Chloe Flower's Latest Musical Piece Has A Surprising Inspiration

Pianist and composer Chloe Flower acknowledges that she works in an industry still largely segregated by categories, which can frustrate her. “I was always too classical for pop, and I was always too pop for classical,” she says. “Even in something as simple as playlisting, they still don't know what to do with me half the time.” But rather than worry about how to best fit in, Flower has carved out her own lane and thrived off of finding new ways for modern audiences to appreciate the classics.

“Popsical” music, as she calls her sound, “could be as simple as a pop cover. But it could also be layering sounds from the pop or hip-hop worlds on top of classical music. The juxtaposition of hip-hop beats with classical — they’re so different, it just works.” Recently, in partnership with Volvo Cars, Flower leaned on her signature “popsical” style to compose an original song for the brand.

She drew from her toolbox of pop elements, layered them over a classical foundation, and combined it all with actual sounds from Volvo Cars’ fully electric C40 crossover to create the piece. The kinetic piano arrangement, for example, is based on the key of the vehicle’s Google Assistant. And the drum beats include clips of Volvo Cars’ C40 turn signal (which is itself a sample of a forest twig being broken into two) and trunk closing. “I added the sound of a window going up and down last,” she says. The final result “had to match the car. It had to be classic. It had to have elegance. But it also had to be fierce and powerful, because that’s what the car is.”

While found sounds aren’t typically part of Flower’s repertoire, the beats of a Volvo car are as familiar to her as the piano, which she began playing at two years old. That’s because “I was born into a Volvo Cars family,” says Flower, whose dad exclusively drove them when she and her sister were growing up. “Safety was a huge factor for my father. He would never let me ride with any of my friends in a two-seater or a convertible.” In fact, Volvo Cars invented the three-point seatbelt, and they even include pregnant crash dummies in their testing. “They really consider the female perspective, and they prioritize safety over profit,” says Flower. “You can’t say that about a lot of companies. I think that’s where we align: I always prioritize art over profit.”

Art is a perfect way to define Flower’s work, and her artistic vision parallels Volvo Cars’. “It’s timeless, classic, but fierce.” It’s also uniquely hers. “If you’re a classical musician, they expect you to be a certain thing,” she says. “Every piece I performed from two years old until after I graduated conservatory was written by a white man.” That’s why Flower looks beyond the genre for inspiration: “I would watch figure skating and see how they would use their bodies to accentuate certain parts of the song. Fashion can [also] have a huge impact on how people experience your music. My style is classic but also Chloberace. I love feathers, crystals.”

“I think that’s the whole point of this idea I created, popsical,” says Flower, whose first-ever holiday album is out now. (You can listen to it here!) “It’s the marriage of a pop aesthetic with a classical history.”

For an artist who prioritizes individuality, working with partners that respect that vision is paramount. “One thing I loved about working with Volvo Cars [is that] they gave me total artistic freedom,” says Flower. “I write and produce all my own music. I do all my own art direction. I’m really hands-on from beginning to end. Volvo Cars allowed me to just be me and stay true to my authentic, artistic self visually and musically. It was a perfect match.”

Check out the full spot below with Flower, her custom song, and the Volvo Cars C40.

Images: Courtesy of Volvo Cars