It isn't your typical man hatred; I had to tackle the feeling of 'I hate these boys and these men that have been in my life so much. Why do I envy them though?'"
flowerkid has always enjoyed making music. He first taught himself to play, write and produce music using his aunt's old Yamaha keyboard. He used that keyboard, a ukulele and his iPod's voice memos app to record some of his first tracks. His early music like Late Night Therapy gives an insight into life as a 16-year-old, and demonstrate some of the qualities of flowerkid's music that he'd continue to hone.
Late Night Therapy was released in 2018, and flowerkid had just left a Catholic school that was causing him daily pain. He was exploring his feelings around gender, and is quickly becoming one of Australia's most important trans voices. "I had come out as liking girls, but I didn't really identify as a lesbian; it just didn't feel right. I just knew that I liked girls and that was about it. When I left school, it was great because it gave me all of that time to be alone and to think about what I really wanted and who I actually was, rather than just who everybody at school wanted me to be.
"But it also was so tricky because the silence was very loud. It was a really bad time of depression for me, and I went through really bad breakup with my girlfriend. We'd been together for a year and that was my first love. So the music was a kind of therapy."
Initially, Late Night Therapy was just a way to deal with his feelings, and process the amount of love he had to give - but not knowing how to share it. However, releasing the track made him more comfortable in himself. "I really didn't know that I was capable of expressing my thoughts in that way. It was all very new to me and I thought, 'This is perfect. It feels so good to be able to do this'."
Releasing Boy With The Winfields And The Wild Heart was a way for flowerkid to connect with his uncle, who he never got to know. However, reading his uncle's books of poetry showed flowerkid that they weren't just related by blood - they share many of the same struggles. "There was a reoccurring theme of, What would you be like now? There's something different about our connection aside from just blood. There are so many different things that we both struggled with."
He's been signed by Billie Eilish's manager Danny Rukasin, so we're confident the world will be hearing about flowerkid very soon. Danny says he was captivated from the first time he heard flowerkid's music, saying, “When I first heard flowerkid’s music... I was immediately blown away by how special and gripping of a voice he has, and the stories he is telling from a songwriting perspective."
miss andry is our favourite flowerkid release yet, and his most personal. He says it's confronting to put it out into the world, but he's glad to give people the opportunity to connect with him. "When I made the song, I was terrified because it was so truthful. It was so raw. It was like ripping myself open for everyone to see. There's this whole new level of anger to it that I don't necessarily like to show. But I think being honest about it will help me resolve those feelings."
flowerkid might only have a few songs out, but he's already establishing himself as one of Australia's most exciting and powerful voices. We can't wait to see what he releases next. He's not tied down by genre, or sticking to a particular sound. He's willing to be vulnerable and real, and it's allowing us to do the same in our lives.
cop some flowerkid merch here
