FLO talk Access All Areas as it goes Top 3: "We've been so honest"

"I would like to introduce you to a tenacious trio of talented young ladies," requests Wicked star Cynthia Erivo as she opens FLO's debut album, Access All Areas. "In 2019...our girls found each other, and meticulously prepared a feast for our ears."

Since winning 2023's BRITs Rising Star award Jorja Douglas, Stella Quaresma and Renée Downer have been carefully crafting their sound; working alongside everyone from MNEK to Missy Elliott in the process.

Now, in 2024, they're firmly in their bag, having just scored the highest-charting British R&B girl group in 23 years, matching the Number 3 peak of Mis-Teeq’s iconic 2001 debut Lickin’ On Both Sides.

To celebrate, we catch up with Miss Jorja, Miss Stella and Miss Renée to talk their journey to this point.

FLO, Access All Areas is here! Pardon the pun, but How Does It Feel?

Renée: I can’t believe we got here, finally. Honestly, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience!

You've been so refreshingly self-reflective along the way - it's obvious that quality control's something so important to you...

Jorja: We’re always trying to evolve and be the best versions of ourselves possible. We just love getting better. We've been so honest.

Renée: We love to push ourselves, work towards goals and then find new goals.

Stella: Every element of the music’s important; the lyrics, the production, the melodies, what we’re saying and how we record it. The emphasis we put into what we’re saying. Every little detail was so important, we were thoroughly involved at every point.

If you don’t care, there’ll be people who don’t care as much about the details or don’t get it to the extent they need to.

Renée: If we felt like something needed to change, or we wanted to try a different style, we didn’t shy away from expressing ourselves.

WATCH FLO & GloRilla's In My Bag music video:

What was your favourite part of the process, from start to finish?

Renée: Being creative together. We always have fun. We now have this group of people we work with who really get it, too. Even if they’re writing for us, they know what we’d want to say. We’re very lucky that we’ve created that environment for ourselves. It’s been a great process.

Stella: Working out the tracklist was super fun. We finally got to a place where we were hearing what the listener would hear. That was so cool.

Jorja: Yeah, deciding the order of the songs and how were were going to tell that story.

And at one point we re-recorded some of the vocals. We went to this studio in the middle of nowhere. We stayed there, they made us food and we were round the dinner table every night. We got to blowtorch some crème brûlees...

Renée: That was my favourite part, too. It was so nice. That was the final push. It was so nice to sit with those songs and feel so content. 

Stella: And hearing the transitions. It started to feel like a proper project, that was so satisfying.

Right, we need to discuss the transitions. They're giving proper, '90s R&B record...

Renée: Oh my God. I honestly couldn’t think of another album that has such amazing transitions. That’s why it’s so important to listen to it the right way.

Jorja: The best album with the most incredible transitions is actually Language my MNEK. Those transitions are other-worldly, so we definitely picked the right person to be doing those!

You've been so vocal in your appreciation of MNEK as Executive Producer on this project, too...

Jorja: It’s impossible to talk about the creation of the album, and our journey as FLO, without including MNEK. He’s been with us from the start, he created Cardboard Box with us, and he’s definitely the not-so-hidden fourth member.

The word of the moment in pop seems to be 'longevity'. So many artists have seen slow burn success before reaching new highs in 2024. How important is that endurance to you?

Stella: Longevity is the way to go. We know how frustrating it can be waiting for something. When we were waiting to put out our first single, I think we forget how frustrating that was at the time! It was really stressful, but everything came at the perfect time. You have to trust it’s the right time. 

Jorja: In this day and age, when someone finally gets their flowers, their older songs get the recognition and have their moment. As long as we know that everything we put out is the best version of ourselves at that time, what will be will be!

Renée: We’re so lucky with our FLO lifers, too. They come to everything; our listening parties, our in-stores, our tour! Our fanbase is honestly the greatest thing about FLO. We’re so excited to grow that, give them more exclusives and more music, letting them know more about us.

We have to talk about the iconic Cynthia Erivo narrative the album with the most glowing of testimonials. What an intro...

Jorja: Having somebody so talented, who’s an incredible artist in their own right, narrate our body of work, is incredible. Anybody could’ve spoken a little monologue at the beginning, but what’s important is less what she’s saying, more who she is and what she stands for as an artist.

And you bagged GloRilla on the record's focus track In My Bag, too. How did you react when that hook-up happened?

Stella: We love GloRilla, we’re obsessed with her album. We’re so happy that the timing worked out, with her doing her thing and us about to put our album out. It’s so special.

Jorja: Oh my God, we were so relieved. We loved that song, and we wanted that to be our hit, you know? Knowing that she loves the song and wanted to be part of it was incredible. She’s on a roll, her music’s undeniable.

FLO's debut album Access All Areas is out now via Island Records.