ARTIST INTERVIEW: YOSHI FLOWER
Your newest single, Dirty Water, slaps. What were some of the things that inspired that song? Was it difficult to write or did it come easy?
I don't remember writing that song. I know it was quick. It is a song about torrid love and the flint water crisis that is still not solved.
How do you think your family influenced you in the industry? Not necessarily regarding people you might have met, but regarding the type of music you make?
They exposed me to so much music. The classics and the obscure. It wasn't enough to know about Fleetwood Mac, I had to know the original players and I had to journey through the original blues era and witness the genesis of how they became such a massive act. That type of listening was how my dad would have me dig into stuff. I am still the type of person that just puts on the first album of a group and I play it all the way through if I can.
Growing up with music and the arts being such a big presence in your life, how did you manage to find your footing as an artist on your own?
I had a lot of time alone when my parents would be working. I spent those hours playing guitar in my room and writing songs. Eventually, people began to listen. I think I was lucky enough to be left to grow as a kid and an artist in my own ways. There was never any sort of box I was to be put in by my parents, they honestly didn't think I was very good at writing songs until recently.
Other than family, what are some of your main influences?
Friends, observing the world, culture, dreams. Anything that compels me really. I'm the type of person that believes that any one turn left or right could change everything in infinite ways, new ways of thinking, new songs, new sounds, and new ways of seeing and feeling this world.
Do you often find yourself in similar settings or moods when you’re inspired to make music?
That is a great question. I am completely unaware. But, I would say the mood that is always there is willingness. Willingness to be remarkable or to fail, or to be honest.
You’ve been quite involved in music from a very young age. How do you think your music style has developed and changed throughout your life/career?
It has gotten better and better, I have been able to stop just copying Travis Scott or King Krule or Tame Impala. Now I am my own me.
You have a really unique fashion sense that has a lot of personality—do you think your style informs your music at all? Does your music inform your style? Or do you think there’s not really a relationship between the two?
There is definitely a relationship between the two. These mediums of expression; music, fashion, design, humor...it's how we enhance our personality and how we magnify our values and our priorities. I mix Carhartt or some 2$ vintage with something designer because that's in line with how I create and how I navigate life in extremes I suppose.
You’ve used a few different names for yourself as an artist in the past—do you think your music changed with each name that came along?
Yes, it's all about growth. I keeping growing as much as I can until I'm nothing but fertilizer myself.
If you had to change your name now, what would it be? Do you think you’ll change your name again in the future?
My name is Joshua Flower. Yoshi is a nickname for Joshua. So it is what it is. Maybe in 100 years, I'll change it to some numbers like we all might have to.
Who are some artists you’re currently listening to?
Yeek, Octavian, bakar, crumb, king gizzard, TV Girl, KennyHoopla so many to be honest just don't get me started.
The last question will be a random one: Would you rather have all of your fingers turn into tongues, or have your tongue turn into a finger?
I'd keep my tongue, one of our greatest gifts is our ability to communicate and talk and have conversations. I don't think I could give that up.
— Nina Baker-Mason, Staff