As a music-loving community, we always reminisce over the tunes and energy from 2015 and 2016. Could it be because of the bangers in the rap game in the early Summer of 2016? Maybe how Adele carried the genre of pop in 2015 on her back? Or is it because we were all so… incredibly happy then? In the Electronic community, the reminiscing is because of Urban Flora. No words could hardly ever do this piece justice, but we can try our best.
The way that Alina Baraz put her entire heart and soul into the lyrics and delivery of this EP… one could really only compare her to an angel. Her voice is soul capturing, divine, and made this project into a timeless classic. Believe it or not, Galimatias and Alina actually discovered each other online prior to their work on the EP together in 2015. He thought her voice was just as magical as the rest of us.
The meaning behind the title
Gali named that after a song one day. He likes to rename our songs before he sends them to me, sometimes he’ll call it, “pizza” or “tacos” or something weird. But this one was “Urban Flora” and it caught my attention. To me, “urban flora” is like the two of us. Gali has a bunch of hip hop, urban-style production. The whole concept around the album, I based around the idea of a flower. So “Urban” was Gali and “Flora” was me.
– Alina Baraz
Every single detail was curated perfectly. The soft and sweet feminine album artwork that looks like it should be hanging in a museum. And the mellow, earthy, downtempo sounds that Galimatias so kindly intertwines with Alina’s outstanding voice. Just like a windchime humming through a slight breeze, Urban Flora is elegant and breathtaking. This EP can be enjoyed by absolutely anybody. Overall, it has a very relaxed tone which makes it a great first listen for anybody just recently getting into Electronic Music.
Forever embedded in our hearts…
Urban Flora brings up visions of carefree casual walks at sunset, going for a ride with the windows down, and headphones in on a Sunday afternoon. It has helped so many of us in the community get through a dark period at one point in time and given us pretty thoughts. Although they may not realize it, Alina Baraz and Galimatias single-handedly shaped what future bass is today. We have nothing but appreciation and love for what the duo gave us and continues to give us when we have the opportunity for a day of throwbacks. Their work will eternally be an anthem for all electronic music fans.
Listen to Urban Flora (for the first, or 150th? time) below!
Keep up with Alina Baraz
Twitter | SoundCloud | Instagram
Keep up with Galimatias
Twitter | SoundCloud | Instagram
Want to get the inside scoop on artists you love and the people behind the scenes who make it all happen? We’re always meeting new people! Check out Electric Hawk Spotlight, coming live to you every Thursday.
Sexual harassment is an ugly, scary, but very real thing, and it’s happening all around us. Good Night Out is looking to create a community capacity that can prevent and respond to all gender-based harms. In conclusion, a safe environment for everyone needs to be the new norm, period. Read more about what you can do to help and become educated here.