Australian indie/electronic duo HyperFlora have released their debut album ‘Essence’; a mixture of electronic experimentalism and indie-pop impressionism that doesn’t disappoint.
While some emerging artists struggle to find their sound early on, stumbling through their first few albums, HyperFlora exhibit a refined capability in this area, forging a creative style both innovative and unique.
‘Essence’ showcases the duo’s strong vision; to “capture the romance and beauty found within everyday life” rather than focusing on the large and dramatic. Knowing exactly what they wanted to achieve from the beginning stages, band members Johnny and Josh set out to explore life’s small mundanities through this record. They’re rock solid approach resulted in an album that feels like a singular, coherent body of work from start to finish, something not always heard in the albums of such young, emerging artists. HyperFlora describe the newly released album as “a journey of self-discovery, self reflection and self love,” a reflection of the goals the two artists set for themselves.
Starting off the collection of songs with a short instrumental intro track “xo,” listeners are seemingly transported to a new dimension, pushed through a rabbit hole of organic atmospheres and heartbreaking piano melodies.
Tracks like ‘Highland’ with Pia Nesvara and ‘Identity’ with William J Templar, both slow, drawn out and contemplative in nature, touch on the theme of discovery which becomes a recurrent motif throughout the record. In the fourth track; ’Highland’ Pia Nesvara and HyperFlora sing over a relaxed guitar and trap beat in track: “Open up your wings, you don’t need to worry, you don’t need to worry about a thing”… “I always feel the lows before the highs.” Having removed the booming 808’s and manipulated vocal samples, we’re left with just a few people singing about the ups and downs of daily life. Between tranquil textures and emotionally charged vocal performances, audiences are left with an air of poignance.
This isn’t only unique to ‘Highland,’ and is true for every track on the album. Singles ‘Greta’ and ‘Deja Vu’ combine the dream-like quality of electronic production with the catchiness of modern hip-hop, taking on an almost “emo-rap” sound. By contrast, ‘Sun Beam’ has an industrial electronic feel, twice breaking into a head-banging drum & bass breakdown.
Johnny and Josh encourage those that that listen to their album to listen to it all the way through: “‘Essence’ is a series of songs reminding you to stay in touch with the deepest and most purest part of you. This is something you really need to listen to from start to finish with no distractions. Either through headphones in your room or in the dark or being played really loud on speakers.”
With a run time of only 33 minutes, the album’s thirteen songs seem to fuse together to form a consistent and sincere narrative, all part of HyperFlora’s unique and profound musical journey.
Stream: HyperFlora
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