Blending
their unique concoction of sensual
sound and poetic justice, Floetry
is set to return to the musical landscape
with their third CD Flo'Ology. This
time, Marsha Ambrosius (the Songstress)
and Natalie Stewart (the Floacist)
remain true to form by uniting passionate
vocals and elegant spoken word with
the rhythms of classic soul, funk
and a little bit of island spice!
But while the tried-and-true formula
that worked so well for Floetic garnered
praise by critics and gave the London
duo a devoted fan base is the same,
the pair are quick to point out the
differences between Flo'Ology and
the themes exemplified on their six-time
Grammy nominated debut album and its
follow-up Floacism (Live).
"First, there's no headache on
this album," says Stewart, who
as a poet, draws her songwriting skills
from both articulating her personal
thoughts and experiences, as well
as translating her observations. "Flo'Ology
is less about victimization. It's
about women taking more responsibility
for what goes on in our lives. On
the first album, Marsha and I were
21 and 23. Now that we're a bit more
mature, we've come to a better understanding
of ourselves and naturally that's
reflected on the album."
"Plus, we're just more aware
that we were creating an album this
time," Ambrosius interjects.
"With Floetic we made a bunch
of songs without necessarily realizing
we were making an album. It was more
of a demo situation. At the right
time, the right place, we walked into
a studio in Philadelphia and didn't
really grasp the situation like we
could have. It was the perfect way
to make that album and I think everybody
would be happy if they got Floetic
again, but Flo'Ology is the next phase
in our lives, in our music."
Stewart adds: "This album is
completely and utterly self-centered.
It's about breaking ourselves down
over and over and over again, knocking
ourselves off our pedestals and then
building up again and getting knocked
off again. It's about going through
the ego cycle. Every song speaks to
a different mood and feeling. For
instance, when we were writing "Imagination,"
Marsha and I felt very powerful that
day. It was just real straight up
and down woman power and it's not
very often that women get to feel
powerful about the fact that we are
women. At one point, we felt like
if we snapped our fingers, every man
in the room would start stripping.
The sensual energy and magical power
that day was amazing and that's what
we wanted to capture and package in
that song."
Stewart and Ambrosius' undeniable
chemistry is at the root of their
eargasmic blend of rhythm and rhyme.
Having met for the first time as rivals
on the basketball court in South London,
the pair became fast friends when
they attended the Brits Performing
Arts School. Marsha studied business
and finance while Natalie pursued
acting, writing and directing. Post
graduation, they remained in contact.
Marsha pursued music, recording a
demo that was played on the radio
in London and her songwriting skills
landed her a publishing deal. Natalie
was enrolled in North London University
and was one of the founding members
of 3+1, a performance poetry crew
heavily featured on London's vast
spoken word scene. It was during this
time that the two women decided to
join together to form Floetry.
"We
love Floetic and that album was the
best album we could make at that time
but, we're different from who we were
then, "Stewart continues. "The
highest compliment that anyone could
give Flo'Ology is to say we've changed.
People are so scared to for some reason,
but that's what life is. That's what
this album is all about."
|