Mid-Week Intermission Artist Edition: Flora & Fawna
What’s that bubbly, glittery, electro-feeling in the Austin air? That’s right, it’s local duo Flora & Fawna. Hear from them in this Mid-Week Intermission before their Drop-In debut later this summer, and keep your ear to the ground for more sparks from Austin’s burgeoning pop scene.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DROP-IN 👉 With free music every Thursday, you might want a reminder or two. We can help with that.
1️⃣ Make sure you’re following us @longcenter wherever you get your news to see who’s playing next.
2️⃣ Sign up for weekly notifications so you know when RSVPs open.
3️⃣ Grab your lawn chairs and your buddies and prepare to Drop-In.
MEET FLORA & FAWNA
Long Center: First off, just for fun — what song do you want folks to listen to while they read the rest of this interview?
Lili & Mason: Our newest single, “Costume Party!”
Long Center: We heard that you met at Spider House (RIP 😭). How did you first start making music together and how important are venues like these for Austin creatives?
Lili & Mason: So we’ve known about each other for years before actually meeting face to face. We operated in similar spheres and in similar scenes, and finally came together to collaborate on songs for commercials. We found that we wrote songs really well together by bringing together our production and writing skills, and decided to form Flora & Fawna. The rest is history.
We dropped our first single, “Slow Burn,” in May of 2019. It was heard by a producer at KUTX while they were on a “trip” and they fell in love with the song. Because of this we were chosen to be KUTX Artist of the Month in September 2019. We were slated to be SXSW artists in 2020, but then the pandemic happened and we had to put our music on pause. The isolation led us to do a lot of introspection and our new EP is the product of many years of perseverance.
Local venues are the body and soul of the scene. We’re so glad that so many of our favorite venues to perform in stayed afloat!
Long Center: Being native Austinites — and Lili, the child of Sara Hickman, a big austin name — do you feel any hometown pressure to make music here?
How has that affected your sound, your outlook, and your musical trajectory?
Lili & Mason: Since we’re not making music typical of the Austin scene, we don’t really feel the hometown pressure. Instead, it feels like we are a part of a brand new phase of Austin music as more and more bands embrace a pop-centric and electronic-focused sound.
As a second-generation musician, there is definitely a high bar that sometimes feels impossible to reach since Austin has changed so much, but we try to just look past it and focus on creating the kind of music we want to hear.
We’ve really just tried to create a very energetic and engaging live show that will keep people coming back!
Long Center: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the Austin music scene? What does that future look like to you?
Lili & Mason: Definitely more pop-centric, more electronic, and more experimental. We feel like the new crowd of bands and musicians are making less of your typical Austin psych/bluegrass/rock/indie (although there will always be a crowd for those genres here).
The DJ and club scene has grown significantly, which is bringing more and more people into the music scene and out to our favorite venues. While some with closed-minded views might scoff at these changes, a diverse music scene is one that will last. Especially with how fast Austin is changing every day.
Long Center: Your EP “Monarchs of the Ice Age” is releasing soon — what’s the story behind it? Any favorite tracks?
Lili & Mason: “Monarchs” is an EP that is setting a new standard for our sound, and blends bubbling pop with sultry undertones. Its topics all verge on power, and the power you allow yourself to wield with yourself and in your relationships. It will take you from the sweet sounds of “Long Shot” to the heavily layered vocals and crashing drums of our next single, “Major Menace.”
Our main goal is to create authentically while also proving Austin’s pop scene can compete.
Long Center: We’re super pumped to have you at The Drop-In later this summer. What can folks expect from your set? Any teasers you can leave with us?
Lili & Mason: We know that it will be a hot one, but we love to get everyone on their feet! Expect high energy, high tempo, and fun bubbly songs we hope will get stuck in your head. We also love to throw in a few covers that we think everyone will love! 🙂
At the Long Center, we’ve always got a new partnership or something cool we know you’ll want to check out! Find and follow us @longcenter on your social media platform of choice, and we’ll see you real soon.
