FLO on 'Therapy at the Club' & How Sisterhood Fuels Their Sound

There has always been a certain allure to girl groups, and the past few years have proven we still have an appetite for them. Perhaps much of that lies in watching women share a stage—the camaraderie, the synchronised choreography, the way individual voices come together to create something bigger than themselves. FLO, for one, has been making a pretty convincing case for it.

The British trio—Renée Downer, Stella Quaresma, and Jorja Douglas—have carved out their own corner of the R&B genre since debuting in 2019, churning out hits such as ‘Cardboard Box’, ‘Walk Like This’, and most recently, ‘Leak It’, which has garnered plenty of attention online. Their music draws from the sounds they grew up loving, while their distinct personalities give it a character that is unmistakably FLO.

That sensibility carries into Therapy at the Club, their newly released second studio album. Filled with silky harmonies, infectious grooves, and songs made for the dance floor, the record sees the trio embracing a more carefree side of their artistry while making room for vulnerability. More than anything, it reflects what has kept FLO resonating with listeners: authenticity without pretence, confidence without taking themselves too seriously, and the freedom to grow on their own terms.

Ahead, we caught up with FLO to talk more about what to expect from Therapy at the Club, finding their sound, and how their bond has influenced their music to date.

CONGRATULATIONS ON THERAPY AT THE CLUB! THE TITLE ITSELF COMBINES TWO VERY DIFFERENT IDEAS. WHAT DOES THAT PHRASE MEAN TO YOU, AND WHAT INSPIRED THE CONCEPT BEHIND THIS ALBUM?

Renée Downer (RD): I think it means two things can be true at once, and you can do both at the same time. A lot of people in our generation feel like we need to have it all figured out, and the point of this album is to make people feel like they’re not alone. We’re all kind of going through it, but we just need to see the beauty of all our troubles and hardships.

Stella Quaresma (SQ): We were given a song by our friend, and it was called ‘Therapy at the Club’. We recorded it, and while we were trying to think about how we were gonna structure the album, we thought that was a really good title. It was like fate that it came, and it dropped in our laps, and then we just wrote around it. It was really fun to create.

Jorja Douglas (JD): It’s hard to sum it up in a few sentences, but for me, it definitely means having fun with your friends. I think that’s what I find therapy in the most—just being around Renée and Stella. The whole process of getting ready to go to the club, just having that time with yourself, but also having your friends next to you feels like a weight’s been lifted off your shoulders. 

It’s also about meeting new people there, learning things about yourself, and how you handle situations that are thrown at you in the club… You kind of have very little control when you go to the club, so letting go of that control, all your worries and cares, and just having a great time is so therapeutic. 

LOOKING BACK ON YOUR PAST PROJECTS, WHAT FEELS DIFFERENT ABOUT THERAPY AT THE CLUB? HOW DO YOU THINK FLO HAS GROWN—BOTH AS ARTISTS AND AS INDIVIDUALS—SINCE YOU FIRST STARTED?

RD: We were definitely behind every element of the music. We really wanted to write the songs. We wanted songs from our perspectives, and to get involved with the production, collaborate well with everyone, give lots of notes from the mixes, all that stuff.

JD: It definitely developed us individually, because we wrote some of the songs without each other. We would split off, and everyone would be in a different room or a different studio, and it pushed us.

Essentially, one of us was at the forefront of FLO, so we had a responsibility to dictate how a session would go. So whatever you said, or if you were kind of rubbish in a session, that was a reflection of FLO. You had to really make sure you were bringing your A-game every session, which was really good. 

FLO HAS ALWAYS HAD SUCH A STRONG LOVE FOR R&B, WHILE STILL BRINGING YOUR OWN MODERN TWIST TO IT. WERE THERE ANY SOUNDS, INFLUENCES, OR IDEAS THAT YOU WERE EXCITED TO EXPLORE THIS TIME?

SQ: We were very excited to try different forms of R&B, and the ways in which we could implement R&B into a different type of beat. We really wanted to try and make more upbeat songs, and we definitely still have a lot of mid-tempo songs on the album, but we pushed ourselves and tried different things. 

Sometimes, it was really hard to write beats that you’re not used to writing, so we definitely grew in that way. It was about being a little bit uncomfortable, and still learning from the people we were in sessions with, because we were in sessions with amazing writers who are seasoned and know what they’re doing. It was great to be independent, but also still learn from the people around us.

OVER THE YEARS, MANY ICONIC GIRL GROUPS HAVE SHOWN THE POWER OF WOMEN SUPPORTING WOMEN. WHAT DOES SISTERHOOD MEAN TO FLO, AND HOW HAS YOUR BOND AS A GROUP SHAPED THE MUSIC YOU CREATE TOGETHER?

RD: I think that sisterhood really just means understanding each other in a way that no one else can. We spend every day with each other, we work together, we’re also friends—and so, that bond is just real. We kind of need to be able to read each other’s mind sometimes.

SQ: Because we wrote separately, it was fun to think about topics that related to ourselves, but also that we could all sing, and that we knew the girls would also agree with and write about feelings we’ve all felt. So, I think that kind of showed us how well we know each other.

Without sisterhood, being in a group would just be really hard. We have so much fun, we’re always laughing, we get each other. It’s the biggest part of being in FLO. 

THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST TIME IN MALAYSIA, AND WE’RE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE! IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO EXPERIENCING WHILE YOU’RE IN THE COUNTRY OR SONGS YOU’RE EXCITED TO PERFORM?

SQ: I’m excited for the food!

JD: We’re keeping a lot of the older songs on the setlist, because we’ve never been to Malaysia before. So, we’re really excited to go back to the songs that we used to perform, just to make sure that they have their moment in territories we haven’t been to.

We can’t forget all that happened and just start singing every song off Therapy at the Club. We still need to make sure that ‘Fly Girl’ has its moment, obviously ‘Cardboard Box’, so it’s gonna be nice to go through the whole journey of FLO instead of just where we’re at now.

IF YOU EACH HAD YOUR OWN THERAPY SESSION AT THE CLUB, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE FOR YOU? 

SQ: Well, it definitely starts with a good outfit and feeling very hot. And then, good music, a good DJ, and dancing. Just feeling free, feeling all the emotions, laughing with the girls. Being carefree.

RD: I feel like it would be a very small, curated room. Maybe just me and my six friends, we’re playing all of our childhood bangers and we’re dancing. We’re having dance competitions, and the vibe is just changing all the time. It’s so much fun, you’re jumping up and down. Heels are off!

JD: It’s definitely a free bar. We’re in control of the music, and one thing we need is a massive limousine to take us to the club. That’s so important.

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