In Conversation With FIOR
Photo by Alfredo Flores
FIOR was practically born to be a musician. With a dad who worked as a tour manager for bands in the 90s, a toy piano he gifted her, and the ability to play it by ear by the time she turned eight, her star status was set from the beginning. Since then, she’s been making original music from scratch, valuing both collaboration and her own individual music making process. While her debut single “Let Me Go” was a powerful ballad about the end of a relationship, her recently released follow-up “YOYO” is a fun, shimmery, glittery ode to summertime, not to mention the fun and empowerment of moving on from heartbreak. With a thick 90s-inspired bassline and a music video that embraces color, freedom, and dancing on top of vans, FIOR is unafraid to add funk and disco to the mix, taking pop music as we know it to the next level.
We caught up over Zoom to chat about the song, her early music inspirations, and her hopes for her career as it progresses.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Would you say music has always been a part of your life?
[FIOR]: 100%. My dad used to be a tour manager even before I was born. He definitely put a lot of his music inspiration into my life. Every good band, rock n’ roll, pop, rap.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What artists did he expose you to when you were young?
[FIOR]: My dad loved female rock n’ roll artists, which I thought was really cool for him as a dad to appreciate female artists. I grew up on Gwen Stefani and Pink, and also listened to Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Jack Johnson, The Clash. A lot of big influences.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve been inspired by artists like Billy Joel, Amy Winehouse, Adele and Michael Jackson. What do you love about all of these artists?
[FIOR]: Michael Jackson is a big one for me. I was a little crazy obsessed with Michael Jackson when I was eight years old. I would do little videos on Photobooth of myself singing to his songs and create my own music videos. He does pop, R&B, and soul, which are the top three that I love making. His music changed a lot in the industry and he pushed a lot of boundaries. I really look up to him. Same with Amy Winehouse and Billy Joel. Their music is so impactful to me, it made me want to make music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What do you love about using music as a form of personal expression?
[FIOR]: It’s like a diary to me. It’s very hard for me to converse about how I’m feeling most of the time but when it comes to music, it’s very easy. It feels like second nature. It feels like I’m able to just put everything out on the table.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your brand-new single “YOYO” just released, congratulations! How does it compare to your first single that you released, “Let Me Go”?
[FIOR]: It was definitely a little more sad. I was going through a lot so I was more in my moody phase. This song is that realization of “I don’t need to be sad anymore, get on with your life, go have fun!” It’s a big flip of the script.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How did your inspiration for the song first come about?
[FIOR]: I was in the studio with Scott Storch, Kent Jones, and IllaDaProducer, who are three amazing people to work with and I had so much fun. After I’d done “Let Me Go” back in LA with another group of people, I was in the studio working on new music and was super over this phase of being sad about my ex-boyfriend. I was like, “I need to make something that’s happy and I need to feel good about it.” I sat there talking about stories and life that I’ve been through so far. Even though I was still annoyed by stuff that happened with my ex, I thought it would be funny to make a song where I was like, “You keep coming back but I’m not gonna let you!” It felt good to go from “Let Me Go” to “YOYO.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: Would you say it was empowering for you?
[FIOR]: Oh yeah. It’s silly, it’s fun, and made me overcome past feelings. I have fun dancing to “YOYO” and expressing my happiness.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What was it like to collaborate with Scott on the production to create that unique funk, disco sound?
[FIOR]: It’s really cool to watch Scott work because he has files in his brain that just never stop, to watch him throw something down and we would attach a feeling or vibe to it. It was super interesting to watch and inspirational.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What do you enjoy about collaborating with people versus making music on your own?
[FIOR]: I love writing music by myself but I do enjoy working with other people because you’re able to get more out of a story when you work with other people. They have more ideas and have been through things themselves so it’s nice to share your stories with someone else. I’ve learned so much about writing when working with other people so it’s great, I love it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: I loved the music video for “YOYO”, it’s so fun and colorful and pairs perfectly with the song. How fun was it to film and what was it like to work with a director legend like Alfredo Flores?You got to dance in a skatepark and I know at several points in the video, you were even dancing on top of a van!
[FIOR]: It was so much fun, I had the best time ever! All the skaters were super cool, I’m glad they came out. My family came out, my dad and my mom and my sister. Alfredo is super fun, so nice and welcoming and supportive, I love that about him. The whole vibe of the music video was super fun. The dancers were amazing, I felt like they were already my best friends. And that van scene was so sketchy for me. It looked like I was having fun but I was so scared because it was wobbling and I was trying not to think about falling. But it came out so great. I wasn’t even expecting to see myself looking so comfortable on camera. I’m genuinely proud of myself.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Both of the singles you’ve released so far will be part of your debut EP releasing later this year. What can you tell us about the project?
[FIOR]: With the EP, I’m trying to go into the realm of pop, funk, disco, a little more along the lines of “YOYO.” I’m really excited, I think it’s going to be great. I have so many songs that I’m super excited to share and I’m still deciding which ones I want to put on there. I’m so happy that I have my second song out!
[UNPUBLISHED]: What has the release day been like so far?
[FIOR]: It just happened at midnight so it’s all flooding in right now. It feels really good that everyone is able to listen to the song now because I’ve listened to it a thousand times. My mom plays it way too much and now I have it in my head all the time when I wake up. It’s good to know that people are listening to it for the first time.
[UNPUBLISHED]: As your career progresses, what are some goals or milestones you hope to accomplish?
[FIOR]: Really big goal for me is to go on tour in the future and perform, and also collaborate with other artists. I have so many artists that I love so much that I would love to sing with one day. And just keep making more music, I never want to stop. I want to dabble into different genres. There’s so much that I want to do!
[UNPUBLISHED]: What artists would you love to collaborate with?
[FIOR]: Bruno Mars, he’s got an amazing voice. I love CeeLo Green’s voice. When I hear him singing, it’s beautiful and I would love to have him on a song with me.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Speaking of tour, have you ever performed live before?
[FIOR]: I’ve performed live with a band once but most of the time, I like to go and do karaoke for fun. There’s a place in Miami that I love to go to and every Wednesday night, they do karaoke. So me and my mom always do karaoke and bring all of our friends, and it’s super fun.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are your go-to karaoke songs?
[FIOR]: I love “I Put a Spell on You.” There’s “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, “Beggin’”, probably a Michael Jackson song like “Beat It” or “Thriller.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is something that not many people know about you?
[FIOR]: I am a homebody! A lot of the time, people will see me going out to festivals and concerts with friends but most of the time, I’m chilling and watching movies, reading books. If I could choose to stay and watch movies, I’ll probably do that over going out somewhere.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What movies do you like to watch? Do you have recurring favorites?
[FIOR]: I love Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze. The dancing scene always gets me at the end. I love American Psycho only because Christian Bale is a beauty and I also love Dark Knight Rises. I really like Pulp Fiction, it’s such a good movie that I can rewatch.
